Power agents explain closure of mosque in Shamkhal by its placement in the store

According to documents, a store should function in the building of the Salafi mosque in the settlement of Shamkhal, the "Caucasian Knot" was informed at the Dagestan Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). In their turn, sources from the mosque assert that documents are being amended now.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 16 the Salafi mosque in Shamkhal – a settlement of Makhachkala – was closed at the demand of law enforcement bodies.

The mosque in Shamkhal, Kirov District of Makhachkala, was closed in mid-May due to the absence of legalizing documents, a MIA source told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to his version, the building, in which the mosque is now located, "was documented as a store."

"Should there be a store, there would be no questions to the owner. However, the building was converted into a mosque, but the due documents were not drawn up," the source has explained.

Shamsudin Magomedov, a member of the board of the Muslim community, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the necessary documents are now being amended.

"The process is going on; I think we'll open the mosque anyway as we possess a document confirming our ownership of the building. We have also registered our religious community at the Ministry of Justice," said Shamsudin Magomedov.

"But as far as I know, many mosques have no due documents, but there are no questions to them. For some reason such prejudiced attitude is only to us," he has added.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.