Posted on 10/23/2006 9:32:04 AM PDT by GarySpFc
Moscow, October 20, Interfax – Orthodox believers will be a majority in Russia for a long time, believes Roman Silantyev, a Russian expert in Islam and holder of the degree of Candidate of History.
‘Today the proportion of Muslims in Russia must be at least 9%. However, sociological polls have shown a much smaller number, namely, from 4% to 6%, that is, from 6 to 9 million Russians, for the last decade. This paradox can be accounted for only by the fact that a considerable part of ethnic Muslims do not profess Islam’, Silantyev said in an interview to the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily published on Friday.
He stressed a the same time that ‘the level of religiosity among people of Muslim culture is not lower than that of Russians’ and cited the data according to which the ethnically Muslim population in Russia increased from 12 to 14,5 millions in the period from 1989 to 2002 to reach now approximately 15 millions.
The expert also refuted the reports that Orthodox Russians were converting to Islam by dozens of thousands nowadays. He says the leaders of newly-converted Muslims themselves say that ‘people who have changed their faith are not more than 3 thousands throughout Russia. Most of the new converts are women who changed their faith when they married Muslims.’
‘While those among them who have embraced Islam for ideological reasons are no more that 800 people in Russia today’, Silantyev reported.
According to the Islamic researcher, up to 2 million ethnic Muslims have embraced Christianity during the last 20 years in Russia.
‘It is a different matter that the Russian Orthodox Church does not consider it wise to tease the Muslims with this statistics and to encourage the new converts to enter into polemics with their former fellow-believers’, Silantyev noted.
Russian news is so reliable. Yawn.
I'd feel a little more comfortable if the researcher were just plain Russian...
1.27
(Source: CIA World Factbook)
Yup, they're going majority-Muslim just like the rest of Europe in a generation or two.
Oh I dunno. Muslims need productive people to leech off of.
Not long ago I heard Tatarstan Mufti rant that "Tatar youth hangs out with russians, marries russian woman, drinks vodka, eats pork, and doesn't obey to islam"
>There simply won't be enough Russians left to stop it.
Don't confuse temporary fall caused by economy reforms with long term trends.
Russian news is so reliable. Yawn.==
But anti-russian news are very very relaible:)). Right?:))
Amazingly in the era of Internet the western publics still continue to be so "thick as wood":). Gary can you explain such fenomena?
After all the russian proverb says: "The knowledge is the force". So if they continue to be goffy then they are weak. Good for Russia!
Not the temporary fall, but the fact that Russia isn't having enough children to counter the pressure of the Muslim world. At the current rate, each generation will be less than half the size of the previous one. That's a scary position for a country to be in.
Amid tight security arrangements thousands of Muslims gathered in Moscow's main mosque on Monday morning for Eid Namaz led by the Russian Mufti Ravil Ghainuttdin.
In his message, President Vladimir Putin greeted the country's Muslims on the day, traditionally celebrated as Uraza Bairam (Roza Festival), marking the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting.
"This bright festival is an integral part of the richest intangible heritage of our multinational people. It embodies high ideals of moral perfection, drive towards mercifulness and care for near ones," Putin said.
"Russian Muslims have always shown religious tolerance, careful attitude to the traditions of good neighbourliness and mutual understanding," the President said.
TG, you can believe a Russian doctorial candidate who is an expert on Russian Muslims, or a reporter for The Hindu who is in all likelyhood wrote the article while sitting in a bar trying to outdrink Russians.
MOSCOW, October 23 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Muslims living in Russia on their festival, Uraza Bairam, marking the end of Ramadan, the ninth month on the Muslim calendar, or the month of fasting.
In his message of greeting, he said “this bright festival is an integral part of the richest intangible heritage of our multinational people.” “It embodies high ideals of moral perfection, drive towards mercifulness and care for fellow creatures.”
“Russian Muslims have always shown religious tolerance, careful attitude to the traditions of good neighborliness and mutual understanding,” Putin said.
“I am confident that you’ll contribute to keeping eternal moral values of the Islam and make a decent contribution to better inter-confessional dialogue and stronger accord and cooperation between peoples,” he said.
It should be said that Russia muslims are actually less religious than their ME counterparts.
Also they are (with exception of some chechen ones) very tolerant. I'd suggest they are uncomparable to ME or European muslims since ours had to live for centuries with local population.
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