Wednesday, March 21, 2012

More than 2 million Muslims now live and work in Moscow-BBC

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3/21/12, "Moscow's Muslims find no room in the mosque," BBC

"On a cold Friday in March, Bolshaya Tatarskaya street in the centre of Moscow is at a standstill. It runs past the Russian capital's oldest mosque.

More than two million Muslims now live and work in Moscow. It has become one of the biggest cities for Muslims in Europe and its few houses of worship can no longer cope.

During Friday prayers the historic building is overflowing and thousands of faithful are praying outside in the snow.

Cars honk their horns and local people struggle to get past on the pavements....

Islam has always been the second biggest religion in Russia, but it has never been as visible in Moscow as it is now.

That trend is set to continue, not least because the Russian population is shrinking.

And as migrants from the traditionally Muslim former Soviet Republics come to Moscow to make up the numbers, they bring their culture, their traditions and their faith with them."

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