It was through the Kabardians (an East Circassian tribe) that Islam was introduced into North Ossetia – Alania in the 17th century.
The Ossetian capital of Vladikavkaz houses the Mukhtarov Mosque, built in the beginning of the 20th century.
Money for the construction of the mosque was donated by the Azerbaijani tycoon Murtuza Mukhtarov.
The mosque was built in the Egyptian style and has no architectural analogies in the North Caucasus.
After the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, Islam, like all other religions in the Soviet Union, was suppressed and many mosques and Muslim theological schools were closed.