Stop Haram in Moscow: Muslim activists prevent fellow believers from drinking alcohol

In Moscow, a group of Muslim activists are patrolling the streets: they are watching out for fellow believers who violate Islamic laws and customs and warning against drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes.

“Stop Haram — I am ready to die for Islam”

‘Stop Haram’ patrolling was initiated by Chechen-born Islam ismailov who used to be a leader of the movement ‘Stop-Kham’ [Stop obnoxious behaviour]. Its participants are fighting breaking rules by drivers, e.g. parking in wrong places. They also recorded videos of violations and posted on the Internet.

Stop-Haram is based on the same idea, but the target is guest workers who do things which are prohibited for every faithful Muslim – in Islamic doctrine, they are known as ‘haram’. The video shows a man dissuading migrants from Central Asian republics against drinking alcohol or dropping litter. According to some estimates, in Moscow up to two million Muslims from the Caucasus and Central Asia may be living in Moscow. It is difficult to define the exact number because many guest workers are staying in the Russian capital without being registered.

But it is the turnout at the public prayer on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr that can show how many Muslims there are in Moscow:

Prayer on occasion of Eid al-Fitr in Moscow (2014)

Belsat.eu, following znak.com