The Sunni Mosque or the Mukhtarov Mosque is a historic

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

on the left bank of the

Terek River The Terek () is a major river in the Northern Caucasus. It originates in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region of Georgia and flows through North Caucasus region of Russia into the Caspian Sea. It rises near the juncture of the Greater Caucasus ...

Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz, formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () or Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of North Ossetia–Alania, Russia. It is located in the southeast of the republic at the foothills of the Caucasus, situated on the Terek (river), Terek River. ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The mosque owes its name to the

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

i millionaire

Murtuza Mukhtarov Murtuza Mukhtarov (; 1857? – April 1920) was an Azerbaijani people, Azerbaijani oil industrialist and millionaire who built the Mukhtarov Palace in Baku and the Mukhtarov Mosque in Vladikavkaz. He was born into a poor family in a village of Əmi ...

who financed its construction in 1900–1908. The architect

Józef Plośko Józef is a Polish variant of the masculine given name Joseph. Art * Józef Chełmoński (1849-1914), Polish painter * Józef Gosławski (1908-1963), Polish sculptor Clergy * Józef Glemp (1929-2013), Polish cardinal * Józef Kowalski (1 ...

was inspired by

Al-Azhar Al-Azhar Mosque (), known in Egypt simply as al-Azhar, is a mosque in Cairo, Egypt in the historic Islamic core of the city. Commissioned as the new capital of the Fatimid Caliphate in 970, it was the first mosque established in a city that ...

and other mosques of

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. Plośko was also the architect of Mukhtarov Palace in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

. The mosque serves the Ossetian Muslim minority. The Sunni Mosque is known for its picturesque setting against the dramatic backdrop of the

Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains * * Azerbaijani: , * * * * * * * * * * * is a mountain range at the intersection of Asia and Europe. Stretching between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, they are surrounded by the Caucasus region ...

. It also used to serve the

Ingush Ingush may refer to: * Ingush language, Northeast Caucasian language * Ingush people, an ethnic group of the North Caucasus See also *Ingushetia (disambiguation) Ingushetia is a federal republic and subject of Russia. Ingushetia may also refer ...

residents of Vladikavkaz before they were expelled from

North Ossetia North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

in the 1990s. The mosque has been protected as a historic landmark since 1934. In 1996, it was badly damaged by an explosion and later restored.

History

The permission to build the mosque was issued in 1900. The city government allocated a plot of land on the left bank of the Terek river for this construction. The ' newspaper reported that the construction of the mosque cost 80,000 rubles, of which more than 50,000 were contributed by the Azerbaijani millionaire and a prominent philanthropist in the Caucasus

, from which the mosque gets its name. The project was commissioned from his favorite architect

. The opening of the mosque took place on October 14, 1908. On January 24, 1914, a letter of gratitude to M. Mukhtarov from

representatives was published in the ': In 1960, under

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

rule, it came under complete protection, in which a branch opened an indoor museum. Communism's fall brought the

collapse of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, but within dispersion over the gatherings of Ossetian

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

s, the mosque returned to its usual function as a

house of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is s ...

in 1996.

References

External links

* Mosques in Russia Vladikavkaz Mosques completed in 1908 Buildings and structures in North Ossetia–Alania 1908 establishments in the Russian Empire Closed mosques in the Soviet Union Mosque buildings with domes in Russia Józef Płoszko buildings and structures Culture of North Ossetia–Alania Cultural heritage monuments in North Ossetia–Alania Objects of cultural heritage of Russia of federal significance Anti-Islam sentiment in Russia Mosque buildings with minarets in Russia {{Russia-mosque-stub