Azimov Mosque (The Sixth Mosque)

Similar in its looks to a finely crafted jewelry box, Azimov Mosque in the 19th century served a gathering place for Muslim workers living in the village of Pleteni.

This mosque was also known as Factory Mosque, as it was located next to the Krestovnikov Factory, which manufactured stearin and soap.

Previously, Tatars living in this area had to walk to Iske-Tash Mosque in the New Tatar sloboda. In 1804, a wooden mosque without a minaret was built here. By 1851, the mosque was in poor shape. One of the richest merchants of Kazan, Mustafa Azimov, who at the time was the head of the Tatar ratusha, or municipal administration, provided the funds to construct a new mosque with a minaret. In the 1860s, his son Murtaza started to build a more spacious mosque, but in 1887 decided to erect the stone building that stands today. Thanks to Murtaza’s efforts, the welfare of the region expanded, and with it, the number of parishioners.

However, Murtaza did not live to see the beginning of construction in 1890. Incidentally, the old mosque was dismantled and transferred to Laishev County.

The esteemed Abdulvali was the patriarch of the Abdulgafarov family, another dynasty associated with Azimov Mosque. Abdulvali became the mosque’s imam-khatib in 1849 and served for 39 years. He even opened the madrassa Gaffariya, where, among others, the well-known dramatist of the Tatar theater Galiskar Kamal studied.

Abduvali’s sons served in this mosque as well. Then as now, The Sixth Mosquewas one of the mosque beautiful mosques in Kazan. One should note the mosque’s “Seljuk chain” patterns, as well as its stalactite cornice, arches, and stained glass windows, which are very rare in Islam. Its narrow, three-tiered minaret measures 51 meters tall.

Interestingly, at the top of mosque can be seen a six-pointed Star of David, which in Islam is known as the Seal of Suleiman.

From 1939-1992, the mosque was closed. It also lost its characteristic soft green color, as the walls were stripped practically down to the brickwork.

Now the mosque is next to the Radiopribor factory in the middle of an industrial zone. During the Soviet era, the mosque served as a dining room for soldiers, and the madrassa functioned as a dormitory. In the mid-20th century, the Tatar Republic’s school for film projection mechanics also opened here, as well as a movie theater, which served the entire region. Only in 1989 was the mosque returned to parishioners. It was reconstructed in 1990-1992 based on the design of Rafik Bilyalov. As in the beginning of the last century, a madrassa has once again opened its doors to pupils.