MOSCOW. April 2 (Interfax) - The head of Russia's Council of Muftis, Ravil Gainutdin, said after visiting Crimea that the local Muslim Board, led by Emirali Ablayev, controls the situation in Crimea's Islamic community.
"Concerning Hizb ut-Tahrir and other organizations, Emirali Ablayev is well informed about them and is in control. He pledged to promote their information campaign. Muftis must not run around with pistols chasing terrorists and radical extremists. The clergy's weapon is the word spoken by the Almighty," Gainutdin said at a press conference in Moscow on Tuesday.
He said the Ukrainian leaders tolerated various destructive organizations operating in Crimea.
"They did it for the sake of weakening the Crimean Tatar influence and the influence coming from the Crimean Muslim Board," the mufti said.
What matters for the Crimean Tatars today is rehabilitation, the regaining of their property and shrines, assistance in building housing and an opportunity to "live decently, as fully-fledged citizens, not aliens," he said.
Gainutdin said that Crimea's Muslims also attach serious importance to contacts with the Orthodox Church and asked him to help broaden ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.