On the 23 September 2015, Moscow hosted the opening ceremony of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque after its renovation, which lasted nearly 10 years. The new mosque accommodates 10,000 believers and has come to be the largest in Europe. This event was attended by the political leadership of Russia, the representatives of The Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Russia and the CIS countries, as well as foreign guests – the presidents of Turkey and Palestine, the Secretary-General of the World Union of Muslim Scholars Al-Qaradaghi and many others. It is noteworthy that the country’s authorities gave a high status to this event, wnere it was widely covered in the Russian regional and international media. Virtually all the political elite of Russia attended, and the leaders of the countries made numerous political statements in the course of the ceremony.
In his speech, Putin continued his anti-Islamic policy and declared once again the necessity of formation in Russia of so-called ‘Traditional Islam’ – a distorted form of our religion, which the Russian authorities are thrusting on 20 million Russian Muslims:
‘It is important that Muslim youth be brought up according to traditional Islamic values, to prevent attempts to thrust on us alien worldviews that have nothing to do with true Islam.’
In addtion, the floor was given to the Chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia Ravil Gainutdin, the President of Turkey Erdogan, and the President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas. In the end, the ceremony finally turned into a festival of hypocrisy, servility and lies.
- In itself, the opening ceremony of the mosque has become a PR event for the Russian authorities, who despite their open hostility to Islam pretended once again to be a friend of Muslims and Muslim countries. Moreover, they did not hesitate to take credit for the mosque’s reconstruction which was completed solely on private donations, and led to the reconstruction taking 10 years. Not to mention the fact that it is absolutely forbidden to build new mosques in Moscow, where there are only four mosques for a few million Muslims, so that hundreds of thousands of believers have to pray in the street at any time of year rain or shine, wet or dry.
- The rulers of Muslim countries took the opportunity to speak on a number of international subjects. Erdogan once again expressed his indignation with renewed attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque and he expressed his worry about the fate of Syrian refugees, though under his rule Turkey cooperates actively with the Jewish entity and allows Russian military cargo for Assad to pass through Turkish ports. After years of the revolution in Syria, he did not lift a finger to prevent the neighborhood massacre of hundreds of thousands of Syrian Muslims. In his turn Mahmoud Abbas cited the Quran and Hadith, devoting a good half of his speech to expressing his indignation with the latest actions of the Jewish entity in Al-Quds, whereas he cooperates well with the Jewish entity and legitimates its illegal nature by his actions, betraying Muslims of Palestine again and again.
- Erdogan and Abbas gave lengthy benevolences to the Russian authorities, poured out their thanks, showing in every possible way their friendship and As for the chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia Gainutdin he called Putin in his speech ‘Your Excellency Mr. President of the Russian Federation much-esteemed Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin’, as well as saying: ‘Our national leader Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is the first among the leaders of our country in its entire history who has called Russia ‘and a Muslim country too.’ … he (Putin) called Russia the most constant, consistent and reliable defender of the interests of Islam, and one of the main pillars of the Islamic world.” And all this is said at the time when Russia is intensifying its four-year assistance to the godless regime of Bashar Assad, providing it not only with high-tech armaments but sending the Russian armed forces to Syria, not to mention the crimes committed by Russian authorities against Muslims in Russia – torture, murder, mass arrests, general ban on Islamic literature and any Islamic characteristics.
Russia is one of the main enemies of the Ummah along with the United States no matter what tricks it undertakes to convince someone of the reverse, and no matter how many mosques are opened and hypocritical statements made. A day never passes without Russia reminding the world of its hatred for Muslims. On the 30 September, 2015 the Russian Federation Council approved use of the Russian Air Force in Syria ‘to struggle against ISIS’, and on the same day the Syrian city Homs was bombed. As a result 27 civilians, including 5 women and 6 children were killed (according to The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights from 30/09/2015). How can anyone who believes in Allah and the Day of Judgment be loyal to this state of disbelief, evil and injustice and to its ruler?
Indeed, the atrocities of the countries of disbelief against Muslims of east and west, north and south will not come to an end until Muslims of all over the world return to the full, strict observance of their religion and return to the Khilafah upon the method of the Prophet. Allah Almighty said:
وَيَوْمَئِذٍ يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ * بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ ۚ يَنْصُرُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ ۖ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ * وَعْدَ اللَّهِ ۖ لَا يُخْلِفُ اللَّهُ وَعْدَهُ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ * يَعْلَمُونَ ظَاهِرًا مِنَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَهُمْ عَنِ الْآخِرَةِ هُمْ غَافِلُونَ
“On that day the believers shall rejoice with the help of Allah. He helps whom He pleases. He is the Mighty, the Merciful. This is Allah’s promise and Allah will not fail His promise, but most people do not know. They know the outward of this world’s life, but of the hereafter they are absolutely heedless.”
(30:4–7)
Eldar Khamzin
Member of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir