The Rosgvardia (The Russian Guard) is asked not to terrorize Muslims – after all, they are already loyal to Moscow

Mufti Ravil-Hazrat Pancheev, Chairman of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of St. Petersburg and the North-Western Region of Russia, appealed to Viktor Zolotov, the Director of the Federal Service of the National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation, asking not to persecute Muslims in Russia and not to conduct illegal raids. The text of the appeal was published by blogger Islam Belokiev.

The mufti expressed his deep gratitude to the Russian Guard and personally Zolotov  “for their selfless service to the Motherland in this difficult time.”

“Muslims of Russia are a multimillion community, growing in number and strength of faith, consisting of citizens devoted to their state and government. There are many Muslims who prove the authenticity of their patriotism on the battlefields. Russian Muslims, with their own blood, strengthen the force and power of Russia in the Special military operation zone, in particular in the ranks of the Russian Guard.

Our Ummah perceives every victory of Russia as a personal achievement, and every failure as a personal grief.

Therefore, it is unbearably painful for us to look at the raids carried out with the participation of the Russian Guard in mosques in Moscow and the Moscow region, Yekaterinburg and other cities of our Motherland. Each such operation, no matter how good its goals are justified, incites ethnic and religious discord and completely destroys the sense of patriotism and loyalty to their own state. Ill-wishers and outright enemies of Russia gain powerful trump cards by presenting our country as a den of Islamophobia in the eyes of friendly and neutral Muslim states,” the text of the document says.

Pancheev asks that every possible effort be made to stop the “unconstitutional and immoral practice” of raids by the Russian Guard officers on mosques and houses of worship.

“A million migrants wanted by law enforcement agencies cannot harm the country as much as selective raids against Muslims,” he said.