RUSSIA: Derbent's Juma mosque, shared by Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims, shows co-existence of these branches of Islam in Dagestan

Record ID: 735311

  • Title: RUSSIA: Derbent's Juma mosque, shared by Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims, shows co-existence of these branches of Islam in Dagestan
  • Date: 30th September 2007
  • Summary: (MER1) DERBENT, DAGESTAN, RUSSIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VIEW OF DERBENT WITH SILVER DOME OF JUMA MOSQUE VISIBLE AMONGST BUILDINGS OLD FORTRESS OF DERBENT ON HILLTOP WITH CITY BENEATH JUMA MOSQUE'S DOME VISIBLE AMONGST HOUSES STREET IN DERBENT OLD MEN SITTING ON BENCH ON SIDE OF STREET LOUD-SPEAKER ON MOSQUE WITH AUDIO OF CALL TO PRAYER PEOPLE ENTERING MOSQUE RELIGIOUS WRITING IN ARABIC ON WALL OF MOSQUE VARIOUS OF MEN INSIDE MOSQUE PRAYING (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) TAIBOVSED NOGI AKHMEDOVICH, SHI'ITE IMAM OF JUMA MOSQUE IN DERBENT, DAGESTAN, SAYING: "This mosque is unique. When the Soviet Union was created it was the only mosque allowed to remain open in Dagestan, only this Juma mosque, and it was the only one for both Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims. So all had to pray here together and there were no conflicts, because we all are people of one faith and we must live in peace and we have already learnt to peacefully co-exist here." ORNATE DESIGNS ON MOSQUE CEILING MEN PRAYING SUNNI IMAM PRAYING MEN PRAYING (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) NADIR ZULFIKAROVICH, SUNNI IMAM AT JUMA MOSQUE, SAYING: "There are no problems between Shi'ites and Sunnis here, and I think there will be none in the future, God willing." CHANDELIERS HANGING FROM MOSQUE CEILING MEN PRAYING (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) ABDUL QADIR HADJI, A RESIDENT OF DERBENT AND A WORSHIPPER AT THE JUMA MOSQUE, SAYING: "Here Sunnis and Shi'ites pray together like brothers, like close people." PEOPLE LEAVING MOSQUE STREET OF DERBENT VIEW OF DERBENT WITH SILVER DOME OF MOSQUE OLD FORTRESS OF DERBENT
  • Embargoed: 15th October 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVA39MRW96T82PJKO8JF5P1YS60G
  • Story Text: Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims have for decades been successfully sharing a mosque in the city of Derbent in Russia's Dagestan republic.
    Derbent, Russia's oldest city, is located in Russia's northern Caucasuses on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
    This ancient city is a designated World Heritage site. Located in a largely Muslim republic, it dates back almost 5,000 years, and its narrow streets exude history at every turn.
    At the heart of Derbent, loudspeakers on the Juma mosque call the faithful to prayer. This mosque is the oldest in Russia; it is also one of the world's ancient mosque, and an Arabic inscription on one of the mosque's stones records its construction date as the 115 according to the Muslim Hijra calendar -- or 733 A.D.
    "This mosque is unique. When the Soviet Union was created it was the only mosque allowed to remain open in Dagestan, only this Juma mosque, and it was the only one for both Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims. So all had to pray here together and there were no conflicts, because we all are people of one faith and we must live in peace and we have already learnt to peacefully co-exist here," said Taibovsed Nogi Akhmedovich, Shia imam of Juma mosque.
    Most of Dagestan's 36 ethnic groups are represented in Derbent, but the two largest communities are Shi'ite Azeris and Sunni Lezgins. Both have their own mosques in Derbent, but share the central and the most respected one - the Juma mosque.
    The history of coexistence of both branches of Islam in Dagestan has been mostly peaceful. In 2005, however, religious strife, which has plagued much of Dagestan in recent years, led to a large knife fight at the Juma mosque. Muslim community leaders now try to forget about the incident.
    "There are no problems between Shi'ites and Sunnis here, and I think there will be none in the future, God willing," said Nadir Zulfikarovich, mosque's Sunni imam.
    Following the conflict leaders of the both Muslim communities took steps to overcome their differences and started paying more attention to the religious education of the young muslims. Today the peace is restored and both Sunnis and Shi'ite gather at Juma mosque for prayer.
    "Here Sunnis and Shi'ites pray together like brothers, like close people," said Abdul Qadir Hadji after praying at the mosque.
    Coexistence of different religions is traditional in Derbent, where mosques stand next to Russian Orthodox churches, Armenian churches and a synagogue.
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