Ekibastuz Mosque: Friday Mosque of Ekibastuz, Kazakhstan

Site at a Glance

Rating

★4.8

Popularity

Low

Country

Kazakhstan

Primary era

Modern

Eras represented

Modern

Civilizations

Unclassified

Site type

Religious

Remains

Mosque

History

Ekibastuz Mosque is the Friday mosque of Ekibastuz, Kazakhstan, completed in 1998 in an Arab domed style. It follows the Hanafi school, one of the four major Sunni Islamic schools of jurisprudence, and is affiliated with the Muslim Board of Kazakhstan, the country’s principal Islamic religious institution for coordinating many mosques and religious activities.

The mosque’s foundation was laid through the combined efforts of religious supporters and business representatives in Ekibastuz, a city associated with a major energy complex in Pavlodar Region. Construction was completed in 1998, and the mosque opened on 11 September that year at a ceremony attended by Mufti Ratbek Haji. A mufti is a senior Islamic religious authority qualified to interpret Islamic law, while Haji is an honorific for a Muslim who has completed the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Financial and organizational support came from former Ekibastuz mayors R. Zhumatayev and E. Orazalinov, entrepreneur E. Arbiev, chief architect and project designer Zhenis Khaidarov, and the presidents of coal-mining companies R. Gainullin and A. Utegenov. K. Akanov, the Abgozhinov brothers, and other citizens also contributed. Baurzhan Otarbayev is identified as the mosque’s imam.

Remains

Exterior and Grounds

The mosque occupies 2.8 hectares and is organized around a domed building with two minarets, or towers traditionally associated with a mosque and the call to prayer. Its large dome has a diameter of 6 metres, while the large minaret rises 53 metres. The minaret’s height carries a religious interpretation linked to Muhammad’s life: he received his prophetic mission at the age of 40 and migrated from Mecca to Medina 13 years later, at the age of 53. This migration, known as the Hijra, took place in 622 CE and marks the beginning of the Islamic lunar calendar.

The mosque can accommodate 1,000 people. Its exterior outline is understood to form the word “Allah” when the large minaret, small minaret, dome, and western-side roof are traced by hand from right to left. A greenhouse connected with the mosque has a glass roof and is used to grow flowers during both winter and summer.

Interior Arrangement

The upper-floor vestibule covers 324 square metres. A room for marriage ceremonies is located on the first floor, and eight rooms serve the staff. The main hall measures 24 metres in length and 18 metres in width, while the women’s hall measures 18 metres by 6 metres. Together, these spaces support the mosque’s role as a large religious and communal building.

Decoration and Inscriptions

National ornamental designs decorate both the interior and exterior walls, including the Saryarka ram’s-horn motif. Saryarka is the broad steppe region of central Kazakhstan, and the ram’s-horn design resembles curved horns. The main hall contains a 390-kilogram crystal chandelier and inscriptions of the Quran’s Al-Fatiha surah, its opening chapter, and the first ten verses of Al-Baqarah, the Quran’s second and longest surah.