Friday prayer at Batumi's Orta mosque. Worshipers pray in the street outside the mosque. (Mari Nikuradze/OC Media)
A court in the city of Batumi, on Georgia’s Black Sea coast, has begun considering a lawsuit brought by a group of Muslims against the city authorities over their refusal to grant a construction permit for a mosque. [Read more…]
Khabib Nurmagomedov, Egor Kreed, and Timati (aif.ru)
The cancellation of a concert by rapper Egor Kreed in Daghestan over online backlash and threats has led to heated debates in local social media. A spat between Kreed and fellow rapper Timati, and Daghestani MMA fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov has put freedom of expression and religion in Daghestan into the spotlight.
The Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi (/graf.ge)
Privileging the Georgian Orthodox Church over other religious groups in tax and state property legislation has been ruled discriminatory and unconstitutional by Georgia’s Constitutional Court. On Tuesday, the court issued rulings on two cases, both filed by religious minority groups against unequal treatment by the state.
Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili (Official photo)
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has said connections between the Orthodox Church and the education system should be strengthened. The comments come days after the head of the Church urged the government to consider the importance of a ‘spiritual upbringing’, in the wake of a fatal double stabbing outside a Tbilisi school.
Salakh Mezhiyev, the head of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Chechnya said on 24 April that there would be no other branches of Islam present in Chechnya, except Sunni Islam. He alleged that the Iranian embassy in Russia distributed missionary literature in order to recruit new followers in its ranks.
Meeting with the new organization at the office of Girchi (Facebook)
Several members of Georgian political party Girchi (Georgian for pinecone) have established their own religion to help young men in Georgia avoid mandatory military service. [Read more…]
Box tree (Nodar Tskhvirashvili - RFE/RL)
On 5 April, Georgia’s Ministry of Environment revealed the illegal felling and transportation in western Georgia of Colchis box trees — a species of slow-growing, endangered evergreen shrubs. [Read more…]
Sunday prayer in Batumi (OC Media)
Maia Urushadze is a Project Manager in the Peace and Integration Programme at the Centre for Cultural Relations — Caucasian House. Bennett Clifford is an independent analyst focusing on terrorism and religious conflict in the Caucasus.
The Administration of Muslims of All Georgia is supposed to represent the interests of all of Georgia’s Muslims. However, instead of responding to community concerns — it acts in concert with the state. To support the political integration of Georgia’s Muslims it must undertake reforms. [Read more…]
Isa Khamkhoyev (islaming.ru)
A group of Ingush residents have made an official complaint about the republic’s former Sufi mufti, Isa Khamkhoyev. In a letter addressed to the federal authorities, they argue that the activities of the ex-mufti aggravate the religious situation, and a failure to address the problem could lead to grave consequences.
Muslims of Orta Mosque pray outside the mosque in Batumi (Mari Nikuradze/ OC Media)
Muslims in Batumi are in desperate need of more space to practice their religion. However, suspicion, opposition, and Turkophobia from local politicians and Christian Orthodox activists is leaving them out in the cold. [Read more…]
