Kurban-Bayram in the city of Moscow

There was no seven in the morning, when Muslims began to gather at the Cathedral Mosque (which on Mira Avenue). Exclusively men, but of various ages and nationalities. There are grandfathers with long gray beards, and immigrants from Central Asia in colorfully embroidered skullcaps, someone even in a white scarf, like a sheikh, and of course, North Caucasian youth in already traditional black baseball caps with the inscription “FBI” .

Kurban-Bayram is the main Muslim holiday, the end of Hajj. For the festive prayer to the main mosque in Moscow, tens of thousands of people come every year. This time it seemed to many that there were fewer people than last year, although it was difficult to objectively evaluate this: by the hour by 9, the whole space around the mosque, as far as the eye is enough, is filled with people. Some of those who came today told me that this year in some areas of Moscow there were new places where a prayer can be made, perhaps, and there were fewer people at the Cathedral Mosque.

Due to the cold, steam fell from his mouth, but this did not stop most of the prayers to remove the shoes. While the police threw a hood over his cap, so as not to get around from the cold, Muslims sat for more than an hour almost on a bare asphalt-someone had a rug with them, and someone just had a piece of cellophane. Mulla's meditative voice spread through the speakers in the neighboring streets and at some moments the prayers synchronously stood up, then knelt down and bowed again. From this mystical action, passers-by were somewhat knocked out, who-how did the beginning of the working day-rushed along the walls at their offices, glancing with interest at Muslims and sometimes photographing them at the mobile phones.

On this day, you especially notice how there are a lot of them among us.

The helicopter running in a circle above the heads, and the endless chains of riot police resembled the organization of safety at mass rallies, but only the mood here is much more calm, even some kind of business. The questions about whether any special procedure for organizing security in connection with the event in Biryulyovo is currently applied today, the police invariably answered that everything is as usual. Which, of course, is not true - so many police officers throughout the center of Moscow do not happen, even when CSKA plays with Spartak.

The Muslims that I had to talk with today, the events in Biryulovo are commented on in the most conciliatory manner, they say that crime has no nationality or religion, that no one should kill anyone that we are all a country that nationalists, people are easily manipulated, split into pieces. “Russians, Tatars, Kalmyks - we always lived together, we have nothing to share,” the Muslim convinced me of the Central Asian appearance. "Soon there will be the third world, do you know?" - Suddenly he suddenly specified, and just in case I nodded knowingly, they say, who does not know about the third world. “That's why we need to stay together, but we are splitting us - I think these are Americans,” he concluded with the intonation of the political scientist.

Already by half the eleventh on the square there was almost no one-firstly, today is a working day, and secondly, the police helped to scatter the crowd with riot police chains. There were only beggars (gypsy kids and centennial grandmothers in Orthodox scarves), counting their considerable profits - it is not customary to refuse the Muslims to ask for alms. But in the metro all day there were many Muslims in national headdresses. On this day, you especially notice how there are a lot of them among us.