This week, Vladimir Putin and a large number of national and foreign dignitaries and guests have inaugurated the biggest mosque in Europe: the new Moscow Cathedral Mosque. This was a big event, much awaited by the many tens of thousands of Russian Muslims who live in the Russian capital and who, in the past, have had to pray in the streets due to the lack of a mosque big enough to accommodate them all. This event, however, has a significance which much exceeds just the local lack of space. The truth is that most Muslims who prayed in the Moscow city center wanted more than just a bigger building – they wanted an official acknowledgement of their existence and of their importance for Russia. Now this much awaited acknowledgement has finally happened and the famous Moscow city center will feature 240 foot tall golden minarets which will elegantly complement the traditional Orthodox cupolas. But I would argue that this event is even bigger than just a recognition of the role Islam plays in modern Russia – I believe it to be the expression of a profound civilizational choice.
We have heard a lot about “civilizational choices” in the context of the Ukrainian civil war. The Western propaganda machine turned what was a struggle between various Ukrainian oligarchs into a “civilizational choice”, hence the slogan “Україна це Європа” (the Ukraine is Europe). What is implied here is that the Ukraine is part of the civilized “West” while Russia is some kind of “Asiatic” realm, populated by people who neither understand nor like the so-called “European values” and against whom the “civilized” Ukrainians need to stand in defense of Europe. This is just a rehashing of the old russophobic notion of the Marquis de Custine who famously said “Grattez le Russe, et vous verrez un Tartare” (scratch the Russian and you will find the Tatar). Hitler also warned about the “Asiatic” nature of the “Russian subhumans”. Paradoxically, while these Russia-haters never understood Russia, they still were unto something very real: the fact that while even though in the recent past (roughly between the 18th and 21st centuries ), Russia was ruled by pro-Western elites, most of the Russian people never surrendered to the acculturation process imposed by their rulers and while they externally complied, internally, on the level of their ethos, they kept their ancient roots.