A mosque is one of the indispensable attributes of any Muslim’s life. Mosques played a special role in the life of Russian Muslims, often being not only the religious and spiritual focus of the community, but also an opportunity to preserve the national identity. Nowadays, the mosque has added educational and cultural activities to its functions. For many people distant from Islam, it is the mosque that provides an opportunity to learn the truth about the religion and to gain more knowledge about those who live nearby.
Every mosque in Russia is unique in its architecture, history and date of construction. Today, we invite you to take a virtual walk around the world’s northernmost mosque, which is located in Norilsk.
The Nur Kamal Mosque has distinguished three times: it is listed in the Guinness Book as the world’s northernmost mosque, the first mosque in Taimyr and the only Muslim temple located above the Arctic Circle.
According to recent statistics, about 25% of Norilsk’s population is Muslim, including Tatars, Azerbaijanis, Bashkirs and other Muslim peoples. It is not surprising that Norilsk is popularly called ‘the most Muslim city in the North’.
Construction of the Nur Kamal Mosque began in 1993. It was sponsored by Mukhtad Bekmeyev, a native Norilsk resident and entrepreneur. The mosque received its name – Nur Kamal – in honor of his parents: father Nurutdin and mother Gainikamal, of which there is a memorial plaque on one of the walls.
The mosque was to be built taking into account all the peculiarities of the Norilsk climate. Therefore, Evgeny Solnyshkin, who had already designed buildings and various strictures in the city, was invited as an architect. For his individual project, Nur Kamal, he won a third-degree diploma at the international festival of architecture in Moscow.
The mosque is in the shape of an emerald-colored star. Each facet is separated by a white decorative column and has four unusual windows (rectangular on the bottom, and triangular with a border on top).
The thirty-meter minaret deserves special attention. The thing is that usually they are round in cross-section, but at Nur Kamal it is square. This is because most of the year in Norilsk is very cold and strong winds blow all the time. Taking into account frequent and abundant snowfalls, it was decided to make the dome of the mosque sloping, which minimized unpleasant consequences. Instead of a foundation, the mosque is supported on piles, like most buildings in Norilsk.
The mosque has two floors: there is a madrasah on the first floor, and a bright circular-shaped prayer hall, the walls of which are hand painted – on the second one. The walls are painted bright blue, and the domes of the main building and the minaret are in gold.
The mosque was inaugurated on September 19, 1998 in the presence of Supreme Mufti Talgat Tadzhuddin. Since then, the Nur Kamal Mosque has become a place of worship for thousands of Muslims in Norilsk.
Ilmira Gafiyatullina
Photo: Creative Commons