It is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most northernly-situated mosque in the world.

It was built by businessman Mukhtad Bekmeyev, an ethnic Tatar native of Norilsk, who named it after his father Nuritdin and mother Gaynikamal.

It was designed by a local architect, Josef Muire, with funds provided by British philanthropist Stephen Trantham, and was opened for prayers in 1998.

For example, Norilsk's minaret tower, which is generally supposed to have a round shape, has a square base, because in such walls, the bricks do not freeze and they are more resistant to wind loads.

Norilsk has a Muslim population of about 50,000, mostly migrants from Azerbaijan and Dagestan, although it is shrinking due to the area's harsh environment and unfavorable work opportunities.