The festive event was attended by the Emir of Bukhara, Said Abdulahad Khan (1859–1910), and prominent figures of the Muslim community of the capital of the Russian Empire. It can be said without exaggeration that the exceptional role in the success of the long-standing efforts to lay the first stone of the Saint Petersburg Cathedral Mosque was played by the personal involvement of Said Abdulahad Khan.
The ninth ruler of the Emirate of Bukhara was a remarkable figure in many respects. His reign over the Emirate of Bukhara was marked by important steps towards the region’s industrialization and modernization. Among the Emir’s initiatives were the construction of a railway between Old and New Bukhara, the initiation of mineral extraction, and the opening of the first metallurgical plants. In the humanitarian sphere, he earned respect from contemporaries and descendants for limiting capital punishment and his philanthropy.
As a member of the Turkestan Charitable Society, Said Abdulahad Khan paid special attention to the affairs of Islam. The Emir of Bukhara also responded to the requests for assistance from the Muslims in Saint Petersburg. During an audience with Nicholas II in 1904, he accomplished the impossible – securing the Emperor's approval for the construction of a mosque in Saint Petersburg.
Two years later, on May 28, 1906, the Committee for the Construction of the Cathedral Mosque commenced its operations. It is no surprise that, having once taken the construction of the mosque in Petersburg under his patronage, the Emir of Bukhara also became one of its most significant benefactors.
You can learn more about this topic in the book-album “The Collection of the State Museum of the History of Religion” (Volume XII) from the series “Cultural legacy of Uzbekistan in the world collections”.
The general sponsor of the project is the oilfield services company Eriell-Group.
