Muslims Kotelniki ask to protect them from the security forces

Representatives of the Muslim community of Kotelnikov appealed to President Vladimir Putin with a request to protect them from the “flagrant” actions of law enforcement officers, which cause “significant damage to interethnic and interreligious peace and harmony in society.” The reason was a raid during a Friday prayer, which, according to believers, was more like an “operation to detain especially dangerous criminals.” The Ministry of Internal Affairs told Kommersant that the police had nothing to do with the incident. HRC member Kirill Kabanov explained the conflict by the complaints of local residents and the fact that “a religious organization should not be in a residential building.”

On Monday, Muslims from Kotelniki near Moscow published a video message to President Vladimir Putin asking them to protect their constitutional rights from the actions of the security forces. We are talking about a “flagrant in its impudence” raid by law enforcement officers on the “sacred Friday for all Muslims.” On July 7, members of the Muslim community say they were praying as usual in one of the premises rented by the local Muslim religious organization. “Since there are a large number of Muslims in Kotelniki, there are three Muslim centers in the city,” Mufti Rushan Abbyasov, head of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Moscow Region (DUM MO), told Kommersant. /3, OMON officers broke in, who behaved very rudely, did not allow the prayer to be completed, frightened the children, trampled on the carpets in their shoes and even sprayed a fire extinguisher on people.

Salavat Ibatullin, the head of the Kotelnikov religious organization, added that the arrived security forces, without introducing themselves or explaining the reason for the visit, began checking documents. However, believers assure, the procedure was more like “an operation to detain especially dangerous criminals.” “We believe that official places where people come to pray, study their religion, spiritually enlighten and morally educate their children, should not become sites for military operations,” the official statement following the events, which appeared on the website of the DUM MO, says. “Such actions by the security forces discredit the state-confessional relations that have been built for years, and also cause significant damage to interethnic and interreligious peace and harmony in society, which is critically unacceptable, especially now, when the unity of the peoples of Russia is so important.”

“The conflict lies in the fact that a religious organization should not be located in a residential building,” the head of the National Anti-Corruption Committee (NAC), a member of the Human Rights Council, Kirill Kabanov, commented on the events in Kotelniki to Kommersant. certain procedure, including public hearings.” Mr. Kabanov, we note, said last week that the Human Rights Council began preparing proposals to counteract the formation of ethnic enclaves in Russia. Kotelniki Kirill Kabanov cites as an example one of these multi-ethnic enclaves. The HRC member is convinced that the use of a room in a residential building as a mosque interferes with residents: “On Fridays and holidays in an ordinary residential area, they (residents.— “b”) not only they can’t pass, it’s impossible to pass there. ”

As part of the adaptation of labor migrants, Mr. Abbyasov explains the status of the premises, “where it is not possible to build a separate place of worship, Muslim communities legally and commercially rent ready-made premises, organizing multifunctional Muslim centers in them.” Mr. Ibatullin added that the premises where collective prayers are held is rented by a local religious organization (the head of the community did not explain who owns the property).

Kirill Kabanov, in turn, says that in the indicated place there should not be a mosque, but a “cultural center”. Later, at a meeting between residents of Kotelniki and representatives of the city administration, during which the conflict was discussed, the mayor of the city Sergey Zhigalkin said: “The cultural center is designed to carry out culturalization and socialization. To participate in the rites, there is a temple. We are against holding mass events in cultural centers.”

“We have recently created and registered a cultural and educational center in Kotelniki, but this organization is located at a different address,” says Mr. Ibatullin. “Therefore, we do not understand the claims of the security forces.” According to the register of non-profit organizations of the Ministry of Justice, the mentioned organization is registered at the following address: Kotelniki, mkr. Silicate, industrial zone, 18.

As Kommersant found out, the initiators of the check of Muslims could be representatives of an organization called the Russian Community. “The police, at the request of the Russian Community, have just visited two illegal mosques built right in residential buildings. “Accepted” more than 70 people. We are waiting for deportations,” the Russian Community ZOV Telegram channel reported. The channel published footage of operational footage of the security forces an hour after the incident in the prayer house.

The press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Moscow Region told Kommersant that representatives of the department did not take part in the raid: “There were other people there.” It was not possible to get an operational comment from the representatives of the Russian Guard “Kommersant”.

The head of the community, Salavat Ibatullin, noted that about 80% of the parishioners of their organization are Russian citizens. In addition, all migrants detained during the raid have a residence permit. “There are a sufficient number of labor migrants among the parishioners of Muslim centers, we understand the importance of the work of law enforcement agencies, including in the field of migration legislation, but we are against mosques and Muslim centers being places for such checks,” summed up Rushan Abbyasov. “Muslim community The Moscow region demands that the practice of such inhuman and belittling the constitutional rights of Muslim raids be stopped. The activities of our religious organizations are transparent and open, we always cooperate, and we want a respectful attitude in return.”

Emilia Gabdullina