Can you introduce yourself, please?
<........>
Head of the Department of Construction of the Land Issue of the Spiritual Directorate of Muslims in Crimea.
We are now in the capital of the Republic of Crimea, in the city of Simferopol
on the territory of the future cathedral mosque of Crimean Muslims.
Are there many Muslims in Crimea?
The majority of Muslims is the
indigenous population of Crimea - Crimean Tatars.
They are traditional Muslims.
There are other representatives of the Muslim peoples,
but 90 percent are Crimean Tatars.
Many of those who see my reports are from the USA and Europe,
and they do not know who the Crimean Tatars are.
Crimean Tatars are the indigenous population of Crimea,
which at one time have their own statehood.
It was called Crimean Khanate before joining the Russian empire.
They have their own traditions, as they are traditional Muslims.
Also, they are Turkic-speaking population,
at least they belong to the group of Turkic-speaking.
Are you Tatar?
Yes, I am a representative of the Crimean Tatar people.
Can you say what is the difference
between what it was under Ukraine and now, s even years as part of Russia?
Is there any difference?
We now see the difference at this place.
During the period of Ukraine, let's say, it has been a long story
The situation reached even to litigation to get the land
let alone the construction itself.
But today we already see the stage of completion of construction
during this period, which began in the second half of 2015.
I just showed you an example of where we are now standing.
Have you tried before..?
Yes, there was a very big struggle to obtain this particular land plot
there were problems with the administration and courts.
The case was won in court
and as a result, this land was allocated.
The construction has already begun when Crimea was already a part of the Russian Federation.
Maybe something got worse? Maybe something was better in Ukraine?
In what respect?
Perhaps in the life of the Tatars..
If you talking about the financial situation,
then this should be asked from individuals, how everything changed for them.
But I would not say that financially someone has lost something.
As the saying goes, whoever works earns
and who does not work will sit and cry, roughly speaking. 46 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:48,917 At the main entrance to the mosque itself
there will be portals and arches and Quran Quotes.
The mosque itself will accommodate up to 2,500 thousand people.
About one and a half thousand men and
somewhere up to 900 women on the balcony of the second floor.
Well, let's go.
With a courtyard, the mosque will fit up to 5,000 people.
The internal stone cladding is underway,
and then they will start painting under the dome and on the walls.
Stained glass windows are already installed.
And when did it start?
Construction began in September 2015.
So the preparation and planning started in the second half of 2015.
Is it the largest in Europe or not?
I will not say that it is the largest in all of Europe,
but it is believed that it is the largest mosque in Eastern Europe.
When do you think the construction will end?
We do not stipulate certain terms here, so that by some date everything will be.
For us, the quality of the work is more important.
Where do you get the funding?
Funding comes to us from charity.
It does not come from the budget and public funds.
This is charity from patrons and benefactors. Well, we have different sources.
What will this building be like here? What will be here?
This is the mihrab, that is, the direction of the Kaaba,
and a minbar, respectively, where the Imam will hold Friday sermon.
There will be stone wall decoration,
as we see there are already some parts
These columns are already decorated with stone.
And there will also be paintings on the walls.
Of course, there are elements of marble on the mehrab and on the minbar,
but, in general, the walls will be decorated with stone and painting.
Have you started painting yet?
No, we have not started yet.
Because painting is considered to be the last stage 81 00:07:52,459 --> 00:07:07,292 When the painting is finished, the carpets are laid and everything is ready for use.
This is the last job to do.
What else will be on this territory? Will there be any buildings besides the mosque itself?
On the right, we will have an administrative building,
where will the administration of the Crimean Muslims be located.
And behind, there is another large building,
which will be a guest house for guests and pilgrims.
So, there will be three buildings in this complex.
When we drove up, we saw the roof was covered with some metal..
That is lead. This is in accordance with the historical tradition,
according to which mosques of a certain period were covered.