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In Moscow the Supreme Islamic Council of CIS, which was called by the Central Eccleiastical Board of Muslims of Russia (TsDUM), completed its work. The result of the meeting of more than twenty Muslim leaders of Russia, Latvia, and Moldova was the adoption of appeals to the Muslims of the world, the United Nations, and leaders of states regarding the situation in Iraq. After the session of the council, the supreme mufti of Russia, TsDUM President Talgat Tajuddin, answered questions of a special correspondent of Izvestiia, Anton Kliuev.
--Mufti-Khazrat, what is the essence of the appeals that were adopted?
--We adopted an appeal to the general secretary of the UN, and to the heads of states of the whole world, in which we expressed the position of the Central Ecclesiastical Board of Muslims of Russia: that the world should live at peace and the UN should not be located in New York. Its place is in the capitals of the ancient world, the Old and not the New World. In addition, today people throughout the world are protesting and conducting demonstrations, but this is completely senseless. Therefore we have adopted an appeal to Muslims: do not take part in actions directed to violating law and order. A protest can be purely symbolic; three people are sufficient for a demonstration.
--Some experts are declaring cautiously that America has essentially declared World War III and that it will not stop at the subordination of Iraq to itself but will carry the war even farther. What do you think: is peace being threatened in the Middle East?
--God forbid that the Last Judgment, the end of the world, would come. We are still not so irrational that war would seize the whole world. If there is just one person in the whole earth who believes in God and has hope, the end of the world will not come.
--Do there exist today levers for ending the war in Iraq?
--Of course! Prayer! The first weapon is patience. The Quran says: "The Almighty is with the patient."
--But after all it is a lot easier to be patient here, far from the bombing, than for residents of Iraq.
--If you do not want to be patient, there is another path: quietly and silently, in a very short period of time, go to Baghdad and take weapons in your hands, and if you have no weapons, strangle the aggressors with your hands.
--But you still prefer the path of patience and peace?
--Yes! But today in all of our mosques signatures are being collected along with statements from volunteers to go to fight in the forces in the name of holy war, Jihad, for the freedom of Iraq and all the world. The way is open for such people; nobody will oppose them. There are thousands of people who desire this and many of them are already there.
--Who are these people and do you know how many there are?
--It is not only Muslims who are fighting there, but Slavs, too. Who they are and how many is a secret. It is known to them, to me, and to God. If we were to begin to talk about this in the open, that would mean we would be forced to declare this to somebody.
--You surely know that the mufti of Moscow and Moscow province declared jihad against the anti-Iraq coalition.
--It is bad that he did not consult with either us or with the regional ecclesiastical board of Siberia, to which he belongs canonically.
--But does he at all have the right to declare holy war?
--For Muslims of Moscow and the province, yes. Every Muslim has the right to decide whether to be a jihad warrior or not. All those volunteers who today are in Iraq, and those who are trying to get there, have decided this for themselves. And nobody but God can decide whether this is a mistake or not. Everybody answers to God for his own actions.
--Do you plan to provide humanitarian aid to Iraq?
--We already have appealed to all the faithful of our country and to the Orthodox and to all who desire peace in Iraq and the world to take the most active part in collection of charitable goods and humanitarian aid for the people of Iraq. (tr. by PDS, posted 3 April 2003)
RUSSIAN MOSLEMS ANNOUNCE JIHAD AGAINST USA
Interfax, 3 April
The Central Islamic Department of Moslems of Holy Russia (the former Central Moslem Department of Russia and CIS European Nations) has declared a jihad against the United States, Russian Supreme Mufti Talgat Tadzhuddin told Interfax on Thursday.
This is the second resolution announcing a jihad against a country in Russian history over the last hundred years, Tadzhuddin said. Russian Moslems announced a jihad for the first time against Germany in 1941, Tadzhuddin said.
"Russian Moslems have levers of efficient influence on the United States. For instance, we will raise donations for a fund, and use the money to buy armaments for fighting America and food for the people of Iraq," Tadzhuddin said.
He did not say which particular forms the jihad would take, but noted that results of the holy war might be expected two to three days from now. (posted 3 April 2003)
RUSSIAN MUSLIM LEADER PROPOSES CALLING HOLY WAR AGAINST US
AFX News Limited , 3 April 2003
A senior Muslim cleric in European Russia, Talgut Tadzhuddin, has proposed declaring a jihad against the US because of the war on Iraq, but the spiritual head of Russia's Muslim community, Ravil Gainutdin, rejected the plan, describing it as "pointless".
