The Heart of Chechnya Mosque

The Heart of Chechnya Mosque (Akhmad Kadyrov Mosque) in the centre of Grozny is one of the largest mosques in Europe and the principal congregational mosque of the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation. The mosque was inaugurated in 2008 and is named in honour of Akhmad Kadyrov — the first president of the Chechen Republic in the post-Soviet period and the father of the current head of the Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov — who was assassinated in 2004. The mosque was designed by a team of Turkish architects in the classical Ottoman tradition modelled on the Blue Mosque of Istanbul, with a large central dome flanked by smaller cascading half-domes and four corner minarets each rising sixty-three metres — the height intentionally chosen to match the age of the Prophet Muhammad at the time of his death. The exterior is finished in white travertine marble imported from Turkey and the interior is decorated with hand-painted ornament, gold leaf, Iznik-style tilework, lavish chandeliers and large hand-knotted carpets. The main prayer hall accommodates approximately ten thousand worshippers, with capacity for tens of thousands more in the surrounding plaza during Eid prayers and major Islamic occasions. The mosque sits at the centre of the rebuilt post-war Grozny along the Sunzha River, surrounded by the high-rise towers of the Grozny City complex.