The acts of vandalism and arson of Muslim shrines in Crimea cannot be qualified as simple bullying, said Deputy Mufti of Crimea Eider Ismailov.
"Most likely, these are provocative actions aimed at inciting some ethnic and religious hatred. For burning the shrines of a people leads to escalation of negative feelings, leads to some responses," says Ismailov.
However, according to the deputy mufti, the Crimean Tatar people that comprise 90% Muslim population of the peninsula, are peaceful and are unlikely to resort to such acts of vandalism.
It was reported earlier that on the night of November 12, unknown persons tried to set on fire a mosque in the village of Sonyachna Dolyna near Sudak.
Chairman of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Refat Chubarov called the attempted arson of the mosque "a demonstrative response of the occupation authorities to civilized world” and calls to stop the repression and threats to the Crimean Tatar people.
Mufti of Crimea Emirali Ablayev addressed the authorities and the community, calling to find and punish the perpetrators. In the Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of Crimea it was noted that “impunity causes new crimes which we are witnessing now, reports UNIAN agency.