August 30 the entire Muslim world celebrates the Joyful Holiday dedicated to the completion of the fasting month of Ramadan - Eid ul Fitr.In the anticipation of the Holiday the Chairman of the Russian Muftis Council mufti sheikh Ravil Gaynutdin gave an interview specifically for readers of the newspaper "Moskovskaya Pravda".Dear Ravil hazrat, we welcome you, the recognized spiritual leader of Russian Muslims on behalf of the readers of the newspaper "Moskovskaya Pravda".- Praise be to God Almighty, who revealed to us the faith and guides to the straight path. And praise be to our Creator, the One who led the minds of the leaders of our multi-national, multi-religious country, let their hearts understand the needs and aspirations of the Muslim peoples of our country who live peacefully in a common family of peoples in  Russia for centuries. The twenty years period of democratic reforms in our country is a history and revival of spirituality of its people.

Back in 2005, Vladimir Putin, in response to our request to give Muslims of our capital an opportunity to build so necessary complex of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque, called the Cathedral mosque of Moscow - The main mosque of Russia.

It is this Mosque that hosts meetings with the leaders of Muslim states, ministers, statesmen and public figures of the Muslim world, with which our country is building collaborative relationships in economic, political and cultural fields.We with our guests have to accomplish our prayers in our very humble and a little to date mosque, which does not meet even average standards of the modern comfort level and has no normal set of amenities to take a wudu - a ritual ablution before the prayer. In Moscow, besides the magnificent temples with golden domes, the mosque, which has always had the status of the Cathedral, was built in 1904 by architect Zhukov. The mosque, which in many ways replicates the architecture and interior decoration of the Moscow Choral Synagogue, to date is seen by our parishioners and guests as a depressed building, buried in the ground (it was built without any foundation), standing next to a sports complex and demonstrating the inconsistency to be Our capital main mosque and have a status of cathedral for the millions of Muslims of the Russian Ummah. Having given the political permission for the renovation and construction of a new complex, the government re-emphasized that Russia's Muslims - are not guests in our country. In 2007, the Resolution of the Moscow Government on the reconstruction and erection of the new Moscow Cathedral Mosque was issued.

Along with the preparation of construction, the designing work was performed and the conciliation issues were resolved. So one of the very difficult question was received from RAO UES regarding the permission to connect to the electricity grid of the city. Only for the permission itself, we officially paid over 150 million rubles. Examples of such costs at the initial stage were a lot. The organization and construction fell on the shoulders of Muslims of Moscow and Russia, may Allah reward all those who participated in this God-pleasing business.The Construction of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque is entirely based on donations of believers and help of benefactors, and is not financed from the budget.Special thanks we want to express to our brother in Islam, Suleiman Kerimov, who is the main benefactor of the general construction of our mosque. At the signing of the Agreement of Intent of financial support in 2007 Mr Kerimov said that his help in building the Moscow Cathedral Mosque was charity towards Allah and for the sake of Allah, and only for the achievement of His grace and Mercy.In addition to the direct allocation of funds for the construction, our general charity benefactor provides support in financial auditing, professional monitoring of the financing and quality of the construction works.And for all these years, our partnership is realized with the full human and business understanding.

Dear Mufti, the media reported the resumption of the construction works on the erection of a new complex of Moscow Cathedral Mosque.- The Committee of the state building supervision of Moscow issued to the Religious Board of Muslims of European part of Russia the permission to continue construction of the complex of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque.This is a standard procedure required annually to reconcile complicated construction projects within the boundaries of a megacity, which will allow to resume construction works on the erection of a new prayer hall and in the future to start decorating works.

What will happen to the old building of the Moscow Cathedral mosque?- The Centennial History of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque - is a history of serving the Muslims and Russia. The Moscow Cathedral Mosque is one of hundred mosques, which was not closed during the Soviet regime. The Adhan, calling to prayer, sounded in our mosque at the same time as calling for the protection of our common home, our country during the Great Patriotic War.Today the Moscow Cathedral Mosque during the Muslim holidays gathers in the adjacent streets, in yards of houses and the roadway about 70 thousand people.The reconstruction of the mosque means the entrance of its re-created historic part in the new facility, that will be equipped with air conditioning and will meet security standards that required by modern terms of safety and comfort for the parishioners. Islam forbids prayers to man-made attributes including buildings. This is written in the revelation of God the Creator, in the Quran, and it is mandatory obligation to escape the pagan worship to stones, images and different structures.