"Russian Muslims have real means of pressure against the United States. We will create a fund for the purchase of weapons and supplies for the Iraqi people," Tadzhuddin said as quoted by the Interfax news agency.
A spokesman for Tadzhuddin told Agence France-Presse the jihad proposal "will be discussed by a special congress" of the Muslims of Russia in Moscow on Saturday. However, a spokesman for Gainutdin rejected the proposal, telling AFP that while "we all want a rapid end to the war, a declaration of jihad is completely pointless and (Tadzhuddin) has no right to make it.
Russia's Muslim community is divided into two strands, the first based in the central republic of Bashkortostan and following Tadzhuddin, the larger second strand based in Moscow and following Gainutdin.
Gainutdin, who heads the all-Russian Council of Muftis, is regarded by the Kremlin as the country's senior Muslim cleric.
Damir Khazrat Gizatulin, Gainutdin's deputy, stressed that "only the Council of Muftis is empowered to take a decision concerning a jihad" and that Tadzhuddin's declaration was issued "on his own initiative."
Tadzhuddin "is only the leader of Bashkortostan" and has "exaggerated his rights," Gizatulin said, noting that only 62 of Russia's 3,600 Muslim communities fall under Tadzhuddin's jurisdiction while the Council of Muftis controls most of the rest. Russian Muslims should adopt humanitarian ideals "and send food and medicines to Iraq," Gizatulin said.
A justice ministry official warned that attempts by Russian Muslims
to back Iraq militarily could face legal action. "Attempts to recruit mercenaries
or buy weapons and ship them to Iraq would be subject to a criminal investigation,"
the official, Sergei Nikulin, told Interfax.
(posted 3 April 2003)
RUSSIAN MUSLIM LEADER REBUFFED AFTER CALL FOR HOLY WAR AGAINST US
by Bernard Besserglik
Agence France Presse, 3 April 2003
A top Russian Muslim cleric proposed Thursday declaring a jihad, or holy war, against the United States because of the war on Iraq but was slapped down by the head of the main Russian Muslim community.
A spokesman for Talgut Tadzhuddin, titular head of the Muslims in European Russia, told AFP the jihad proposal "will be discussed by a special congress" of the Muslims of European Russia in Moscow on Saturday.
"Russian Muslims have real means of pressure against the United States," the Interfax news agency quoted Tadzhuddin as saying, referring to the US-led attack on Iraq launched on March 20 to eliminate its alleged stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.
"We will create a fund for the purchase of weapons and supplies for the Iraqi people," he said.
But Ravil Gainutdin, the spiritual leader of Russia's 20 million Muslims, said that the Council of Muftis which he heads would not declare a holy war.
"Russia's Muslims are not declaring jihad (against the United States) even though the situation in Iraq is deteriorating. We must be realists. Jihad against the US has been declared by (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein. That is enough," Gainutdin told Interfax.
He reprimanded Tadzhuddin for "engaging in populism and politicking."
Earlier, a spokesman for Gainutdin told AFP that while "we all want a rapid end to the war, a declaration of jihad is completely pointless and (Tadzhuddin) has no right to make it."
Russia's Muslim community is divided into two strands, the first based in the central republic of Bashkortostan and following Tadzhuddin, the larger second strand based in Moscow and following Gainutdin whom the Kremlin regards as the country's senior Muslim cleric.
Tadzhuddin, who headed a delegation of Muslim clerics who visited Baghdad in the days just before the US-led attack on Iraq, noted that his was only the second declaration of a holy war in modern Russian history, the first having been declared in 1941 at the time of the German invasion of Russia.
He said the effects of the holy war would become apparent within two or three days, but did not elaborate.
Damir Khazrat Gizatulin, Gainutdin's deputy, stressed that "only the Council of Muftis is empowered to take a decision concerning a jihad" and that Tadzhuddin's declaration was issued "on his own initiative."
Tadzhuddin "is only the leader of Bashkortostan" and has "exaggerated his rights," Gizatulin said, noting that only 62 of Russia's 3,600 Muslim communities fall under Tadzhuddin's jurisdiction while the Council of Muftis controls most of the rest.
