In an exclusive interview with the alkosar news Agency, Ravil Ainuddin, the head of the Russian Muslim Clergy Office, said: "Today, the number of people attracted to Islam in Russia is much higher than last year, and the number of Muslims in this country increased from 800,000 in 207" To 28 million people in 2018 and this year this number has reached 30 million. 

He added: "It is noteworthy that with the arrival of Shiite scholars, including Iran, in Russia, the Shiite religion has been widely promoted in this country, so that now more than 3 million Shiites live in different cities of this country."

The head of Russia's Muslim clergy stressed that most of the country's Muslims and Shiites live in cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Siberian region. 

Ravil Ainuddin continued: "Since 207, more than 6 million mosques have been built in different cities of Russia.

" He adds: "What is important, and we must address this at the outset, is the question of Russia's position. 

The Russian Federation is geographically the largest nation-state in the world, even within the declining post-Soviet borders." "Nevertheless, Russia has the harshest climatic conditions in the world in the north and east, and in the south and west there are largely unprotected borders with several different and often hostile civilizations," said the head of Russia's 
Muslim clergy.

(* Russians and a deep and unique relationship with Christianity *)

 Ainuddin continued: "They were among the last people in Europe to change their religion. 
They chose Orthodox Christianity, which is one of the oldest branches of this religion, which has changed less than other Christian denominations;" The Russians made this religion the basis of their culture in the modern era, and their history in this field has been much longer than that of the people of other great Christian nations in Europe.

He states: "The special situation of Islam and Muslims and the case study of this study, which is Shiites, in the Russian Federation, has made it an invisible reality in the field of society, power and politics in this vast country, and extremist currents and readings." Extremists of Islam, especially in the North Caucasus, who have turned to security issues for Russia based on Salafi and Wahhabi teachings, and on the other hand, have attracted special attention in the institutions, personalities and decision-making centers of this country. 

The head of the Russian Muslim Clergy Office reminded: "Of course, we should not forget that this applies to all Muslims, because the current discussion seeks to identify the social and cultural status of the 
Shiites in this country." 

Report by Isa Sadeghi