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Russia's chief mufti urges young Muslims to take moderate path

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MOSCOW, May 30 (RIA Novosti) - The spiritual leader of Russia's Muslims called on young Muslims Tuesday to abide by moderate principles and avoid the dangers of radicalized Islam.

Speaking at an international conference in Moscow, Humanitarian Values and Young Russian Muslims, Mufti Ravil Gainutdin said young people had to be steered away from extremist tendencies.

"Islam is a humanistic religion, and we must first of all convey these humanistic values to our young people," Gainutdin told Muslim leaders, government officials, and activists from youth movements in Russia as well as Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia and other countries.

Speaking ahead of the conference, Gainutdin had said, "Our main aim is to protect young people from radical ideas and sentiments, as well as to set them on a moderate path, so that enthusiasm will not turn into fanaticism."

About 20 million Muslims live in Russia, which has had to deal with extreme forms of Islam in its southern territories, particularly the troubled republic of Chechnya.

The mufti told the conference that young people became entrapped in radical Islam because of high unemployment, which, he said, had reached 80% in the North Caucasus, including Chechnya.

Among other reasons, Gainutdin cited corruption, a lack of personal motivation in society, growing xenophobia toward people from the Caucasus, and the low number of mosques in the country.

The mufti called for government help in creating a network of moderate Islamic schools, and encouraging young people to engage in research.

"In Muslim countries altogether, people obtain doctorates three times less often than in England alone," he said.

A senior spokesman for the Moscow Orthodox Patriarchy, Vsevolod Chaplin, said he shared Gainutdin's concerns over the hedonistic culture imposed on young people today.

"The cult of money, power, and pleasure makes people unhappy," Chaplin said.

He called on a dialogue between religions to improve the world order and said the energy of young people could drive society toward this goal.

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