The Crimean Tatar autochthonous people of Crimea had been facing sought permission to build a mosque on the location of the current site since 1996, but the requests were rejected by the Sevastopol City Council for various reasons (a positive decision was made in 2004, but this was rolled back in 2008), which occasionally proposed to change the location from Yalta Highway 22 to Lugovaya Street 6.

[1] In January 2008 the Crimean Tatars erected a tent city on the location in protest of the inaction of the council and began to transport around 100,000 limestone pieces to the site.

Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People member Refat Chubarov was quoted saying that the mosque project was expected to cost more than $10 million, most of which would be provided by Turkish and other foreign donors.

[4] Finally, on 15 February 2011 the City Council relented and voted to issue a construction permit to the Spiritual Direction of the Muslims of Crimea for the 2.8-hectare (6.9-acre) plot, and the Crimean Tatars placed a large memorial stone on the location of the future mosque in March.

The cathedral mosque follows the cross-dome layout that is typical of Byzantine architecture and is inspired by the Hagia Sophia, with the dome resting on a square of semi-domes.

The Simferopol Cathedral Mosque also features a rich flower garden, park area, galleries, and a fountain as part of its design.