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NGOs Express Solidarity with Muslim Community to Build the Mosque in Batumi

March 22, 2016
 
The signatory organizations express solidarity with the Muslim community in peaceful, self-organized campaign with the request to build a new mosque in Batumi. Besides, we call on the government to respect the rights of Muslims. 

For couple of years now, Muslim community has been actively demanding to allocate the plot for the construction of new mosque and support the process. Historical building of currently active Orta Jame has not enough space for all prayers. Because of it hundreds of prayers are forced to conduct traditional Friday Pray in inappropriate conditions in the street. The majority of Muslim women do not have opportunity to pray in the mosque at all. 

The government promised the Muslim community several times to give them a plot for a new mosque. Last time Muslims were pledged to give a plot in 2013. There were no concrete results. In the end of 2014 representatives of the West Georgian Muslim Community collectively appealed to the prime-minister of Georgia. They requite reconstruction of te Orta Jame and also asked for the building to house the residene of the Georgian Muslim Community and high religious education center as alternative of the new mosque in Batumi.. Muslims clarified that considering the Government’s influence on the Georgian Muslim Department, this statement is obvious example of neglecting interests and needs of Muslims. Besides, the gap between Muslim community and its formal religious institutions is evident. It is worth to underline, that this appeal was elaborated when the government started to finance Georgian Muslim Department. The majority of financing is spent on the salaries of the clergies of the Muslim Department. The government is refusing to fulfill the demands of Muslim community and refers to the collective appeal. The government supports the idea of enlarging Orta Jame. The Muslims think that reconstruction of the Orta Jame will damage façade of the cultural heritage and annexation of neighboring territories anyway will not solve the problem of insufficient space. 
 
As the Georgian MuslimDepartment did not take into account the interest of Muslims, the community started self-organized process, they are independently communicating with the government and mobilize resources for the mosque. On February 8, 2016 12 000 representatives of the Muslim Community appealed the relevant governmental structures and demanded the plot for the mosque in Batumi. Till now there is no concrete response to the appeal. 

The problem of the space in the mosque restricts practicing the religious services in Batumi. When the government grants hundreds hectares of plots to the Orthodox Church in the capital and in other cities, neglecting the demands of the Muslims is an example of discrimination. In Batumi, as in the political and cultural center of Adjara Autonomous Republic, restriction of building the mosque has symbolic meaning. It is supports marginalization and social and political de-integration of Muslim Community. This issue is especially important nowadays. Since 2012, the Muslim Community has been under systemic persecution and violence (Incidents of Nigvziani, Tsintskaro, Samtatskaro, Tchela, Kobuleti, Mokhe, Adigeni). This is the result of the governmental ineffective and discriminative policy on the one side and on the other had lax attitude towards dominant religion. 

The under-signatory organizations think that it is important that the government discuss building new mosque from the Human Right’s perspectives and to de-politicize the issue. Several xenophobic, islamophobic, political, clerical and social groups are radically against it. 

Therefore, we call on the government to take all necessary measures to respect  the freedom of religion, the principles of secularism and equality and:

Enhance the consideration of of the Muslim Community’s appeal regarding granting it with the plot for building new mosque and satisfy the appeal;
Guarantee active involvement of the initiative group in the process of building the mosque, in order to ensure democracy and to fortify the trust of the Muslim Community;
Do not create artificial obstacles for building the mosque and ensure granting the construction license of the mosque in compliance with the Law, free of the discrimination. 

Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC);
Human Rights Center (HRIDC);
Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI)
Tolerance and Diversity Institute (TDI);
Georgian Reforms Association (GRASS);
Multinational Georgia;
Media Development Foundation (MDF);
Civic Integration Foundation;
Georgian Youth Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) 

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