Her Imperial Highness was greeted at the main entrance to the mosque by the spiritual leader of the Muslim community in Russia, Mufti Rawil Gaynetdin, the Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims in the Russian Federation and of the Council of Muftis of Russia. The Grand Duchess was accompanied by Alexander Zakatov, the Director of the Chancellery of the Imperial House of Russia; Prince Vadim Lopukhin, Director of the Chancellery’s Department of External Relations; Stanislaw Dumin, the Master of Heraldry and the Director of the Office of Heraldry in the Chancellery; Mikhail Shakhov, the Head of Security for the Head of the Russian Imperial House; Kirill Nemirovich-Danchenko, the advisor to the Chancellery for relations with public organizations and governmental authorities of the Russian Federation; Oleg Shcherbachev, the President of the Russian Nobility Association; Salim Khasanov, the Chairman of the Tatar Nobility Association of St. Petersburg; Albert Dashkin, the Chairman of the Tatar Nobility Association of Moscow; and N. V. Artamonov, the chief organizer of the Grand Duchess’s visit to the Moscow Cathedral Mosque.
The Grand Duchess was also greeted by the wife of Mufti Rawil Gaynetdin, Zukhra-Khanum Gainutdinova; the First Deputy Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims in the Russian Federation, Damir Gizatullin; the First Deputy Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims in the Russian Federation, Damir Mukhetdinov; the First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia, Haris Syaubyanov; the imams of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque; and other Muslim clergy.
The Head of the Imperial House of Russia was then led on a tour of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque by Mufti Rawil Gainutdin, who described the buildings and rooms of the renovated complex, and gave a historical survey of the mosque and its reconstruction, highlighting in particular the role played in the reconstruction by Suleiman Kerimov, one of the main benefactors of the mosque. “This is one of the largest mosques in Europe,” the mufti said. “The mosque, after its reconstruction, occupies 18,900 square meters. It stand six stories tall, and is fully equipped with elevators and all other accommodations for those with disabilities. The dome is 46 meters tall and has a diameter of 27 meters. As many as 10,000 worshippers can fit comfortably inside the mosque. There are prayer rooms, conference halls, guest living quarters, libraries—all for the benefit of the faithful worshippers.”
The Grand Duchess paid her respects to a special holy relic at the Moscow Cathedral Mosque, a case containing a lock of hair from the Prophet Mohammed, which had been placed in the mosque in honour of the celebrations of the birthday month of the Prophet, Rabi' al-awwal.
This holy relic was donated to the Moscow Cathedral Mosque by the President of the Republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, in 2015, soon after the reconstruction and grand opening of the mosque.
As is well known, starting with Emperor Peter III, the Imperial House of Romanoff is descended from the Emirs of Seville, who themselves descend from the Prophet Mohammed.
At the conclusion of her tour, the Grand Duchess wrote in the guest book for honoured guests of the mosque, then took pictures with her hosts in memory of her visit.
The Grand Duchess’s visit to the mosque continued later at the residence of Mufti Rawil Gaynetdin, who again welcomed his honoured guest in the name of the millions of Muslims in the Ummah, or community of Muslims, of Russia. Mufti Gaynetdin said that, “it is a great and genuine honour for us that the Head of the Imperial House has favored us with her visit to the Moscow Cathedral Mosque, and in being here has shown favour to all Muslims of Russia, which has made the hearts of all Muslims glad. Russian Muslims in all periods of the history of the Russian Empire demonstrated their loyalty to the Emperors, the rulers of the Russian state. Friday sermons always began with a prayer for the health of the Emperor, and they beseeched the Almighty for peace and prosperity in our homeland.”
Mufti Gaynetdin described for Grand Duchess Maria of Russia the many activities of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims in the Russian Federation and of the Council of Muftis of Russia—explaining that under the umbrella of these two religious organizations there are dozens of regional spiritual administrations and hundreds of Muslim communities all across Russia, beginning in its westernmost point, Kaliningrad, to the Far East. The Mufti described religious organizations in the farthest northern reaches of the country, as well as the south, including the Caucasus.
“Muslims have always been defenders of their homeland. They defended their county in the First World War, in the Second World War, and in the war of 1812 against Napoleon’s army. In fact it was out of gratitude for the military feats of the Bashkir-Tatar regiments during the capture of Paris that Emperor Alexander I built in Moscow a Tatar mosque, which is now known as the Old Mosque,” said Mufti Gaynetdin.
According to Mufti Gaynetdin, the present Moscow Cathedral Mosque was constructed with the permission of the Governor-General of Moscow, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, in 1904, and was then the second most important mosque in the city. “The Moscow Cathedral Mosque is unique it that it is the only Muslim place of worship in Moscow that never closed, not during the First World War, the Second World War, or even during the persecutions of people of all faiths during the Soviet period. This is a place of prayer. And in this place, prayer to the Almighty has never ceased,” Mufti Gaynetdin concluded.
The Head of the Imperial House of Russia, H.I.H. the Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, then awarded Mufti Rawil Gaynetdin, Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims in the Russian Federation and of the Council of Muftis of Russia, the Imperial Order of St. Stanislav I Class. She also presented him a patent of hereditary noble status, and the Imperial Commemorative Medal of the 400th Anniversary of the House of Romanoff.
These great honours from the Imperial House of Russia are in recognition of the enormous personal contributions that Mufti Rawil Gaynetdin has made to the development of inter-ethnic and interfaith relations in Russia, in recognition of his efforts at peacemaking, and for his achievements in helping to preserve traditional spiritual values and civic harmony in Russian society.
Mufti Rawil Gaynetdin accepted these awards with deep and sincere gratitude, saying: “Our hearts wish you, Your Imperial Highness, the blessing of God and long life….”
The Grand Duchess stressed that religious traditions and moral values, traditions of interfaith cooperation and collaboration—all these must be passed on to our children, the younger generation. “The exchange of traditions and maintaining contacts are absolutely vital. We must pass on knowledge of these traditions to our youth so that no one can deceive them, no one can sow discord among the Orthodox and Muslim communities in our country,” the Grand Duchess said.
During their meeting, the Grand Duchess and the Mufti exchanged commemorative gifts, books, and souvenirs. Mufti Gaynetdin gave the Grand Duchess a limited edition tea service, made by the Imperial St. Petersburg Porcelain Factory, commemorating the opening of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque.
After the conclusion of her visit to the Moscow Cathedral Mosque, Grand Duchess Maria of Russia attended a banquet hosted by Mufti Gaynetdin in honour of her visit.
For more information see:
http://www.dumrf.ru/common/event/14622
http://www.dumrf.ru/common/event/14623
http://www.dumrf.ru/common/event/14625
The House of Romanoff and the Muslim community after the 1917 Revolution:
https://www.proza.ru/2016/05/15/110