Protests against Building New Mosque in Perm Becoming Increasingly Xenophobic, ‘Novaya Gazeta’ Says

Paul Goble
    Staunton, Mar. 2 – Opposition to the construction of new religious facilities in Russia almost invariably has a xenophobic component if the proposed building is for members of a different faith than that of the majority of local residents, and as a result, such NIMBY protests frequently grow into xenophobic campaigns, Novaya Gazeta reports.
    That is what has happened in Perm where plans by the local Muslim community to build a mosque, plans that had enjoyed the approval of the city government, have sparked a xenophobic campaign because many local Russians believe a mosque will be a magnet of immigrants and radicals (novayagazeta.eu/articles/2025/03/02/snegoviki-v-nikabakh).
    According to that paper’s journalist Lyubov Borisenko, last month, Perm residents came out to protest the construction of a mosque. Instead of traditional slogans, they “made snowmen and dressed them in niqabs and then hung on these snowmen Islamophobic placards,” opening a new stage of ethnic conflict in Perm.  
    These actions have been organized by a local Russian woman who has run afoul of the law for her extreme nationalist and traditionalist positions, including attacks on the gay community and migrants. And they have been supported by a petition signed by almost 5,000 people against the construction of the mosque.
    Russian officials have promised to investigate what has happened, but so far, they have not released their report – and the protests against the construction of a mosque in Perm have continued.