Does the Russian Orthodox Church classify Muslims in Russia as «sectarians»?

In the photo are the heads of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the World Islamic League in Moscow on July 23, 2019.

While the head of the ROC, Kirill Gundyaev, signs an agreement on cooperation with the World Islamic League (an organization that clearly does not consider Russian Muslims equal) on behalf of this organization, in official documents of the ROC Muslims are included in the list of «sects» that local parishes are obliged to counteract.

This is clearly stated in the so-called Plan for Anti-Sectarian Activities, recently published by the controversial ROC deacon Andrei Kurayev.

As can be seen from the second page of the plan, published below, the list of «sects» includes the Moscow Islamic Institute, Protestant organizations, Orthodox Christians who do not recognize the authority of the ROC, as well as Catholic and Jewish organizations.

With regard to «sects», the plan includes the preparation and distribution of leaflets exposing them, as well as the holding of relevant seminars with ROC parishioners.

In this regard, it should be noted that in Moscow the ROC officially operates the Missionary Center named after priest Daniil Sysoyev, located in the Moscow Church of the Apostles on Kantemirovskaya.

This center actively invites Orthodox Tatars, Azerbaijanis, Chechens, and representatives of other historically Muslim peoples to convert to Orthodoxy.

Of course, none of the Muslim spiritual administrations, including those that in the best of times supported converts to Islam, have and cannot have centers for them today.

2015 — 2023 ©. All rights reserved.