VZCZCXRO5863
OO RUEHLN RUEHPOD RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHMO #3365/01 3251441
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 201441Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0826
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 003365 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KISL KIRF PHUM SOCI PINR RS
SUBJECT: MOSCOW'S CHIEF MUFTI STRESSES TOLERANCE AND 
INCREASED INTERACTION WITH AMERICAN MUSLIMS 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Chairman of the Kremlin-friendly Council 
of Muftis of Russia Ravil Gaynutdin told the Ambassador on 
November 13 that Russia's Muslims practice a tolerant form of 
Islam and are receiving increasing support from the GOR. 
This is most evident, according to Gaynutdin, in the huge 
expansion underway at his mosque near the center of Moscow. 
Despite a misunderstanding that led to the cancellation of a 
proposed International Visitor Leadership Program, Gaynutdin 
expressed a desire to continue to work closely with the 
Embassy on future exchange programs.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Ambassador met on November 13 with Ravil 
Gaynutdin, Chairman of the Council of Muftis and Chief Mufti 
at the Moscow's Cathedral Mosque next to the huge indoor 
stadium built for the 1980 Olympic Games.  The meeting took 
place at Gaynutdin's office adjacent to the site of a 
planned, multi-year expansion of the mosque and construction 
of a combined Islamic business/conference/trade center. 
Gaynutdin expressed his appreciation for many years of close 
relations with the Embassy, including private visits with 
U.S. ambassadors and invitations to diplomatic receptions at 
Spaso House.  Gaynutdin had agreed to meet with the 
Ambassador during a break in a conference in Moscow sponsored 
by the Council of Muftis on strengthening Islamic culture in 
Russia. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Gaynutdin congratulated the Ambassador on the 
recently completed U.S. presidential elections, saying that 
like the rest of the world, Russians were interested in how 
the campaign was run and the platforms of the candidates. 
Most importantly, he emphasized, Russians saw how a real 
democracy works, especially how it dealt with matters of 
religion and race.  He hoped that with the new 
administration, mutual understanding between Russia and the 
U.S. would be strengthened.  He admitted that the August 
conflict between Georgia and Russia had caused a problem, but 
that the world's two superpowers must cooperate. 
 
Russia's Muslims Benefit from Good Relations with the GOR 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Gaynutdin stated that Islam is a core religion in 
Russia -- not a religion of immigrants -- and actually 
predates Orthodox Christianity in some parts of the country. 
He stressed that Russia's Muslims have good relations with 
all the other major religions of Russia (he specifically 
mentioned Russian Orthodoxy, Buddhism, Judaism, and western 
Christianity).  Gaynutdin said he was the driving force for 
the establishment of an inter-religious council that has 
resulted in greater interfaith stability and added that his 
deputy is a member of its coordinating group. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) According to Gaynutdin, President Dmitriy Medvedev 
and Premier Vladimir Putin are more religious than was Boris 
Yeltsin and this has improved the position of all religions 
in Russia.  Over the last two years, Russia's Muslims have 
benefited from government assistance that has helped train 
imams and increased support for Muslim media.  Gaynutdin said 
he wants to continue the muftiate's cooperation with the 
government, including Medvedev's Council on Religions and the 
State Duma's Commission on Religion.  Gaynutdin proudly said 
that he is the only Muslim member of the Public Chamber. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) As a result of his close relationship with the 
government, Gaynutdin said that Putin had supported the 
construction of a new mosque in Moscow while he was still 
president of Russia.  Moscow mayor Yuriy Luzhkov had donated 
nearly a block of prime real estate adjacent to the existing 
mosque north of the Garden Ring Road near Prospect Mir. 
Gaynutdin explained that the ongoing "reconstruction" of the 
existing mosque will transform it into a house for 10,000 
worshippers.  The muftiate will next add a conference center 
capable of expanding participation by an additional 
12,000-15,000 in adjacent halls and eventually a business 
center with a halal grocery and a community center for Muslim 
cultural events.  Gaynutdin stressed that contributions for 
the construction of these venues will come only from Russia's 
Muslim community and not from abroad.  He said this has made 
the process difficult and slow, but that the muftiate had 
decided from the start that no foreign money would be 
accepted for its construction.  He hoped the first milestone, 
construction of one of the two 85-meter minarets, would be 
finished in time for Kurban Bairam in December 2008.  He 
noted proudly that when finished, the new mosque will be 
three times larger than the Qol Sharif Mosque opened in July 
2005 within the Kremlin of Kazan in his native Tatarstan. 
 
¶7. (SBU) According to Gaynutdin, the muftiate has questioned 
plans by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) to require the 
study of Russian Orthodoxy as a required subject in Russian 
 
MOSCOW 00003365  002 OF 002 
 
 
public schools.  The members of the muftiate have asked ROC 
leaders to consider also instruction about Islam in the 
schools.  Gaynutdin stressed that Russian children need to 
learn not only about their own religion, but also about the 
religion of their neighbors.  He added that it would be wrong 
to teach Russia's Muslim children that Islam is the only true 
religion. 
 
Gaynutdin Keen on Further Cooperation with U.S. 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Gaynutdin said that he and other members of the 
muftiate are prepared to participate in international 
programs and conferences dealing with tolerance and the 
dialogue among civilizations.  Without admitting any 
involvement in the cancellation of a planned August 2008 IVLP 
on Islam in America, he said that invitations for foreign 
travel by imams funded by the USG should be transmitted 
through the Council of Muftis.  He noted that one of the 
muftis selected to participate in the August 2008 program had 
announced his selection on his personal website prior to 
receiving permission to travel from the Council of Muftis. 
Gaynutdin recalled that during a conference in Indonesia in 
February 2008 he met an imam from New York who shared views 
on tolerance similar to those held by Russia's Muslims.  He 
noted that since the 1990's, the muftiate has not had much 
contact with Muslim groups in the U.S., nor does it have 
strong relations with any Muslim organizations there. 
Gaynutdin asked the Ambassador if it would be possible to 
restart visits by U.S. Muslims who, like the imam from New 
York, have a moderate view of Islam. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Gaynutdin was effusive in his response to 
President-elect Obama's election and seemed sincere in his 
desire to work with the Embassy on future visitors' programs. 
 His desire to keep his own "vertical of power" within the 
muftiate, however, came through strong and clear.  We have 
proposed an IVLP on "Religious Education in America" designed 
for representatives from Russia's five Islamic universities 
and based on a successful program for Saudi educators 
inaugurated several years ago.  We will reach out to 
Gaynutdin for his suggestions of a representative from the 
Russian Islamic University in Moscow that falls under his 
purview and look for additional opportunities to bring 
American Muslims and U.S. Islamic scholars to Russia. 
BEYRLE