Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov suggested that opponents of the construction of a mosque in the Kosino-Ukhtomsky district in eastern Moscow go “to the trenches with a machine gun”. About this Kadyrov writing in your telegram channel. Previously, the possible construction of a mosque had provoked protests from local residents and a discussion on social networks.
“If all these participants of the meeting wholeheartedly and wholeheartedly have the idea of ​​​​defending Russian land, then advance into the trenches with a machine gun! <...> Take a machine gun, push back the Muslim who is fighting for you today in the Russian Donbass, and show your patriotism, show by deeds, not by words or provocations, how much you love your Fatherland,” The message of Kadyrov reads. Chechnya's leader called the rallies against the mosque a provocation and an attempt to divide Russians. “The instigators act in favor of Western interests, whatever excuses they find. <...> Such instigators must either be mobilized to cast all the anger on the enemy or be sent to justice as saboteurs of information acting to please Satanists,” Kadyrov concluded.
“The largest mosque in Russia”
End of February 2023, the Reedus edition without reference to the source reported about plans to build the “largest mosque in the country” near the Holy Lake in the Moscow region of Kosino-Ukhtomsky. The article indicates that the mosque will be larger than the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and will be able to accommodate 60,000 people. At the same time, the Moscow Construction Department informed the publication that the mosques “are not under construction.”
@Kadyrov_95 / Telegram
Izvestia in 2012 writing that the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Moscow has asked the city authorities to allocate land for the construction of a mosque for 40-60 thousand people, which could become “one of the largest in space -Soviet”.
The article did not name a specific place, but it was noted that the site should be located near the Moscow ring road and the metro, and also have convenient access for personal and public transport.
Mosque or TPU
Construction object passport on construction site fence said that the technological part of the transport interchange hub (TPU) of the Ulitsa Dmitrievskogo metro station is being built on the section between the Kosinsky highway and Saltykovskaya street.
In the administration of Kosino-Ukhtomsky district and the Eastern Moscow Prefecture in response to requests from residents reported that the TPU project does not provide for the construction of religious facilities. The fact that it is planned to build a transport hub on the site is also indicated in the response of the Moscow Architectural Committee to the Deputy of the Moscow City Duma Evgeny Stupin.
Stupin himself, in a conversation with MSK1.ru, noted that residents of the neighborhood are concerned about the “disproportionate territory allocated to the transfer center” and the position of the authorities, who “do not refute or confirm the plans to build a mosque.”
Neighborhood residents interviewed by the publication said they heard about the mosque “in church” or “from acquaintances”.
In March, director of the MSLU Destructology Laboratory Roman Silantiev declared On the airwaves of the Spas TV channel, he declared that the construction project of the mosque is known only to a “very restricted circle of people”. According to him, in addition to the religious object in Kosino-Ukhtomsky, it is planned to build “a whole complex”, including a shopping center “to ensure the functioning of the mosque”, a madrassah and a hotel. Silantyev called the problem “solved”.
MSK1.ru quoted the minutes of the meeting of the Moscow City Planning Committee, from which it appears that an object with an educational and religious purpose will be located within the boundaries of TPU “Dmitrievsky Street” . At the same time, the publication noted that the authorities neither confirmed nor denied the authenticity of this document.
Telegram channel “Attention, Moscow” writing in reference to the response of the city government to the inhabitants of the district that it was decided to lease 9.9 hectares of land for the construction of a spiritual and religious educational center.
First Deputy Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia Damir Mukhetdinov in early March informed “Moslente” that the organization knows nothing about the project and does not have the capacity to build a large religious complex.
@max_divnich
Building protests
Since February 2023, against the backdrop of media and social media reports about the construction of a mosque, residents of Kosino-Ukhtomsky began to hold protest “marches”. A petition against the construction appeared on Change.org. He says the holy lake, on whose shore the mosque is supposed to be built, is “a religious and historical sanctuary of Russia”, and before the revolution it was a “serious center of pilgrimage”. At the time the document was written, the petition had collected 26.4 thousand signatures.
Opponents of the construction fear the shallowness of the sacred lake, the influx of migrants, the growth of crime and the collapse of transport. They also indicate that the site is located next to an Orthodox church.
By data on the channel “Attention, Moscow”, at the end of March, the police arrested a man who “as a sign of protest” had buried a pig’s head on the construction site.
Athletes joined the protests against the construction. On April 2, professional MMA fighter Maxim Divnich posted a video on his Telegram channel about the situation in Kosino-Ukhtomsky.
“I’m afraid to imagine that somewhere in Grozny or Makhachkala an Orthodox church will be built on a holy place for Muslims. <...> I don't understand these actions, who gave their consent? The Moscow government? I call on all Orthodox to come to this church, we are obliged to defend our sanctuaries,” Divnich said. The fighter said he faced threats due to his position, including from other well-known fighters. Divnich said that in the context of these posts, he "actually ended his sports career", since "90% of Muslims are at events, conferences, fights". Divnich was backed by MMA fighter Vladimir Mineev. He urged "to deal with those who decide to build a mosque on the site of a Christian shrine", noting that such administrative decisions "fall under the article on interfaith and ethnic hatred". The athlete noted that he was not against the construction of a large mosque for Muslims, but not near the "holy lake".