Russian Muslims should adopt humanitarian ideals "and send food and medicines to Iraq," Gizatulin said.
A Russian justice ministry official warned that attempts by Russian Muslims to back Iraq militarily could face legal action.
"Attempts to recruit mercenaries or buy weapons and ship them to Iraq would be subject to a criminal investigation," Sergei Nikulin, told Interfax.
Reflecting official concern with Muslim sensitivities, Nikulin added that there was "nothing reprehensible in people wishing to offer moral and material support to others of the same belief."
The head of the pro-Russian administration in Russia's war-torn republic of Chechnya, which has a predominantly Muslim population, dismissed Tadzhuddin's proposal as "mindless self-promotion."
"Russian Muslims are against the US war in Iraq, (but) we must express our sympathy with our fellow Muslims by other means," the ITAR-TASS news agency quoted Akhmad Kadyrov as saying. (Copyright 2003 Agence France Presse, posted 3 April 2003)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
The official representative of the Holy See in Russia, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, met today in Moscow with the chief rabbi of Russia (FEOR), Berl Lazar, Interfax reports. At the meeting the apostolic nuncio expressed his concern about relations between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.
"The Vatican and I, as its new representative, feel the extreme necessity and urgency of normalization of relations between the Vatican and the Russian church," Mennini declared. "We are seeking and we will find a path to mutual understanding," the archbishop noted, expressing confidence that "this dialogue will continue and lead to the necessary results."
"It is a most terrible thing when religious feelings become the cause for conflicts," Berl Lazar stated in his turn, adding that "in this area special tact is required inasmuch as religion is the most delicate point of contact that exists among people." At the same time the chief rabbi expressed the hope that a dialogue between the Catholic church and the major confessions of Russia will advance to a new level and provide an example of cooperation based on mutual respect.
Both sides believe that cooperation is especially necessary today when international relations are under unprecedented threat. "Such situations do not simply provide the opportunity, but they require religious leaders to do everything in their power to see that people continue to talk with one another and not shoot," the rabbi noted.
The apostolic nuncio also expressed support for conducting joint projects between the Catholic church and traditional Russian religions, principally in the area of providing humanitarian aid. This idea was supported by Berl Lazar.
The archbishop presented to the rabbi a personal gift from the pope, a medal with the image of John Paul II. The conversation was conducted in Italian, which is Berl Lazar's native language. (tr. by PDS, posted 31 March 2003)
POPE CONFIRMS INTENT TO RETURN KAZAN MOTHER OF GOD TO RUSSIA
Mir religii, 28
March 2003
Pope John Paul II confirmed his intention to return the icon of the Kazan Mother of God to Russia. RIA Novosti reports that the speaker of the Federation Council, Sergei Mironov, told reporters this after his audience today with the pontiff. "The pope expressed his desire to return this sacred object to our country," Mironov said.
According to the speaker, in the first part of the audience the pope spoke Italian. "And suddenly, unexpectedly, just as soon as the topic of the transfer of the icon to Russia came up, he switched to Polish," Mironov added.
The speaker also noted that the Vatican state secretary who participated in the audience noted that there are no disagreements between Russia and the Vatican. "Those incidents that occurred have been settled and there is no reason for worry," Mironov quoted the state secretary as saying.
The president of the upper chamber of the Russian parliament added that a convergence of the positions of Russia and the Vatican has been especially aided by the principled and clear "position of the pope on Iraq." "The topic of Iraq quickly became a key to our conversation and I expressed thanks to the pontiff for his steadfast declaration about the necessity of a cease fire in Iraq," Mironov noted. He thinks that since the Vatican is the "center of the Catholic world," the Vatican's position on the Iraqi problem will undoubtedly influence both residents of Italy and Catholics of the whole world. "The absolutely clear position of the Vatican on Iraq affects, at a minimum, public opinion," he said.
Mironov reported that he exchanged gifts with the pope. The speaker of the Federation Council presented John Paul II a plate with a picture of the church of Saint Basil in Moscow, and the pope, in turn, presented Mironov a book about the Vatican and a medallion. (tr. by PDS, posted 31 March 2003)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
The Meshchansky district court of Moscow yesterday ruled the refusal of the Ostankino district prosecutor's office to open a criminal case on the incidence of publication and introduction into the schools of the "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture" textbook to be legal, Interfax reports.
