Hawzah News Agency- Deputy of the Russian Council of Muftis met with a group of seminary scholars in Qom during which he gave a brief report on the history of Islam's emergence in Russia and its promotion up to this date and added, "Islam entered Russia two centuries before Christianity, making it the oldest known religion in Russia,"

 He added, "Nowadays the largest population of Muslims as well as the highest number of Mosques and Islamic Schools in Europe are located in Russia,"

Demir Hazrat Mohy el Din further said, "In the year 1991, there were only 300 mosques in Russia, but now that number has been increased to more than 8000 mosques, in other words, every day a new mosque is built in Russia,"

Referring to over 30 million Muslims who currently live in Russia he went on, "Russian Muslims consist the higher majority in 8 Russian autonomous republics, while Moscow is also home to a considerable number of Russian Muslims,"

"The Russian government strongly opposes the spread of Wahhabism and Takfiri thoughts among Muslims in Russia; the officials have a great tendency to promote the genuine Islam, the one which is being practiced in Iran, the Islam that was represented by Iran's Islamic Revolution. Our government has realized that the Islam which is being represented and promoted by Iran seeks Islamic unity and does not breed extremism," The Russian Muslim cleric concluded.

End.