One year ago on September 06, 2023, the Mariupol Cathedral Mosque, one of the main temples of the Donetsk People's Republic, was inaugurated.

Mariupol Cathedral Mosque was rebuilt after being destroyed during the liberation of the city during a special military operation. This event is a landmark and very important for Muslims, as well as for the residents of the city. After all, for many of them the mosque became a shelter during the hostilities in 2022.

The work was carried out with the blessing of the spiritual leader of Russian Mufties, Sheikh Sheikh Ravil Gainutdin, and was financed by the fund named after Hero of Russia Akhmat-Khadji Kadyrov.

The overhaul of the mosque building and improvement of the surrounding area was initiated by the chairman of the Religious Board of Muslims of the DNR, Rashid Bragin, and on the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. The restoration process was supervised by Marat Khusnullin, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. During the restoration process, it was possible not only to preserve the historical appearance of the mosque, but also to improve the structure of the building and to improve the adjacent territory.

The opening ceremony of the Mariupol Cathedral Mosque began with the recitation of ayats of the Noble Quran. The Tatarstan delegation handed over religious literature in Tatar and Russian languages to the DPR Muslims.

Russian Mufties Sheikh Ravil Gainutdin expressed his gratitude to Aimani Kadyrova, President of the Akhmat Hajji Kadyrov Public Foundation named after the Hero of Russia, who funded the restoration work. He also noted the special role of the Head of the Chechen Republic, Hero of Russia Ramzan Kadyrov, in the restoration and construction of temples. The mosque is a center of education and upbringing. A comfortable classroom has been set up here, where everyone, regardless of age, can attend classes and receive free knowledge of the basics of Islam, the history of the prophets, learn Arabic, and learn to read the holy Quran. An interactive panel for information and lecture activities was installed in the training room, and the mosque's library was modernized and replenished with new religious literature.

Since the day of opening and up to now the Cathedral Mosque of Mariupol is visited by hundreds of Muslims to perform namaz and receive Islamic knowledge. Rites of nikah, naming, mavlid, khatem, iftar are held. Over the past year Mariupol Cathedral Mosque was visited by delegations from Moscow, Tatarstan, Mordovia and other regions of Russia and abroad. Excursions are organized for local residents, schoolchildren and guests of the city. The mosque also organizes thematic conferences and refresher courses for imams of the DPR. To improve their skills and further acquire new knowledge, the students of the Sunday school, whose classes were conducted by Imam-Khatib of Mariupol Cathedral Mosque Rafek Hazrat Timerbaev, continued their studies in the Madrasah “Mahinur”.

People of different faiths often come to the mosque to share their memories of the events they have experienced and to praise the Almighty for salvation. Taking shelter in the mosque from shelling, people became one big family, which was united by fear for their loved ones, hunger and cold, fear of the unknown, desire to survive.

Mosque is a place where every believer can come to pray, turn to Allah, share their problems and joys, find comfort and support. It is not just a place to perform namaz, but also a place to communicate with the Almighty. Our earthly journey begins and ends with the mosque.

Based on the materials of the publication site dumdnr.ru