Republic of Kazakhstan,
Astana, Press Service of the First President of Kazakhstan © 2022

News

Nursultan Nazarbayev participated in the opening ceremony of the Grand Mosque of the city of Nur-Sultan

Events

Members of the clergy, public figures, representatives of the diplomatic corps and mass media also attended the ceremony.

Addressing the gathering, Nursultan Nazarbayev stressed that today’s event is of essential importance not only for the capital but for the whole Islamic world.

“In March 2019, one day prior to resignation of my presidential powers, I laid the foundation stone of the mosque. In Kazakhstan, as in the whole world, the mosques have tremendous spiritual and social significance,” the First President noted.

Nursultan Nazarbayev emphasized that the mosques play a great role in connecting people, building a peaceful world, promoting kindness and ideas of humanism.  

“I am confident that this mosque, unique in many ways, one of the largest mosques in Central Asia will make its contribution to strengthening harmony and stability in our society. The new mosque artfully combines classic Islamic culture with traditional Kazakh style. The best specialists and experts from different countries have been attracted for design and construction of this building,” the First President stated.

Nursultan Nazarbayev voiced a number of features of the Grand Mosque of the capital. One of the largest Qibla wall with Allah’s 99 names on it and one of the longest in the world calligraphy manuscripts are among them.

“I would like to emphasize that the whole magnificent object, at the same time accommodating almost 30 thousand people, was built through private donations and funds of investors. Not a single Tenge from the government budget has been spent on the construction works. I am sincerely grateful to all those people who were involved in this event. I also thank the Sembol Constuctions employees who have implemented the project,” Nursultan Nazarbayev said.

Having noted the significance of the Islamic spiritual centers in educating people, the First President of Kazakhstan also stressed that the new architectural object designed to become a new tourist attraction place in the capital.

“Undoubtedly, the new mosque will become a tourist landmark for the residents and guests of the capital. Thus, the mosque will be open for all people of all beliefs because Kazakhstan is a territory of peace and creation,” Nursultan Nazarbayev concluded.

 

For reference:

The main dome of the mosque measures 62 meters in diameter and 83 meters in height. The minarets of the mosque reach a height of 130 meters.

The total area of the mosque is more than 68 thousand square meters. Twenty-five mln tiny crystals were used for construction of the Qibla wall that has more than 22 meters in height and 100 meters in width.

The carpet in the main hall covers the area of 16.5 thousand square meters. The medallion of the carpet is 70 meters in diameter.

The largest chandelier in the main hall measures 27 meters in diameter and weighs 20 tons.