Pyatigorsk is dismantling minaret of unfinished mosque

The Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) of the Stavropol Territory has begun implementing the decision of the City Court about dismantling of the minaret of the unfinished mosque in Pyatigorsk, the Muftiat of the Territory said on February 16.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in September 2013 the Pyatigorsk administration appealed to the court on demolition of the mosque, built in the yard of the Muslim cult structure, which was closed earlier.

The City Court obliged the owner of the building to demolish – at his own expense – the top two brick fragments of the tower protruding beyond the roof of the building. It was planned to start the dismantling last December, but then, the work was postponed because of cold weather.

Mukhammad Haji Rakhimov, the Mufti of the Stavropol Territory, said that local Muslims expect the authorities' actions in response.

"By fulfilling the judgment to dismantle the minaret, we expect that court marshals will remove the ban and allow us to enter the building of the unfinished mosque," the website of the SAM of the Stavropol Territory quotes Mufti Rakhimov as saying on February 16.