Residents of Kosino-Ukhtomskoe opposed a mosque that was not planned to be built

On March 5, 2023, it became known about a gathering held in the Kosino-Ukhtomsky district of Moscow, in which about 200 people took part. The reason for holding the gathering was the proposed construction of an Islamic complex on the shores of the Holy Lake. The participants of the gathering spoke out against the construction.

Opponents of the construction point out that the Holy Lake is a popular place of pilgrimage for the Orthodox. Nearby are several Orthodox churches. In the temple in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Life-Giving Spring" there is a revered icon, on the day of the celebration of which, in July, thousands of people gather for the cross.

“We are not at all against Muslims, as some people try to make it out to be. But, firstly, those who live here for decades deserve honest information. And, secondly, why build a mosque next to Orthodox shrines? We live peacefully next to Muslims, and they themselves understand that these are sacred places for us. The Muslims who live in this area are themselves against the construction of a mosque in a territory where there are so many Orthodox shrines. If now the indigenous population with visitors live peacefully, then this construction is guaranteed to sow enmity , ”the participants of the gathering said.

The rector of the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Kozhukhov, Archpriest Alexy Mityushin, said that local residents are afraid of possible conflicts: after the prayer service and the procession, pilgrims go to the Holy Lake, where they bathe, and mosque parishioners may be dissatisfied with the fact that women are in bathing suits.

“Our lay people are ardent, they say different things, but we have no special influence on them. I can say one thing: we don’t need quarrels , ”said the priest.

The plans to build an Islamic center, which includes a mosque for 60,000 people, were reported by the media, but the Construction Department did not confirm this information. Damir Mukhetdinov, deputy chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation, also said that the muftiate does not plan to build anything in this place and does not have the resources for such a large-scale construction. At the same time, an information board hangs on the fence of the site in question, on which it is written that a transport interchange hub "Dmitrievsky Street" is being built at this place.

Nevertheless, opponents of the construction of the mosque began collecting signatures. The corresponding petition gained almost 12,000 signatures in two weeks.

At the same time, some of the participants in the discussion of the possible construction in social networks supported the construction of the mosque.

On March 12, another gathering took place near the Holy Lake against the construction of a mosque.

On March 14, journalist Boris Korchevnikov reported that the Moscow authorities refused to hold a religious procession planned for March 19 against the construction of a mosque, citing the mayor’s current decree “On the stages of lifting restrictions imposed in connection with the introduction of a high alert regime,” which prohibits holding public events.

Korchevnikov warned the prefecture that the procession would still take place, and did not rule out a clash with the police:

“And you will have to go out and knit people with icons, perhaps beat grandmothers with light banners with batons, and take silent prayer books to jail.

You will have to do this, since you decided to ban the religious procession .

On April 2, another protest against the construction of a mosque took place on the shore of the Holy Lake. It was attended by MMA fighters, in particular, Maxim Divnich. The audience chanted "we are Russians, God is with us."

By the beginning of April, more than 25,000 signatures against the construction had been collected. According to the director of the Center for the Geography of Religions at the Department for Relations between the Church and Society of the Russian Orthodox Church, Roman Silantiev, the Moscow authorities have suspended the construction of the Islamic center.

Sources

• A NATIONAL CONFERENCE WAS HELD IN MOSCOW WHERE THE CONSTRUCTION OF A MOSQUE AT THE HOLY LAKE IS DISCUSSED // TSARGRAD. 2023. MARCH 5.
• There is no mosque on the Holy Lake (Moscow region Kosino-Ukhtomskoye) //Change.org. February 2023
• Rumors about the construction of the largest mosque in a residential area frightened Muscovites // Moslent. 2023. March 2.
• “Our laity are hot…” Where did the rumors about the construction of a huge mosque in Moscow come from and why did they alarm the townspeople // There. March, 6.
• A people's gathering took place on the Holy Lake against the construction of a mosque // Moscow-online. 2023. March 12.
• The authorities of the Eastern Administrative District of Moscow banned a small religious procession // Telegram channel of B. Korchevnikov. 2023. March 14.
• Residents of Kosin went out to protest because of the construction of a mosque near the Holy Lake // Climb. 2023. April 2.