13.07.2021
100 temples in 10 years and none in a quarter of a century
In the feeds of many Russian Muslims these days, there were reports about the construction of 99 new churches in Moscow over the past 10 years. This news attracted the attention of the Muslim audience against the background of the obvious problem of the lack of mosques in Moscow and in many cities in Russia. As we remember, 26 years ago, for the last time, a land plot was allocated for the construction of a new mosque in Moscow.
But let's not talk about the figures, everything is clear with them. The figures are only a consequence of a system error, embedded at the semantic level. Have you ever wondered why the Orthodox object built in the Patriot Park is called the "Main Temple of the Armed Forces"? Does the Russian army have a religious affiliation? Are all military personnel Orthodox by religion?
Are there many temples of different religions on the balance of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to distinguish the main one among them?
The word "temple" is applicable to religious buildings of many religions and confessions – world and recognized as traditional in Russia. For a Muslim, a temple is a mosque, for a Jew – a synagogue, for a Christian — a church. For Russians as a civil and socio-cultural community, "temples" are cathedrals, mosques, synagogues, and Buddhist religious buildings. Equating the concept of "temple" only to an Orthodox religious building, we lay the idea that the places of worship of believers of other religions are not temples. Many religious traditions are being squeezed out of the common Russian socio-cultural space. A certain part of the inhabitants of Russia indicates that they are located outside the perimeter of society and outside the area of its religious and cultural values. In terms of words, we declare unity and integration, in fact, we are following the path of estrangement and segregation.
Just a few days ago, the head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, designated as a threat to national security "the significantly increased isolation of already impenetrable enclaves of migrants and individual diasporas from the indigenous population, the increasingly active rejection by visitors of the socio-cultural norms and traditions of the host countries." This fear is fair and more than understandable. We do not want to understand anything else: ignoring the religious needs of communities that are minorities in our country, and their further isolation are two sides of the same coin.
At the beginning of the 21st century, along with the program of mass construction of Orthodox churches within walking distance, a program was developed for the construction of mosques in each of the metropolitan districts — where there are no mosques yet. All the nuances of this issue were subtly felt by the late Mayor Yuri Mikhailovich Luzhkov. However, the project was curtailed, without actually starting. And it was a mistake. It is impossible to achieve harmony in society by paying attention to the needs of only one part of it.
Damir Mukhetdinov
https://kafkassam.com/
But let's not talk about the figures, everything is clear with them. The figures are only a consequence of a system error, embedded at the semantic level. Have you ever wondered why the Orthodox object built in the Patriot Park is called the "Main Temple of the Armed Forces"? Does the Russian army have a religious affiliation? Are all military personnel Orthodox by religion?
Are there many temples of different religions on the balance of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to distinguish the main one among them?
The word "temple" is applicable to religious buildings of many religions and confessions – world and recognized as traditional in Russia. For a Muslim, a temple is a mosque, for a Jew – a synagogue, for a Christian — a church. For Russians as a civil and socio-cultural community, "temples" are cathedrals, mosques, synagogues, and Buddhist religious buildings. Equating the concept of "temple" only to an Orthodox religious building, we lay the idea that the places of worship of believers of other religions are not temples. Many religious traditions are being squeezed out of the common Russian socio-cultural space. A certain part of the inhabitants of Russia indicates that they are located outside the perimeter of society and outside the area of its religious and cultural values. In terms of words, we declare unity and integration, in fact, we are following the path of estrangement and segregation.
Just a few days ago, the head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, designated as a threat to national security "the significantly increased isolation of already impenetrable enclaves of migrants and individual diasporas from the indigenous population, the increasingly active rejection by visitors of the socio-cultural norms and traditions of the host countries." This fear is fair and more than understandable. We do not want to understand anything else: ignoring the religious needs of communities that are minorities in our country, and their further isolation are two sides of the same coin.
At the beginning of the 21st century, along with the program of mass construction of Orthodox churches within walking distance, a program was developed for the construction of mosques in each of the metropolitan districts — where there are no mosques yet. All the nuances of this issue were subtly felt by the late Mayor Yuri Mikhailovich Luzhkov. However, the project was curtailed, without actually starting. And it was a mistake. It is impossible to achieve harmony in society by paying attention to the needs of only one part of it.
Damir Mukhetdinov
https://kafkassam.com/