The occasion for the review of the case was an appeal by the "For Human Rights" movement, which had sued against the refusal of the prosecutor's office to open a criminal case. "We consider the decision of the court to be illegal; it committed numerous procedural mistakes. We will submit an appeal to the Moscow city court," a representative of the plaintiff, Evgeny Ikhlov, said to Interfax.
"This textbook is not an academic resource for cultural studies for secular educational institutions, and it grossly violates the secular character of the state and sows interethnic and interreligious discord. It contains elements of antisemitism and facilitates the intensification of xenophobia. The author indulges in expressions that slander the Jewish and Armenian peoples," the rights defender said.
For example, he said, on page 114 of the textbook pupils of the sixth grade are assigned to answer the question: "Why did the Jews crucify Christ and why can they not attain the Kingdom of Heaven?" In addition, he said, there are assignments on the expose of "satanism," heresies, and sects, as well as a statement indicating which peoples in the Russian land behave more properly and which less.
In June 2002 the "For Human Rights" movement requested that the prosecutor's office open a criminal case for incitement of national and religious hostility and violation of the principles of a secular state, which the rights defenders perceived in the publication and introduction into the schools of the "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture" textbook by A. Borodina. However, the prosecutor's office thought that there were insufficient bases for opening a criminal case, after which the rights defenders submitted a complaint to the Meshchansky district court of Moscow, which on 30 December ruled in favor of the request of the rights defenders and found the Ostankino prosecutor's refusal to be without basis. However, the Prosecutor General and the Moscow prosecutor's office supported the position of the Ostankino prosecutor's office, which led to the repetition of the refusal to open the case. On 24 March the Meshchansky court confirmed the legality of such a decision. (tr. by PDS, posted 25 March 2003)
MOSCOW COURT RULES ON ANTISEMITIC SCHOOL TEXTBOOK
from UCSJ: Union
of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union, 24 March 2003
On March 24, 2003 the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow ruled in favor of Moscow prosecutors, who twice refused to bring charges against the publishers of a school textbook that contains antisemitic passages, according to a March 24 press release by the "For Human Rights" movement. In June 2002, "For Human Rights" requested that criminal charges be brought against the editor and distributors of "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture"-a textbook that has been distributed to schools in Moscow and other regions. The plaintiffs argued that the textbook takes a "primitive antisemitic position" on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, arguing on page 112 that the crucifixion happened because the Jews were obsessed with "earthly well being and power over other peoples" rather than spiritual values. The head of "For Human Rights"-Lev Ponomaryov-compared this claim to Nazi propaganda, which also attributed "amoral qualities to a defined ethnic group." However, the Ostankino District Prosecutor's Office refused to open a criminal case.
On January 13, 2003, the Meshchansky Municipal Court of Moscow found that the decision by the Ostankino District Prosecutor's Office was unfounded, and ordered a second look. Less than a month later, the Prosecutor's Office issued a second refusal, sending it back to the court, which ruled today that the refusal of the Ostankino District Prosecutor's Office to bring charges was justified.
According to the press release, a senior prosecutor attending today's hearing made the baffling argument that antisemitism and xenophobia were not punishable under Article 282 of the Criminal Code, which prohibits the incitement of ethnic or religious hatred and has been used by prosecutors against suspects accused of hate crimes. The senior prosecutor (V. V. Rybalko) also tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade the judge to include in the case appeals from religious figures calling for Article 282 charges to be brought against the "For Human Rights" organization. (posted 25 March 2003)
MESHCHANSKY DISTRICT COURT DID NOT FIND BORODINA'S TEXTBOOK CRIMINAL
Portal-credo.ru,
24 March 2003
On 24 March the review of the complaint of the All-Russian "For Human Rights" movement against the second refusal of the Ostankino district prosecutor's office to initiate a criminal case for the distribution and introduction into secondary educational institutions of the "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture" textbook by A.V. Borodina came to an end. The court found the prosecutor's office to have been correct, that is, it did not find in the textbook evidences of crimes connected with the arousal of interconfessional and interethnic strife.
