On July 15, 2009 the President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev visited the Moscow Cathedral mosque.

During almost two-hour long meeting in the residence of Russia Mufties Council positive and productive conversation took place between the President of Russia and the Chairman of Russia Mufties Council mufti sheikh Ravil Gaynutdin and heads of regional boards of Muslims.

The President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev accompanied by the chairman of Russia Mufties Council Ravil Gaynutdin saw over the historical part of the mosque and visited the prayer hall, witnessed the architectural and design projects of the new complex of the mosque. He named the constructed mosque the main mosque of the country.

The Moscow Cathedral mosque was open in 1904 and had never been closed during 105 years. It is the main Muslim centre not only of the capital of Russia, but all the European part of Russia .

Several years ago the reconstruction of the mosque began. After completion of the construction works more than 10 000 people will be able to pray in the mosque \at once. Moreover, a special territory near the mosque will provide place for 15 000 of the believers. Therefore overall in the new complex of the Moscow Cathedral mosque about 25 000 believers will be able to perform Friday and Eid prayers. On the territory of the complex of the Moscow Cathedral mosque a hotel, food and book stores, underground parking will be built. The height of the minaras is 70 meters , the height of the dome will be 40 meters

The text of the mufti Ravil Gaynutdin’s address speech to President Medvedev

Dear Dmitry Anatolyevich!

"We heartedly greet you in the Moscow Cathedral mosque. For more that hundred year history of our mosque it has been visited by heads of many states: Egypt – Gamal Abd an-Naser, Indonesia – Ahmad Sukarno, Libya – Muammar Qaddafi, Iran – Hatami, Turkey – Abdulla Gul, Malaysia – Muhammad Mahatkhir and others. But for the first time it is visited by the head of our state. For us, muftis, who gathered here, and for the all Muslim society of the country, this is a significant and historical event. We, the Muslims of Russia, in the recent years started to feel more attention and care on the part of our state. Regular meetings of muftis with the head of the country had become traditional. At these meetings the matters of state – religious relations, spiritual development of the society, upbringing of the young generation. We are grateful to the fund for support of Islamic culture, science and education mentioned by you today for the assistance in realization of the of the programmes of religious boards of Muslims aimed at revival of spirituality, Muslim thought, culture and education. We hope that this kind initiative will be productively continued.

I would like to brief you, dear Mr. President of the events that took place recently in the Religious world. In the beginning of July in Astana under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan the III Conference of World and Traditional religions took place. The heads and representatives of 43 religious and public organizations from 35 countries of the world participated in it. These were as well representatives of the UN, OBSE, UNESCO and OIC. Due to the excellent organization and the seriousness of the discussed questions, the Conference became a bright event of the world scale. The main message of the conference was the necessity to develop dialogue and cooperation. It was noted that there is no place for peace among nations if there is no peace among religions. It was also stated that the role of the religious leaders in the process of building of new society will increase.

We, Muslims, as the part of the modern Russian society try to strengthen international and interreligious cooperation and together with our traditional religions fight against such malice as extremism and xenophobia, alcoholism and drug addiction, immorality and debauch.

We consider important as well development of cooperation in the sphere of “Dialoque of civilizations”. The Rodos Forum created upon the initiative of our country became an important international institute of the formation of the intercivilizational dialogue culture. It goes without speaking that for us, Muslim religious organizations, the main priority is development of cooperation between Islam and Christianity, development of dialogue and interaction with the Russian Orthodox Church. We understand that the heart of the international and interreligious peace in Russia is the brotherhood of Orthodox people and Muslims who are the majority of the Russian population, and as well cooperation with the representatives of other traditional religions of our country.

The activities of Russia muftis Council are diversified. After Russia ’s joining the OIC as an observer the cooperation of RMC with the Muslims world grew more intensive. Today the geography of our cooperation with the Muslim world covers big territory from Indonesia to Morocco , including Malaysia , China , UAE, Palestine , Saudi Arabia , Iraq , Turkey , Afghanistan , the states of Central Asian and CIS countries. Together with our co-believers from Arabic-Muslim world we try to find questions to the modern challenges connected with the outgoings of globalization.

We together with the OIC and IDB started a big programme on studying the possibilities of Islamic banking, working out documents and recommendations for introduction of some elements of Islamic financial institutions to the practical activities of Islamic bank. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, OIC Secretary General himself informed you of this during his visit to the Russian Federation. The Saint-Petersburg Economic Forum this year also heard discussions about this.

Leading public diplomacy we try to create the atmosphere of trust between the Muslim world and Russia , make contribution towards the raise of our country’s authority in the world. With this objective we are planning to held in September this year international conference @Russia and the Islamic world: partnership for the sake of stability”

In conclusion I would like to thank you, dear Mr. President, for your attention and assistance in the construction of the complex of the Moscow Cathedral mosque and we express hope that the question of construction of mosque in the city Sochi will be solved positively."

The President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev stressed that Muslims in our country enjoy respect and have certain influence and Muslim religious organizations make a significant contribution to the development of the civil society and upbringing of the young generation. From among 182 nationalities of Russia 57 associate themselves with Islam.

The President noted that with the active participation of the Russia Mufties Council got the status of observer to the OIC and is a member of the constant working group Russia – Islamic world. “When we visit Muslim countries we feel the respectful attitude towards the Muslims of Russia on the part of the headship of the states. The Muslim world on a whole is a very authoritative power. And this is very important for our country”, - the President told.

“Unfortunately in Russia and abroad extremist groups exist, including those who name themselves adherents of this or that religious. Therefore our most important task is to spread the ideas of tolerance and peace among nations”, - Dmitry Medveded said.

“We also need to pay special attention to the Muslim education. And to create all necessary conditions for this is not only the task for religious organizations but also for the state”, - President Medvedev noted.

“The mosques should be built not temporally but for centuries”, - the President stated after witnessing the process of construction of the new complex of the Moscow Cathedral mosque, and promised to take part in the opening ceremony of the mosque. Dmitry Medveded supported the idea of construction of a mosque in the Sochi city – the centre of the Olympiad in 2014.

At the end of the meeting the chairman of Russia Mufties Council mufti sheikh Ravil Gaynutdin summarized the speeches of all the mufti who were present at the meeting and noted that muftis today represent all Muslims population of Russia . He also expressed support for the President’s course.