The Mufti of Stavropol asks V. Putin to prevent the demolition of the mosque

The head of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Stavropol Territory asks the President of the Russian Federation to intervene in the situation with the demolition of a mosque in Pyatigorsk. Otherwise, the Mufti does not rule out protests by Muslims.

On May 13, 2014, Mufti of the Stavropol Territory Muhammad Rakhimov sent a letter to Vladimir Putin. The mufti asks the president to intervene in the situation surrounding the Pyatigorsk mosque.

Let us recall that in November 2013, the court banned the operation of the unfinished mosque and ordered the owner to demolish two floors of the building. On April 29, 2014, the regional court ordered the complete demolition of the mosque building.

The mufti, in his address to the president, notes that Muslims make up a third of the population of Pyatigorsk, while there is not a single permanent mosque in the city. The demolition of the mosque in this situation will cause outrage among Muslims.

“The bulldozers that will approach the mosque to demolish it will bring here thousands of Muslims from all over the North Caucasus, who will have to be pacified not with bulldozers, but with tanks,” the appeal says. According to the mufti, among Pyatigorsk Muslims “there is already talk about creating self-defense units to protect the only unfinished mosque in the city and organizing rallies at the regional and city administration.”

The head of the regional Spiritual Directorate of Muslims promises to do everything to prevent the indignation of his fellow believers, but asks the president to intervene. In his opinion, the situation with the demolition of mosques in the region (the construction of a mosque in Kislovodsk was also declared illegal) “could cause serious damage to the image of Russia as a country that is an observer in the Organization of the Islamic Conference and has strong political and economic positions in Muslim countries.”

Sources

• The Mufti of Stavropol calls on the President to resolve the issue of demolition of the mosque // Stavgorod. 2014. May 14.
• A serious conflict between the Muslim community and local authorities is brewing in Pyatigorsk // Newsru.com. 2014. May 14.