Video Tour Takes You Inside Elaborate New Moscow Mosque

Russian President Vladimir Putin officially opened the reconstructed Cathedral Mosque in Moscow on September 23. Among the guests were Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas. With a capacity of 10,000, the mosque is the biggest in Europe, Putin said in his speech.

Celebrating Russia’s religious diversity, Putin stressed that Islam “is one of Russia’s traditional religions, with millions of our citizens counting themselves among its followers.” He said the ideology of the Islamic State “is built on lies and blatant distortions of Islam,” and thanked Russian Muslim leaders for working to resist it.

An English translation of Putin’s speech can be found here. Credit: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty