“This is the will of the Almighty.” Chechen mufti supported the inadmissibility of marriages with Orthodox Christians
The theological conclusion prepared by the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia, which “prohibits marriages with representatives of other religions,” can lead to serious problems.
This opinion was expressed by Roman Silantiev, an Islamic scholar and professor at Moscow State University, in a conversation with Komsomolskaya Pravda, which described the conclusion as “a shocking statement to secular minds.”
“Many Muslims, especially Tatars, have Orthodox wives. Even among the clergy this happens. But the point is that the organization that made the statement unites a small number of Muslims. They have few communities in regions where Muslims make up the majority of the population. That is, Tatarstan, Bashkiria, and the North Caucasus are members of other Muslim organizations. And this organization is mainly Central Russia, Moscow. And their opinion, I think, is not so important to most Muslims.
But the very fact of such a statement, of course, can be regarded as a blow to interethnic and interreligious relations. And many believe that this is also an illiterate statement,” Silantiev said.
However, the newspaper writes, “the mufti of Chechnya, Salah-haji Mezhiev, admitted that they have even stricter rules for marriages in the republic.”
“This is the law of the Almighty, what can you do. We have nothing against other faiths and religions. It’s just that when getting married, religion is important. So as not to be afraid of marriage breakdown in the future. We don’t prohibit it, but there is a custom,” the publication quotes the mufti as saying.
As PolitNavigator reported, the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation made a theological opinion, according to which Muslims should not marry representatives of other religions.
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