Minaret in village of Chela restored
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The minaret, that was forcibly removed from a mosque in the village of Chela, South Georgia, was re-erected on Wednesday night.
Local residents participated in the constructing process. All roads leading to Chela were blocked off during the construction. The police had been observing the situation all night.A mam of the Chela Mosque, Jambul Abuladze was quoted that they "thought it was better to restore the minaret at night due to special circumstances.
Georgian Muslims Union made a statement today, thanking the Georgian government, especially ex-MP Bidzina Ivanishvili, and non-governmental organizations for their support.
"Today we can say that democracy has gained a victory in Georgia. This is a success for each Georgian citizen, regardless their religious beliefs. On the behalf of Georgian Muslims, we want to express our gratefulness to everyone who participated in solving this problem in a peaceful and democratic way, Georgian Muslims Union stated.
The minaret in Chela was first installed in July. It was followed by protests by Orthodox Christians. On August 20, the local city council in the Adigeni district found that the minaret was constructed illegally without having a permit from the local authorities.
On August 26, the minaret was dismantled. It was followed by a clash between local residents and police. Oppositional parties and local and international NGOs criticized the government for a failure to prevent tensions on the religious grounds.
TheRevenue Service at the Finance Ministry said that the purpose of the removal was its inspection. They wanted to verify if the metal construction materials, used for building the minaret, were properly declared when cargo was imported into Georgia from Turkey.
After the inspection, the minaret was brought back, but not re-installed to the mosque. Until today, it was stored outside the village.
Georgia’s Prime Minister is calling on law enforcement agencies to immediately look into a case of religious intolerance, where a slaughtered pig’s head was nailed to the door of a Muslim boarding school.
Clashes between religious groups in a southern Georgia village about the future of a building which has historical importance for Christians and Muslims has drawn criticism from the Prime Minister, who said people of all religions were equal and everyone must obey the law.
Two individuals were injured in a confrontation between Muslim and Christian communities in Georgia’s western village of Buknari, in Chokhatauri municipality. For several months now, part of the local Muslim population has wanted to build a mosque in the village, though they are opposed by the Christian local population, which resulted in a conflict between locals on January 12.