Suspected arson attack on Mosque in the Crimea

A Mosque still being built has burned down in the Crimea and the Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of the Crimea believes that it was probably the target of an arson attack.

The statement issued by the Spiritual Directorate says that as a result of the first during the night from 24 to 25 December 2010, in the Zhygulina Roshcha settlement near the village of Mirnoye, the recently completed roof construction was totally destroyed by fire and the upper parts of the walls and partitions were seriously damaged by the high temperatures.  Preliminary estimates suggest a cost of around 100 thousand UAH.

The Spiritual Directorate says that accounts of witnesses give all grounds for assuming that this was a deliberate act of arson. It adds that this has caused outrage among Muslims of the Crimea.

“The Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of the Crimea views what has happened as a deliberate attempt to destabilize inter-faith peace in the Crimea and demands that the law enforcement agencies take immediate measures to establish the identity of those who carried out the arson and bring them to justice.

The Spiritual Directorate shares the particular concern of Crimean Muslims that due to the irresponsible attitude of the law enforcement agencies over uncovering previous acts of vandalism, including the attempted arson attack on the Seit-Settar Mosque, the desecration in February and April 2008 of Muslim cemeteries in the villages of Uvarovka in the Nizhnyhorsky district and Chistenkoye in the Simferopolsky district, the acts of provocateurs are taking on the form of a direct attack with real danger to human life.

The Muslims of the Crimea are convinced that the actions of provocateurs have no relation to true faith and are equally repugnant to believers of all faiths.

The Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of the Crimea supports the decision taken at this time by Muslim communities of the Crimea to provide urgent assistance in rebuilding the Mosque in the Zhygulina Roshcha settlement, destroyed by the fire.

Crimean Muslims call on all those living on the peninsula, regardless of faith and nationality, to preserve peace and harmony”.

Head of the Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of the Crimea,

The Mufti of the Crimea, Emirali Ablayev

Simferopol

27 December 2010