One of the top leaders of Russia's Jewish community, Rabbi Adolf Shayevich, has joined the Orthodox Christians in protesting against building of a huge Hindu temple in Moscow by the local chapter of International Society of Krishna Consciousness.
Last week more than one a thousand Orthodox Christians protested against building of the temple of Lord Krishna and a Vedic centre in Moscow.
"Russia does not have enough followers of this organisation to build such a huge temple. But if Krishna followers need such large buildings, they can build them on the Chukotka or Yamal Peninsula (Russia's sparsely populated far eastern regions) or somewhere else. There are a lot of places in the country," the Rabbi was quoted as saying by Interfax.
"A Krishna temple in Moscow does not need to resemble a sports complex in size. A good clean room is enough to pray," he said commenting on the ISKCON plans to build 38.5-meter-high Hindu temple.
According to ISKCON, there are 25,000 followers of Vaishnavism in Moscow, and as a registered religion they will fight for a temple in Moscow.
The Rabbi said that the project pursued by ISKCON will provoke a negative reaction not only from religious people,
but also from many Muscovites.
"If there are Krishna followers, let them pray, but everything must have a limit. Why should a Hindu temple be higher than most Orthodox churches in an Orthodox Christian country? This is absolutely incomprehensible to me, a tolerant
person," he said.
"ISKCON is trying to take advantage of the tragedy Russia faced in the 20th century, when all the religious activity in the country was virtually banned by the Communist rule, and is recruiting people among its followers," the rabbi said.
"When young people with an unmistakably Slavic appearance shave their heads like Krishna followers and put on the robes of Hindu sadhus, it looks artificial to other people. Why should such things appear today if nothing of this nature has ever been on Russian soil?" he asked.
