A prayer hall in a business center in Moscow has been closed

A magistrate court in the Russian capital has fined the Risalat Muslim community 130,000 rubles for setting up a prayer hall in an office building and storing religious literature without proper labeling. This was reported by the city's online portal MSK1.RU, citing case materials.

"The local religious organization, the Risalat Muslim Community, is found guilty of committing an administrative offense under Part 4 of Article 5.26 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses (carrying out missionary activity in violation of the requirements of the law on freedom of conscience, religion, and religious associations) and is sentenced to an administrative fine of 100,000 (one hundred thousand) rubles," the court ruling states.

A second fine of 30,000 rubles was imposed for storing religious literature without the organization's seal. The court ordered the publications confiscated and destroyed. The items in question include Quran reading manuals, "Hadith Studies," books on Islamic movements, and more.

According to the case file, prosecutors visited the building on Ogorodny Proyezd in the fall to inspect fire safety and ensure compliance with sanitary regulations. According to the agency, the community held prayers and classes in a converted hall in the business center and also stored religious literature without the required labels. The fourth floor of the business center housed a prayer hall, cafeteria, and classrooms. On Fridays, up to 150 people gathered there for communal prayers. It is noted that during the prosecutors' visit, a "sermon calling for respectful treatment of others" was being delivered in the prayer hall, which apparently did not please the Moscow supervisory authority.

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