Muslims of Sergiev Posad are going to sell the mosque building because they cannot maintain it

in 2003 The Muslim community of the Sergiev Posad district of the Moscow region intends to sell the building of the mosque, around the construction of which there was a conflict .

According to Arslan Sadriev, the head of the region's Muslim religious society, the building of the mosque is unprofitable and the community is not able to maintain it on its own. There are 30 active parishioners (out of 80 who have joined the community), while the community is designed for 280 people. In total, according to A. Sadriev, 10 thousand Muslims live in the region.

"If the community is not able to complete and maintain the mosque, then it is necessary to sell it and buy a building that will be able to maintain it," said the head of the Sergiev Posad Muslims. In this situation, it is easier to buy a minibus and take believers to one of the Moscow mosques, says A. Sadriev.

The Union of Orthodox Citizens issued a statement calling the intention to sell the mosque an "act of good will" on the part of Muslims.

"We consider this intention an act of goodwill. We see that many Muslims are beginning to get rid of the expansionist fervor of their leaders, who consider the construction of a mosque in the capital of Russian Orthodoxy - Sergiev Posad - a matter of principle. The fact that there were not enough Muslims in Sergiev Posad - This is yet another proof that the mosque was built not to meet the spiritual needs of Muslims, but for the purpose of expansion, with a demonstrative intention to demonstrate its presence in a holy place - near the walls of the Lavra of St. Sergius. Meanwhile, such defiant actions for the Orthodox are being prepared by the council of muftis. We are talking about the intention to build a minaret of the Moscow cathedral mosque on Prospect Mira, almost equal in height to the bell tower of Ivan the Great and the intention to build mosques of the "council of muftis" in all administrative districts of Moscow. They will be as empty as Sergiev Posadskaya, "the statement says. .

On August 22, the Ulema Council of the Central Spiritual Muslim Board condemned the desire of believers to sell the mosque. The statement spread by the Council says: "1. Mosques are the houses of God, they are dedicated to the Lord the Creator, in them the faithful glorify Almighty Allah. It is said in the Holy Quran: "Verily, temples (mosques - places of worship of God) are dedicated to Allah ..." ( al-Jinn, 18).

1. The Muslim community, according to the canons of Islam, can properly and legally acquire the temples of the People of the Book (Jews and Christians), bring them into line with the requirements of the Sharia and then use them as a mosque.

2. No mosque may be sold to anyone other than Islam.

And let it be known to those who want to commit this ungodly deed that in none of the books on Islamic law (and above all on the Hanafi madhhab), in none of the cases described, the possibility of selling a mosque for any known reason is mentioned. This is clearly stated in the authoritative work of Ibn Abidin, in the well-known collections of fatwas (according to the Hanafi madhhab) "al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya", "al-Fatawa al-Walwaljiya", etc.

The Central Muslim Spiritual Directorate of Russia has repeatedly stated that the construction of a mosque in the Sergiev Posad district of the Moscow region does not meet the interests of the Muslims of the country and this region in particular. Now this is recognized by the head of the religious society of the above-mentioned region, Arslan Sadriev. Indeed, the construction of this mosque did not pursue concern for spirituality, but on the contrary, it set the task of causing harm to interfaith relations in Russia as a whole. And the “unprofitable” mosque erected in the Sergiev Posad region and many other similar houses of God built not on the field of piety have a similar fate ... And therefore, the Ulema Council calls on those who are considering getting rid of “unprofitable” mosques through sale the gravity of the sin they want to commit..."

Sources

• The Muslim community of Sergiev Posad is not able to maintain the building of the new mosque and may sell it // Interfax-religion. 2005. July 12.
• The Union of Orthodox Citizens supports the intention of the head of the Islamic community of Sergiev Posad to sell the building of the mosque // United Fatherland. 2005. 13 July.
• Council of Ulema strongly condemns attempt to sell mosque in Sergiev Posad // MOSLEM.RU. 2005. August 22.