Mosques of the Old Tatar settlement (Starotatarskaya Sloboda)
August 23
Among the historical and architectural sights of the Old Tatar settlement there is a monument that has evoked a special feeling among Muslims for two centuries now – a sense of reverence. This is one of the two oldest and the first stone mosques in the city, built after the conquest of the Kazan Khanate, now known under the name of the outstanding religious figure Shigabutdin Mardjani.
The snow-white building with an elegant minaret and golden crescents, towering majestically on the high bank of The Lake Kaban, begins its history from the distant 1767, when the provincial center was blessed with a visit by Empress Catherine II. The enlightened Empress then deigned to receive a representative delegation from the Tatar people and graciously listened to a petition in which the Muslims complained that the fire of 1749 and the unjust actions of local authorities deprived them of their right to practice their religious rites. Members of the delegation, wealthy Kazan merchants and entrepreneurs, asked the “protector” to stop the persecution and allow the residents of the settlement to build two stone mosques. Catherine II, a staunch supporter of religious tolerance in the state, ordered the governor Andrei Kvashnin-Samarin to issue an appropriate permit and not interfere with the construction work of the Tatars.
When visiting Kazan in May 1767, the Empress highly appreciated the reception given to her by the townspeople. In her letters, she repeatedly emphasized her interest in this ancient city and its inhabitants: “It is impossible to leave from here; so many different objects worthy of a look, but ideas for ten years can be collected here”i. She also paid ostentatious attention to the needs of the Muslim community of Kazan, having carefully listened to the representatives of the delegation of the settlement Tatars. In the presence of the Kazan Governor, Privy Councilor and Senator A.N. Kvashnin-Samarin, they asked the Empress for the highest permission to build two stone mosques in the settlement. They motivated their petition with great difficulties in practicing their religious rites, pointing out that “although there was one wooden mosque left in that old settlement, it was rather small and very dilapidated, and they, being deprived of such mosques by their law, and it was impossible to go to prayer in other remote places, that is why they left almost all their trades and handicrafts.”ii
According to the governor, “Her Imperial Majesty, condescending to their ask, deigned to verbally allow them to build mosques, and for that she promised the senator to issue a written command, why he, in anticipation of this, could not create obstacles in the construction of mosques.”iii K. Nasyri cited a legend according to which Empress Catherine, having accepted the petition of the Kazan rich people (bais) and having given her consent, indicated the place where the mosque was to be built herself. “She,” the enlightener wrote, “showed great generosity towards Muslims and, being among them, asked if they were suffering from troubles from the Russian people. The Muslims, not at all complaining about the Russians, answered her: “Praise be to Allah, we do not know any torment.”iv
Kazan Muslims almost immediately outlined plots for the construction of two temples. The construction of the mosques was completed by 1771. In the legendary information cited by K. Nasyri, it was indicated that the temples were built with great haste, “wishing to use the favorable opportunity provided by Empress Catherine II as soon as possible. But the haste led to the fact that when laying the building, the direction to Mecca was inaccurately determined, so the qibla in both mosques turned out to be somewhat displaced. (The mosque should face the Muslim shrine of the Kaaba in the city of Mecca). When it came to building a minaret, the city authorities, concerned about its height, wrote to Catherine II: “Although you gave Muslims permission to build mosques, they build very high.” To this the Empress replied: “I determined their place on earth, but they are free to rise to the sky at their discretion, because the sky is not a part of my possessions.”v
i extract from “Famous people about Kazan and Kazan region”. –Kazanь, 1999. – page. 57.
ii Russian State Historical Archives F. 796. Оп. 51. D.345. – P. 197 – 198.
iii the same
iv K.Nasyri Selected works – Kazan, 1977. – P. 14.
v K.Nasyri Selected works- Kazan, 1977 –P. 15.
ii Russian State Historical Archives F. 796. Оп. 51. D.345. – P. 197 – 198.
iii the same
iv K.Nasyri Selected works – Kazan, 1977. – P. 14.
v K.Nasyri Selected works- Kazan, 1977 –P. 15.
Radik SALIKHOV
Director of the Institute of History named after Sh. Mardjani of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Honored Scientist of the Republic of Tatarstan, Full Member of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan
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