Mukaddas Bibarsov: “The transformation of the constitutional field can complicate the dialogue between the state, religious organizations and citizens of Russia”

On June 29, 2016, the co-chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia, the head of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Volga Region, Mukaddas Bibarsov, commented for journalists on the Ozerov-Yarovaya bill, which, among other things, restricts missionary activity.

Muqaddas Bibarsov stressed that he considers it necessary to formulate his views and concerns and convey his position to the President of the Russian Federation, which he calls on his brothers from religious associations of Russia, as well as representatives of scientific and public organizations.

The head of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Volga region recalls that “ in accordance with Art. 6 of the law "On freedom of conscience" one of the goals of creating a religious association is the spread of faith. Art. 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation guarantees the right not only to profess any religion, but also to disseminate religious beliefs; the spread of faith is the statutory goal of almost every religious association, organization and group, as well as a form of confession of their religion by believers who, until recently, had the constitutional right to share their beliefs with others, to be baptized in public, read namaz, offer literature, just talk heart to heart " .

“ But already today ,” he continues, “ these ordinary forms of human existence, which involve freedom of the spirit and civil rights, have been shoved into the rigid framework of the law, singling out confessional diversity from the cultural and legal field of our country along with constitutional principles, albeit with some assumptions in in the form of registration by religious organizations of mandates for missionaries .

“ The process of transformation of the constitutional field, expressed in restrictions on rights and freedoms, will affect , - M. Bibarsov believes, - a large layer of state-confessional relations and may complicate the dialogue between the state, religious organizations and citizens of multinational Russia, professing and spreading their religious beliefs in accordance with the constitutional right to freedom of religion. The current period, the pre-election period, as well as complicated by economic difficulties and external provocations, is not conducive to introducing a destructive stream into the field that has been stable until now .”

Sources

• Special Appeal on the Missionary Bill // Ansar.ru. 2016. June 29.