Nearly 4 million Muslims living in Moscow, the capital of Russia, started to fast and perform tarawih prayers in mosques with the arrival of Ramadan. Due to the approaching of the Eid al-Fitr, the Moscow Mufti's Office speeded up its preparations. Moscow Mufti Ildar Alyautdinov stated that mosques in the city may be insufficient for the Eid al-Fitr, and that new mosques should be built.
Stating that the congregation could not pray together due to the coronavirus during the last Ramadan and Eid al-Adha, Alyautdinov stated that there will be no such restrictions this year and that Muslims will perform eid prayers together.
Alyautdinov, who recalls the images of Muslims in Moscow praying in the streets every year, "I would like to draw attention to the inadequacy of mosques in Moscow. Muslims do not fit in mosques. Even during Friday prayers, more than 30 thousand Muslims are forced to pray in the streets," he said.
Underlining that the situation in question is a big problem for Muslims living in Moscow, Alyautdinov said that for the final solution of the problem, land should be allocated for the construction of new mosques.
In the capital of Russia, there are mosques such as the Historical Mosque, Moscow Memorial Mosque and Yardyam Mosque in Moscow, while 10 thousand Muslims can pray at the same time in the Moscow Central Mosque, the largest mosque in the city. While there are mosques in the city, especially in the suburbs, there are nearly 7 thousand mosques throughout the country.