The mosque should not be a historic asset and not an object equivalent to the museum. The Architecture and painting decoration of the walls are designed to emphasize the relation of man to God, reverence for the Creator, but they are not the object of worship.According to Moskomnasledie our mosque has no historical value.The present building of the mosque has no foundation, and its ceiling are made from a plywood shingle. Plastered and painted, they are like gunpowder can instantly ignite. As the construction took place in the last century there had been a serious deviation made from the Qibla direction, and this deviation measures as seven hundred kilometers.

After much deliberation and reconciliation with the professionals: planners, architects, Islamic scholars, historians, it was decided to rebuild the old building in the new complex construction. After all, the Kaaba itself, erected by the hands of the founder of Abrahamic religions Abraham jointly with his son Ishmael (peace be upon them), was rebuilt in the times of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

The History of the buildings of mosques updating is a history that is close to the history of Islam itself and has a wide geographic: it's new walls in place of Prophet Muhammad Mosque in Medina, repeatedly rebuilt buildings of the Al Haram Sacred Mosque in Makkah, the errors correction regarding the direction of the Qibla for instance in Yemen, Algeria and in Morocco the Rabat Mosque, the mosque that was built by decree of the Ruler of the Maghreb, a descendant of our Prophet Muhammad. Our prayers are addressed directly to God, our Lord, as in the Muslim religious practice it is condemned and prohibited the worship of images and buildings.Thus, by the Moscow Government Decree, decrees of the Presidium and the Plenary Session of the Russian Muftis Council and the Religious Board of Muslims of European part of Russia, but, most importantly, by the grace of Almighty Allah, we are given the opportunity to correct mistakes made during the initial construction of mosque and its deviation from the Kaaba, that violated the requirements of the Sacred Quran. In the name of instructions of the Creator and for the safety of parishioners we are obliged to carry out reconstruction and total recreation of the old mosque and build our mosque in the way that it will serve us for centuries - a mosque worthy of the capital of the Russian state and Muslims of the country.

Dear Ravil hazrat in your opinion, are the rights of Russian citizens – the followers of different religions to perform religious needs equal? - The neighborhood of the gilded domes of Orthodox churches, minarets, synagogues, temples of traditional to our country religions is our history and confirmation of the solidarity of our people. The Recent history of democratic reforms in Russia - along with the inevitable economic and social difficulties, must not and will not be able to destroy this community. However, its preservation requires attention and our common efforts.The Meeting with the Muslim clergy in the Moscow Cathedral Mosque in July 2009, of President Dmitry Medvedev, the visit of the Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to our mosque and congratulations to parishioners on the feast of Eid ul Fitr in 2010 demonstrated the preservation of the best traditions of the unity of the peoples of Russia.

At a recent meeting of the President of Russia D. Medvedev with leaders of Muslim organizations in Russia I had an opportunity to appeal to the head of the state as the guarantor of the Constitution, with a request to give more attention to what the real issues were in the Russian Ummah. The overcoming of the mutual estrangement of peoples, overcoming xenophobia, the importance of working with young people, with the congregation requires the podium for the clergy. The number of mosques is still disastrously inadequate in Russia, one of the most difficult is the allocation of land for the construction of mosques in several regions of Russia.The Interaction and cooperation for peace and prosperity of our Motherland were the issues discussed during the July meeting of the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin with religious and public figures. Religious Organizations in Russia see its main task as a preserving and augmenting our common heritage.

It is important that such an understanding and support from the leadership of the country to be continued in every level of the state administration, by the regional authorities as a single line of state-religious relations. The postponing and cancellation of the solution of the issues regarding the land allocation for the construction of mosques, the House of Allah, and call to pray at stadiums can be considered as a provocation and a betrayal of the legitimate interests of the Muslims of Russia. Muslims, in addition to holiday worship, prescribed five-time prayers. The prayers must be performed in the temples - it is customary to monotheism and must be met for all denominations. City officials confirmed the continuity of the set cooperation and I am sure, the topic of allocation of land for the construction of mosques in the districts of Moscow, which we have been pursuing for two decades, will be consistently and positively resolved.

Russian Muslims always were pride in being part of a larger family of nations. And it is important that this family always live in peace and harmony. An example of our country is proof of the existence and viability of the society, which is now considered in Europe as a country of "multiculturalism." Once again I congratulate Muslims, Russians, all my brothers and sisters with the glorious days of fasting month of Ramadan, with the upcoming holiday of its completion - a happy time for us to gain sincerity and harmony.