The plot of the “Time” program caused discontent among Muslims

On May 26, 2013, the Vremya program on Channel One aired a story dedicated to the fight against terrorism and the murder of al-Qaeda members in the Moscow region. In the report, in particular, there was a comment from the head of the Volga Center for Regional and Ethno-Religious Studies, Rais Suleymanov, who stated that “in the center of Russia and in the Volga region, Jihad is beginning to unfold to create an Islamic caliphate in the country”: “The most powerful Wahhabi centers besides the North Caucasus operate in Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Mordovia, Saratov, Orenburg, Penza and Nizhny Novgorod regions."

This plot caused discontent among several Muslim organizations. On May 28, a statement was published by the mufti of the Saratov region, Akhmed-haji Makhmetov, in which he expressed dissatisfaction with the report shown and demanded that it be checked for signs of extremism and incitement of religious hatred.

“I believe that with such stories, with unsubstantiated accusations against the second largest religious community, our country is sliding into interfaith hostility and is approaching a dangerous line, beyond which the collapse of the state may occur. This is all the more fraught in the current difficult situation , ” the statement says.

The Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Penza Region also issued an appeal in connection with the broadcast of the story of the “Time” program. “Such statements are unacceptable, since they not only do not correspond to reality, but also lead to the incitement of interethnic, interfaith, as well as intra-confessional hatred, mislead the inhabitants of the country and instill intolerance and hostility towards representatives of the Islamic religion , ” the document says. Penza Muslims recalled the responsibility of journalists for disseminating false information.

Chairman of the Committee for Public Relations and National Policy of the Saratov Region Boris Shinchuk supported the statements of Penza and Saratov Muslims: “Such statements cannot be made, because this is not a court decision, not the official position of the security forces, but simply the words of some incomprehensible center.” The official promised to make official inquiries about the report.

Channel One has not yet commented on the report that caused outrage. Sources

• An extremist channel was found in the Saratov region // Kommersant. 2013. May 29.