Central Mosque in Moscow Opened, Erdoğan and Putin Meet

Thousands of believers attended the ceremonial opening of the Central Moscow Mosque, the construction of which lasted 10 years, attended by Russian and Turkish Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and several thousand believers, writes Al Jazeera, reports the BH News Agency Patria.

The capacity of this mosque is 10,000 believers who will now be able to pray in a beautiful religious facility.

- The opening of the mosque is significant for a large number of reasons. It is especially important for the residents of Moscow, but also because of the message it sends. Moscow has always critically lacked mosques. This one can accommodate 10,000 believers, but that is not enough. Nearly two million Muslims live in Moscow alone, and close to 20 million in Russia - Al Jazeera reporter Peter Sharp reported.

He added that it is estimated that by 2050, half of the population in that country will be Muslims.

Sharp said that the message the Kremlin hopes to have sent to other regions, primarily Dagestan and Ingushetia, where a large number of rebels are located, is important. They hope that this news and images sent from here will win sympathy in those regions.

- Don't forget, 2,400 citizens of Dagestan have joined ISIL in combat. Also, official Moscow hopes that this will be a catalyst for changes in the Middle East, which will allow them to change their position in that part of the world, especially in the case of Syria - Sharp said.