Patriarch of Moscow Kirill (Gundyaev) emphasized the common values and interests of Russia and the Islamic world at the meeting of the Russia – Islamic World Group on May 19. At the same time, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church replaces real problems in the middle of Russia with an ideological confrontation, dividing the world into the “Orthodox East” and the “godless West.” Such rhetoric incites confrontation, instead of leading to constructive dialogue and peace, which is what religious leaders should be doing.
According to Patriarch Kirill’s vision, Russia and the Islamic world are opposed by the West, which is alien to them in values, reports the Spiritual Front of Ukraine with reference to the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church, Vladimir Legoida.
“The so-called ‘Arab Spring’ brought only grief and countless hardships to the peoples of these countries, most of whom are Muslims,” said the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
As the main challenge of the 21st century to the traditional system of values the Patriarch of Moscow called the “godless” secular world. Kirill does not see a contradiction between the traditional value system and the “blessing” for the Russians to kill Ukrainians. This is probably the “traditional value system” for the Russian Orthodox Church and Russia.
Touching on traditional values, Kirill, however, fails to mention human rights, which are mostly neglected in Islamic nations, where people can be executed for atheism or blasphemy.
Calling the “Arab Spring” a disaster, Gundyaev ignores the legitimate demands of the Arab peoples for democratization and freedom, just as he ignores the desire of Ukrainians to embrace European values rather than be in unity with the “Russian world.” It is worth exposing Kirill for the fact that the causes of the troubles were precisely dictatorial regimes, not the fight for democracy.
Moscow Patriarch Kirill himself fully supports the Russian government policy aimed at expanding influence through the formation of a “community of common values” based on conservative ideas. On this path, the Russian Federation is getting closer and closer to Islam and it seems that they are trying to use Islam as a substitute for the Moscow Patriarchate, which in the conditions of a full-scale war turned out to be not radical enough in its support for the Kremlin’s crimes. Dictator Putin last year referred to Islamic countries as Russia’s partners in solving global issues.
It is worth noting that New Testament Christianity is a religion of peace, not war, so it is difficult to mold it into a “militaristic” Church that will incite the younger population to die for Putin’s interests, as Patriarch Kirill is trying to do. Islam, which by its nature is a more radical religion, is better suited for this role. This simple truth is also clear to the FSB security service in Russia.
Thus, Gundyev’s statements about the unity of ideas with the Islamic world reflect geopolitical rather than spiritual interests. Patriarch of Moscow also tries to mimic radical Islam so as not to “fall behind” among spiritual leaders who express support for the crimes being committed by the Kremlin.
The Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church should be reminded that all religions preach peace and mutual understanding, and that true dialogue is based on tolerance and mutual respect, not on a joint fight against the “godless west.” In addition, Russia itself cannot be called “Orthodox” or “spiritual” if more than 200,000 Russian citizens who were involved in invading Ukraine, pursuing criminal plans of the Kremlin leadership have already been killed in action.
However, Kirill is sure that “Orthodox, like Muslims, strive to do as God commands.” Which Orthodox and Muslims does Kirill mean? Probably those who are loyal to the Putin regime. Kirill’s “God” commands whatever Putin does – which is to die in foreign lands for the sake of false beliefs about “protecting the Russian Federation from the NATO threat.”
At a time when Russia is using the Russian Orthodox Church to influence the population in the post-Soviet space, the Patriarch of Moscow said that the West allegedly persistently tried to use the religious factor to divide societies in countries affected by the Arab Spring. Kirill hypocritically emphasized the inadmissibility of exploiting the religious factor this way and called opposing “extremism” the task of both Christians and Muslims.
It is worth recalling that Vladimir Putin is officially recognized as a criminal suspect and must be arrested.
Also, recently, Islamists killed more than 70 Christians in a Nigerian village, while the British Ministry of Defense is now drawing public attention to Islamist extremism. In September 2022, Islamic leaders in Tatarstan justified Russia’s war against Ukraine and praised Vladimir Putin.
Authored by Ivan Petrushchak
