#34 - JRL 2006-237 - JRL Home
Chief Muslim cleric warns Russia will fall apart without interethnic accord
RIA Novosti

Moscow, 23 October: On the day of one of the main Muslim holidays, Id al-Fitr [end of Ramadan], the chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia, Ravil Gaynutdin, has called on Russians not to allow an exacerbation of relations between nationalities and religions to take place in the country.

"There has been, there is and there will be migration to Russia. Our country is interested in this. But we must not forget an obvious truth: migration will lead to a further change in the national and religious composition of our country's population. And we should be concerned about not allowing an exacerbation of relations between nationalities and religions to take place," the mufti said when delivering a holiday sermon in the Moscow Central Mosque.

In his words, "without peace and accord between nationalities, our country faces inevitable disintegration". Therefore Muslim religious organizations, as Gaynutdin assured, will be taking all necessary actions to strengthen good relations between the representatives of various nationalities and religions.

"We Muslims favour genuine fraternal, friendly relations between all nationalities moving to live in and living in Russia. We are interested in this no less than Russian and other nationalities," the mufti noted.

The mufti believes that a prime task for society in these conditions is to teach the inhabitants of Russia from the earliest age to respect other religions, cultures and traditions and not to allow the appearance of feelings of national or religious superiority.