Nizhny Novgorod Muslims claim land near the temple, given over to a ski resort

In Nizhny Novgorod, the situation around the planned construction of a ski complex and a cable car in the area of the Cathedral Mosque is escalating. Due to the implementation of investment projects, the regional government refused to provide the regional Spiritual Administration of Muslims (DUMNO) with land to expand the territory of the temple. Fearing that the construction will threaten the Cathedral Mosque, DUMNO is preparing to defend its interests in court. The government promises to negotiate with investors “on land concessions for the Muslim community.” Experts believe that the search for a compromise will depend on the degree of development of investment projects, but it will clearly be accelerated by the intervention of the governor and the upcoming elections.

The situation surrounding the development of the territory adjacent to the Nizhny Novgorod Cathedral Mosque was discussed yesterday by the director of the department of urban development of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Alexander Bodrievsky, and representatives of DUMNO. The reason for the meeting was the regional government’s refusal to provide Muslims with land for expanding the mosque complex. At the end of September, in response to a request from DUMNO, Deputy Governor Valery Anglichaninov said that now in the areas adjacent to the mosque there are plans to reconstruct the existing ski jump complex, build a ski complex, a cable car and housing, and therefore “there are no free territories.” The deputy governor clarified that all projects were approved by the investment council under the head of the region, and recommended that the clergy “make maximum use of the reserves of the existing territory.” The answer outraged DUMNO: having announced the “threat of destruction of a historical and architectural monument of federal significance,” the department initiated a discussion on its own official website and city forum, called for “jihad to save the shrine,” and yesterday the DUMNO presidium decided to turn to the Prosecutor General’s Office and the president for help and the federal government.

“The cathedral mosque can no longer accommodate all the praying Muslims. Therefore, for the next decade, we planned to reconstruct the territory of the mosque, increasing its area up to five times. We notified the authorities about these plans two years ago,” explained Damir-Khazrat Mukhetdinov, first deputy chairman of the DUMNO. According to him, despite the fact that the construction of facilities is planned to be launched almost close to the mosque, Muslims were not notified about the projects and were not invited to meetings of the investment council that made decisions. The deputy chairman of DUMNO noted that the department is already consulting with specialized lawyers and in the near future intends to “transfer the protest from an emotional plane to a constructive one,” including defending its interests in court.

In turn, Alexander Bodrievsky, following a meeting with representatives of DUMNO, said that decisions on the facilities around the mosque, which “are planned to be built in the interests of residents of the city and region,” were made by the investment council six months ago, and a request from Muslims for the provision of land for the expansion of the mosque was received “ just recently – September 17.” “Despite this, we are ready to negotiate with investors on land concessions for the needs of the Muslim community. I think that solutions will be found and the problem will be solved,” Mr. Bodrievsky is confident.

In OJSC Nizhegorodkapstroy (co-owners are the regional government and the SU-155 holding), which plans to invest 6.5 billion rubles. involved in the construction of a ski complex and is currently designing the facility, they did not comment on the prospects for negotiations with the authorities and DUMNO yesterday, noting that the company has not yet been informed about the conflict.

Experts believe that the prospects for litigation, both in court and pre-trial, will depend on the stage of implementation of investment projects. “If the projects have already been worked out in detail, then it will be difficult to resolve the conflict. Otherwise, there are chances, and quite good ones - the Muslim diaspora in our region is very strong,” notes Tatyana Romancheva, director of the Nizhny Novgorod Center for Scientific Expertise. “The outcome of the case depends on the current stage of the procedure for allocating land plots. For example, if territorial zoning, according to which the location of a particular object is approved, is still pending, then public hearings should take place after it. At these hearings, DUMNO, as the owner of an adjacent land plot, has the opportunity to express its claims,” adds Semyon Epshtein, managing partner of the Padva and Epshtein law office, noting that “if we consider the issue not from a legal, but from a universal point of view, then the regional government should have made the Muslim diaspora aware of the planned development.”

In general, analysts believe that in light of the upcoming municipal elections (scheduled for March 2010), the authorities will make a compromise, and it will be found faster with the personal participation of the governor in the conflict.

Lyudmila Aristova

The mosque is as good as a ski track