Moscow suburban Muslims are asked to present documents

In Kotelniki near Moscow, as well as in neighboring Dzerzhinsky, the conflict over the local Muslim community continues. A group of citizens dissatisfied with the proximity to the Muslim prayer house complained to President Vladimir Putin. In turn, members of the local religious community in their appeal earlier drew the attention of the head of state to the “flagrant” actions of the security forces, who interrupted the Friday collective prayer with a raid.

The conflict in Kotelniki went public after last Monday, representatives of the local Muslim community released a video message to the President of the Russian Federation, in which they asked to stand up for the constitutional rights of believers. On July 7, they said, the security forces who broke into the cult building did not allow the audience to complete the Friday prayer and frightened the children. Kommersant found out that representatives of an organization called the Russian Community could have initiated the check of Muslims. On Thursday, a video message to the head of state from residents of Kotelniki appeared on the Telegram channel “Russian Community ZOV”: “After an inspection of one of the cultural centers of the MROM (a local religious organization of Muslims.— “b”) the employees revealed the illegal activities of this center, since religious ceremonies cannot be held in cultural centers. Some citizens disobeyed the lawful actions of employees and attacked them.” Several dozen people demanded to “leave law enforcement agencies alone, as they acted exclusively by legal methods.” “We all must understand that we cannot continue to live like this, we are not France and not Kosovo, in which a mess has been created and is being created,” the audience said. “The flow of migrants entering our country must be urgently stopped, otherwise there will be a social explosion” .

In response, the head of the MROM Kotelnikov Salavat Ibatullin noted that the non-residential premises where collective prayers take place are legally rented by a religious organization, and the cultural center is located at a different address.

It was not possible to get a comment from the head of the Kotelniki urban district, Sergei Zhigalkin, about the appeal of local residents to Vladimir Putin and checks of representatives of the Muslim community, Kommersant failed. Kirill Kabanov, head of the National Anti-Corruption Committee and member of the Presidential Human Rights Council (HRC), told Kommersant that the HRC has begun preparing proposals to counter the formation of ethnic enclaves in Russia. In Kotelniki, according to Mr. Kabanov, just such an enclave has been formed.

On July 14, law enforcement officers again interrupted the festive Friday prayer. This time they came to inspect another building rented by the Muslims of Kotelnikov, as well as to the MROM building of the neighboring Dzerzhinsky. “On the request of the imam and the parishioners not to interrupt the prayer and not to walk in shoes in front of the prayers on the carpets, the law enforcement officers did not react, but, on the contrary, provoked the believers, saying that they (believers.— “b”) wash their feet and face in the same sink. The request of the imam to provide documents was refused, – told Kommersant in the MROM of Dzerzhinsk. – The leadership of the community and the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Moscow Region intend to file complaints and applications to the authorities and the presidential apparatus. They recalled that MROM Dzerzhinsky is “an official organization under the control of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Moscow Region, registered by the Ministry of Justice.”

Mufti, Sheikh Ravil Gaynutdin, the chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia and the Council of Muftis of Russia, joined the settlement of the conflict. “Of course, the forced placement of Muslim places of worship among residential buildings creates a burden on the city’s infrastructure and difficulties for residents, so a wise decision by the authorities of the urban district of Kotelniki would be to allocate a land plot for the construction of two houses of God at once – an Orthodox church and a mosque,” ​​Mr. Gainutdin told Kommersant. “.- This would be a demonstration and confirmation of the unity and centuries-old good-neighborliness of the peoples of Russia.”

This is not the first such case, the director of the Sova information and analytical center liquidated by the court (the decision has not yet entered into force) (monitoring manifestations of xenophobia and extremism, included in the register of foreign agents) Alexander Verkhovsky described the conflict in a city near Moscow: “Usually this ends with negotiations and some kind of settlement – at least that’s how it’s always been.”

Emilia Gabdullina