Russian court bans Muslim prayers at building near Shuya station
Ruling shuts prayer space used largely by Central Asian migrant workers, in latest restriction on Muslim worship in Russia
SHUYA, Russia (MNTV) — A court in Shuya, a historic town in Russia’s Ivanovo region, has banned public Muslim prayers and religious gatherings at a building near the town’s railway station, the Ivanovo Live portal reported.
Acting on a prosecutor’s lawsuit, the Shuya City Court ruled that a local Muslim organization’s use of the building, a former buffet, and adjacent land for public religious services was illegal, saying the site had been used for rites “for an unlimited number of people.”
The organization had bought the property from Russian Railways and leased it to a man who describes himself as an imam and who, the report said, led prayers and youth talks for migrants from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The ruling is the latest in a pattern of legal restrictions on Muslim worship in Russia, where prayer spaces serving Central Asian migrant communities — who often lack access to formal mosques, especially outside major cities — have repeatedly been closed on administrative or zoning grounds.
Rights advocates have long argued that such measures, framed as regulatory, disproportionately affect Muslims and restrict religious freedom.
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