Controversy surrounding the report of the head of the Nizhny Novgorod region's Muslim Spiritual Board

Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, deputy head of the DECR, considers the report of Umar Idrisov, mufti of the Nizhny Novgorod region, characterizing Orthodox-Muslim relations and the confessional policy of the state, provocative.

Commenting on the mufti's statement about the inadmissibility of the introduction of military clergy, Orthodox disciplines in schools and the presence of Orthodox symbols in state institutions, Father Vsevolod said: "The development of our Church is unthinkable without it being the center of the identity of Russia and its people, unthinkable without the presence in the army, in the media, in the public space, and this should be a presence to a degree adequate to the number of people baptized in Orthodoxy in our country."

Faith, according to the priest, cannot be imposed on schoolchildren, but if a person fundamentally does not want to know the history of the Russian Church and its art, it is better for him to find another country for himself - "this is the same as refusing to learn the Russian language."

The statements of the head of the SAMNO "challenge the inter-religious world," believes Fr. Vsevolod Chaplin. "Such calls are nothing more than an encroachment on the free choice by Orthodox citizens of Russia of their way of life and their national idea. For me, the presence of such calls means an open hostile challenge," said the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church.

islam.ru believes that Prot. Vsevolod Chaplin "pulled Idrisov's statements out of context, giving them a different meaning and turning them into a 'distorting mirror'." The Islam.ru journalist stressed that U. Idrisov "was talking exclusively about equality and secular education, which are directly guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation!": "It is unlikely that any Muslim is against teaching information about the views of Orthodox cultural figures and their works in schools. the main question is who will teach and according to what manuals - church propaganda or secular and scientific?"

in the spirit of V. Chaplin spoke Kirill Frolov, press secretary of the Union of Orthodox Citizens, . His interview provoked a reaction from DUM NO.

The author of the last comment, Damir Mukhetdinov (as we know from the reprint on the Islam-Info website), considered it necessary to write the following about K. Frolov:

"... Muslims are sincerely bewildered that on behalf of supposedly Russian Orthodox citizens, representatives of completely different circles who have lost their roots (Mr. Frolov - baptized Jew ...) Actually, it is precisely such people, assimilated and having lost their tribal origin, that have always acted as "permanent revolutionaries", being eternally dissatisfied with their personal status and well-being - it is enough to recall the organizers and ideologists of the Bolshevik coup of 1917 " .

This passage apparently needs no commentary. In any case, "Islam-Info" did not give any comments.

Commenting on the discussion as a whole, the leader of the Islamic Committee of Russia, Heydar Dzhemal , stated that "Father Vsevolod Chaplin acts as an adherent of the oldest and reactionary forms of spiritual colonialism, or as a kind of modern fascist. He better know which of these he is closer to.

As for Idrisov, he is a very gentle, moderate, law-abiding and very traditional imam for Tatar Islam, who lies within the narrow limits of the "traditional hesitation" that does not allow himself anything beyond a cautious minimum. In relation to him, the definition of "extremist" sounds simply ridiculous."

Sources

• The Moscow Patriarchate regards the protest of the Nizhny Novgorod mufti against the free development of Orthodoxy in Russia as a challenge to the interreligious world // Interfax-religion. 2006. June 15.
• Speech by U. Idrisov in the "distorting mirror" of Deputy Metropolitan Kirill // Islam.ru. 2006. June.
• Pseudo-Islam and Protestantism Oppose Orthodoxy in Moscow // Cyril and Methodius. 2006. June 26.
• Where did "Frolovshchina" come from or Why did Chaplin "change his mind"? // Islam in Nizhny Novgorod. 2006. June 30.
• Leader of the Islamic Committee of Russia GEYDAR DZHEMAL: "Father Vsevolod Chaplin acts as an adherent of the most reactionary forms of spiritual colonialism or as a modern fascist" // Portal-Credo.ru. 2006. July 3.