Mufti Gainutdin urges Muslims not to join rallies able to harm social unity
MOSCOW. Jan 10 (Interfax) - The chairman of the Russian Council of Muftis, Ravil Gainutdin, has not supported an initiative of North Caucasus public organizations, which proposed holding a rally against "Islamophobia and Caucasus-phobia" in Moscow.
"The Russian March has been staged. So what? Does it mean that we should [respond to it] by a Muslim march or some national, Caucasus march? This is not the response worthy of Muslims. Muslims should obey the law and serve as an example for others," Gainutdin told the Rossiya-24 television station on Thursday.
Such a rally would only serve to trigger confrontation between different groups of citizens, he said.
"Our social issues should be resolved by securing compromise-based peaceful solutions and accord instead of challenging a certain part of Russian society," the mufti said.
Gainutdin also said that the action group seeking to stage this rally had not addressed his organization.
