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The motto of the Truth Party is: “Russian Muslims are not terrorists”
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By
Damir Ahmed, IOL Cairo Bureau
CAIRO,
September 19 (IslamOnline) – Under the motto “Russian Muslims
are
not terrorists”, a new Islamic party called the Truth, has been
established in Russia.
The
party aims to help spread Islamic ideas, correcting the false image
often connected with Islam following the September 11 attacks and to
know Russian Muslims’ opinions about the Russian Parliament, the Duma,
said a Tatar newspaper on Tuesday, September 17.
One
of the reasons behind the establishment of this new part is that the
political leaders of the Russian Islamic party, which was established 5
years ago, are afraid that their political identity cards will not be
renewed, the paper added.
The
Truth Party held its first meeting Sunday, September in a town near
Moscow after the party was granted the necessary approvals from the
parties committee of the Russian Justice Ministry.
The
president of the party, Mohamed Ragab, said that the new Russian law
issued in 2000 prohibits the establishment of any party on a religious
basis, assuring that his party is independent from all administrative
and religious institutions in Russia.
The
new Islamic party will use new methods, he said, adding that the
executive committee of the party includes prominent Russian businessmen,
most of them are from Tatari and Bashkuri nationals.
It
is worth mentioning that there are 42.34 million Muslims in Russia
according to the latest statistic published by the Russian association
on August 20, 2002.
The
Russian federation includes 10 Islamic republics in addition to Russian
provinces and governorates in which a large number of Muslims live.
