Despite Muslims' opinion, historical building of Rostov mosque handed over to school

The Mayoralty of Rostov-on-Don has handed the building of the cathedral mosque, built in early 20th century and rebuilt in Soviet years, for which the believers had fought, over to the jazz school.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Rostov-on-Don has only one mosque. In June 2019, 15,000 believers gathered there on the occasion of the holiday of Ramadan; they voiced out the need to build another mosque in the city.

On January 3, the SMS-service of the "Caucasian Knot" received a message about the transfer of the building claimed by the Muslim community to a municipal institution.

The building at No. 97 Krasnoarmeiskaya Street, where the mosque had been earlier, has been handed over to a jazz school, the Mayoralty has confirmed.

Since the 1980s, Muslims of Rostov-on-Don have been actively trying to return the above building in Krasnoarmeiskaya Street back to their community.

The mosque, for which the Muslims are fighting, was built in 1905. Even in Soviet times, thousands of Muslims gathered there for Friday and holiday prayers. But in the 1960s, the mosque was closed, and the temple property was confiscated. The building was used first as a warehouse, then as a gym, and then it was rebuilt into a soldiers' club by destroying the dome, minaret and part of the walls, says the website of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) of the Rostov Region.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 3, 2021 at 03:56 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.