The construction of a new mosque named after Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has started in the Chechen town of Shali.
The decision to erect the mosque was prompted by "numerous appeals by Chechen residents," Khozh Akhmed Kadyrov, Ramzan Kadyrov's uncle and head of the republic's religious council, said at a foundation-laying ceremony in Shali, according to a statement on the Chechen government's website.
"In the republic, there has been provided the freedom to study and preach Islam," the religious leader said. "And this is the result of the efforts of our leader Ramzan Kadyrov. The Chechen people treasure this."
The new mosque, which will be designed by Uzbek architects, will be the second to bear the name of Kadyrov following the 2008 opening of a mosque in the capital, Grozny, named after Ramzan's late father and former leader Akhmad Kadyrov.
With a projected capacity of up to 10,000 worshipers, the Shali mosque will be among the biggest in Europe. Construction of the new mosque is scheduled to be completed within three years, the statement said.
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