Muslims ask Moscow authorities for separate beaches for men and women

RIA Novosti/Roman Balaev

RIA Novosti/Roman Balaev

The suggestion of the Muslim community to organize separate beaches for men and women has been supported by representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, Jewish and Buddhist religions.

The request to the Moscow City Hall has been prepared and filed
by Albir Krganov who is a deputy chairman of the Spiritual
Directorate of Muslims of Russia and also a member of the Public
Chamber’s Commission for Harmonization of Relations between
Ethnic and Religious Groups.

The activist claimed that “hundreds of thousands” of
religious residents of Moscow were deprived of ability to visit
city beaches that are currently shared by men and women. “As
not everyone can afford a trip abroad, and we consider it
necessary to open additional recreation zones for the residents
of the capital city who cannot stay on common beaches for
religious or moral reasons
,” Krganov wrote in his letter.

The activist added that countries like Israel, Turkey, and
Germany have separate beaches for men and women and that the
effect from this is positive. In the Russian Federation such
beaches exist in the city of Kazan, the capital of predominantly
Muslim republic of Tatarstan.

The letter was signed by the head of the Russian Orthodox
Church’s department for relations with the society, Vsevolod
Chaplin, President of the Association of Russian Jewish
Communities Aleksey Boroda and representative of the Traditional
Buddhist Community of Russia Andrey Balzhirov, Izvestia reported.

A member of the Public Chamber’s commission for family women and
children, Sultan Khamzayev, said in comments with Izvestia daily
that the initiative was necessary as it was in the interest of
not only religion but also secular morals.

Vice President of the Russian Union of Tourist Industry, Yuri
Barzykin also threw support behind the plan, saying that separate
beaches could help members of all confessions find a comfortable
place for themselves.

However, State Duma deputy Valery Rashkin (Communist Party) urged
caution in putting the separate beaches project into reality.
I am convinced that the society must not adjust itself in
accordance with some religious or moral values of its separate
members. There are dedicated places – like churches and mosques
where people can unite in accordance with their ideas about the
world and the rules of life. We should limit ourselves to these
sites
,” Rashkin told Izvestia.

There is no precise data on the number of religious people in
Moscow but last year the City Hall estimated that there were
about 2 million migrant workers in the city – the overwhelming
majority of which come from traditionally Muslim ex-Soviet
Republics in Central Asia.

READ MORE: ‘Moscow needs more mosques!’ –
Muftis

Last July a spokesman for Russia’s Council of Muftis urged Moscow
authorities to build more mosques in the city, saying this would
prevent the overcrowding of city streets on major holidays. This
was not the first suggestion of this kind, but so far all such
suggestions have been rejected.

In 2013, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin told reporters that the
majority of mosque-goers were not permanent residents of the city
and that migrants should go home once their working contracts
expire. He added that the three existing mosques could very well
serve the needs of the permanent residents of Moscow who adhere
to Islam.

Source Article from http://rt.com/politics/265216-russia-beaches-moscow-muslims/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

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