The senior prosecutor of the department of the Moscow prosecutor's office for oversight of the observance of laws on federal security and interethnic relations, V.V. Rybalko, stated in court that as a result of their examination both the Moscow prosecutor and the Prosecutor General concluded that the Ostankino district prosecutor was correct in refusing to initiate a criminal case regarding the publication of the "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture" textbook by A.V. Borodina. In the course of the hearing on 21 March, as "For Human Rights" told Interfax, the prosecutor Rybalko made the surprising statement that antisemitism and xenophobia "are not covered by article 282 of the criminal code" (incitement of national and religious hostility). The prosecutor cited a collection of appeals from religious figures who demanded that the rights defenders themselves by held criminally liable.
In the explanatory section of the court's decision, the conclusions of the statement of refusal to initiate a criminal case were repeated.
Borodina's textbook, which has been designated as an academic resource for study of culture, is, according to the expert analysis of the Center for the Study of Religion of the Russian State Humanities University, "a confessional apology for Orthodoxy, and it contains medieval prejudices and elements of xenophobia and religious antisemitism." On 18 June 2002 the All-Russian "For Human Rights" movement appealed to the Prosecutor General of the Russian federation regarding the publication of this textbook and the support for it from responsible persons of the Ministry of Education and the Moscow Education Committee, as well as its use in the educational process in a number of regions. On 30 December 2002 the Meshchansky district court ruled that the refusal by the Ostankino district procuracy to open a criminal case was illegal. However on 15 January 2003 the prosecutor's office again issued a refusal, and this was found by the court to be legal. (tr. by PDS, posted 25 March 2003)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
The pastor of the United Methodist church of Voronezh, Viacheslav Kim, stated in an interview with the local weekly "Bereg" that although the canonical ritual of excommunication does not exist in Methodism, American President "Bush has taken upon his soul a great sin in unleashing war and he has effectively excommunicated himself from the church," a Portal-credo.ru correspondent reports.
According to the pastor, the American president did not receive approval for unleashing war and he never will receive it. Commenting on a letter to George Bush by the president of the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist church, Sharon Brown Christopher, that was sent to Bush as a fellow Methodist and contained criticism of the position of the White House chief regarding the Iraqi question, Pastor Viacheslav Kim pointed out: "Our church, which includes representatives from Europe, Africa, the Philippines, and USA, has a clear position on the question of war and peace. It is stated in the Book of Discipline, which is a kind of charter of the United Methodist church, which is based on sacred scripture. It states there, in particular, that war is incompatible with the teachings and life of Christ." Thus, Pastor Kim stressed, "we condemn war as an instrument of national and foreign policy, and we insist on the resolution of disagreements, both within a state and in international policy, by peaceful means." (tr. by PDS, posted 24 March 2003)
RUSSIAN RABBI REJECTS BOMBING
Portal-credo.ru, 21 March 2003
The president of the Congress of Jewish Religious Organizations and Associations in Russia, Rabbi Zinovy Kogan, said "Saddam could have been invited to a summit and questioned, or arrest him if you have the right. But what is the reason to bomb people?"
--Zinovy Lvovich, how do you assess the situation around Iraq, when USA has begun a war virtually in its own name?
--It is an unhappy situation; there is nothing to celebrate, even though this week Jews have the happy holiday of Purim; but it has not turned out very happy. There is a lot I do not understand. I do not understand why to drop megaton bombs and spend billions of dollars in order to pose questions and carry out a judicial decision, if the leader of Iraq is accused of something. Apparently there is something for which Saddam Hussein is accused, but this is not the way. . . . There is a story in the Bible: a man was walking along a path and he sees a nest. A bird is sitting on eggs. So it is necessary to chase the bird away and take the eggs. That is, it is necessary to cause minimal harm to nature in order to care for one's family. I think that bombing in order to interrogate Saddam is incorrect; there are too many victims, completely disproportionate to the result that it is officially necessary to achieve. Saddam could have been invited to a summit or conference and questioned; if he doesn't like it, then arrest him if you have the right. But what is the reason to bomb people?
--How do you assess Israeli support for the American war action. Won't this be another cause for antisemitism in the world?
--Israel is convinced that Saddam Hussein was one of the sponsors of terror and thus Israelis have such hatred for Hussein.
--Is there a difference in the position of the Likhud and Avoda parties with respect to the war?
--I do not think so. Israelis are united in thinking there should be no bases for terror, but you cannot solve that question by repressive methods alone. People should realize that the globe is a spaceship and we are all flying in the same ship and it is very fragile. (tr. by PDS, posted 24 March 2003)
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