Nearly a third of Russia’s population will be Muslim within 15 years, country’s grand mufti predicts

The chairman of the Russian Council of Muftis, Sheikh Ravil Gainutdin, has predicted that almost a third of the country will be Muslim within 15 years.

Sheikh Gainutdin, the grand mufti for the religious group which represents Russia’s Muslim community, claimed that a record number of Muslims attended mosques in the capital to celebrate Eid al-Adha last year.

Speaking at a conference in Moscow, he insisted that the more than 320,000-strong show of those performing their prayers for the festival in the city was an indicator of the rising number of Muslims in the country.

“According to the predictions of experts, 30 per cent of Russia’s population will consist of Muslims after 15 years,” Gainutdin said.

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Russia’s Muslim-majority regions are known to have the highest birth rates, including republics in the North Caucasus and the Republic of Tatarstan, according to The Moscow Times.

Along with the high birth rate among Muslimfamilies, another reason for the apparent increase is the arrival of individuals from Central Asia, the country’s grand mufti added.

Appearing at a forum hosted by the State Duma earlier in the week, he added that the changing demographics meant “dozens” of new mosques would need to be built in Russia’s largest cities.

Cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg are said to house the majority of Muslims in the country.

It is unclear how many Muslims currently call Russia home with estimates ranging from between 14 million and 25 million people.

This is between 10 to 14 per cent of the country’s total population in 2018.