A brand-new mosque was officially inaugurated in Moscow, Russia on Wednesday after a drawn-out, 10-year project, according to The New York Times.
The mosque's construction caused controversy and drew criticism in Russia. Though Muslim is a fast-growing religion in the country, the Russian Orthodox Church represents a larger population. Many people protested the building of the mosque, which is now officially open to worshippers.
President Vladimir Putin called the building the biggest mosque in Europe. "Terrorists from the so-called Islamic State are compromising a great world religion, compromising Islam; sowing hatred; killing people, including clergy; and barbarically destroying monuments of world culture," Putin said in a speech at the event. "Russia's Muslim leaders are bravely and fearlessly using their own influence to resist this extremist propaganda."
The Moscow Cathedral Mosque can hold 10,000 people. It's the replacement for a much smaller mosque, a 1,000-capacity building, and rises up three stories against the Moscow skyline. Before this, the city was under-equipped to provide space for Muslim worshippers. The city has only four mosques total, according to CNN.
The leaders of Turkey and Palestine both attended the opening of the mosque. There are about two million Muslims in Russia, according to Yahoo! News.
