Khusainia Mosque (Orenburg): history and current state

The Khusainia Mosque is one of the eight historical mosques in Orenburg. It was built in the late XIX century. To date, the Khusainia Mosque in the city of Orenburg is the main religious and cultural center for the large Muslim community of the region.

Muslims in Orenburg

The unofficial name of Orenburg is "the Asian capital of Russia". And this nickname, obviously, the city received not by chance. As you know, Orenburg was founded in the middle of the 18th century with the goal of establishing diplomatic and trade ties between Russia and the peoples of Central Asia. Soon after the Ural River was built a spacious market area for holding fairs. The dominant position in the market life of Orenburg for a long time was occupied by the Tatars.

In the middle of the XIX century in the year lived about 3 thousand Muslims. At the beginning of the last century, their total number increased to 37,000. Most of Orenburg's Muslims were engaged in trade and handicraft production. They willingly sold meat, cattle, wool, flour, fresh and dried fruit to other townspeople.

In the period until 1917 eight mosques were built in Orenburg. The oldest of them (Menoveninskaya) was built in 1785. It was a small square in plan building with two minarets and one dome. In 1930, the religious construction was demolished by the Soviet authorities.

Many of the historical shrines of Orenburg today are used for other purposes. Fortunately, Khusainia Mosque was returned to believers in the early 1990s. And today it hosts divine services. The minaret of the ancient building stands out above the historical center of the city.

Khusainia Mosque (Orenburg, Orenburg region): the history of the monastery

The appearance of a beautiful building on Kirov Street is due to the Tatar merchant and philanthropist Ahmed-bai Khusainov. He was a wealthy man. It was his means, designed by the architect Korin in 1892, that the Khusainia Mosque was built in Orenburg.

Khusainov was a famous person in the city. However, local authorities twice denied him the construction of a mosque. On the third request, the patron of art received approval from the city council. This happened on March 4, 1892. In less than two years, the mosque was fully prepared for operation. The architecture of the building traces the details of several European styles.

The arrival of the new mosque was made up by the numerous Muslims of the city - artisans, merchants and petty officials. The Khusainia Mosque was closed in 1931. In the building, the dormitory of the pedagogical technical school was first placed. Later it was in the department of the local Ministry of Internal Affairs. In the summer of 1991, according to the decision of the city council deputies, the mosque was transferred to the believers. The Muslims of the city immediately began to rebuild their monastery.

The Khusainia Mosque and its current state

In the early 90's, the Muslims of the city looked with horror at what the mosque had turned into in the last 60 years. But by common efforts, order in the monastery was prompted very quickly. The building was fully renovated, the yard was completely cleaned of accumulated garbage. In April 1993, the first collective prayer was already read in the mosque. A year later, its minaret was decorated with a golden crescent moon.

Today, the mosque carries out a full list of religious Muslim holidays and rituals, as well as lessons on the basics of Islam. Today the Khusainia mosque is one of Orenburg's business cards. Often it is visited by tourists. All of them note, though very modest, but very beautiful interior decoration of the temple. The mosque is open for visits daily, from 8 am to 10:30 pm.

Medrese Khusainia at the mosque

At the mosque in the city of Orenburg, there is also a madrasah (a traditional Muslim educational institution). It was also founded at the end of the 19th century on the initiative and money of Ahmed Khusainov. In the madrassa there was a 14-class training system. Classes were divided into three initial, four middle, four intermediate and three higher.

Teaching was conducted according to a new method. In addition to traditional subjects, children studied the humanities and natural sciences (in particular, the Russian language). In Khusainia's madrasah there was a rich library in its filling. Here you could find books and works in Tatar, Turkish, Russian and Arabic.

Finally

The Khusainia Mosque is an important focus of the Muslim life not only of Orenburg, but of the entire region. It was built in 1892. For a long time the mosque did not fulfill its direct functions, however in the early 1990s it was returned to believers and restored.