RFE/RL - 11 October 2002
Posted 16 October 2002 on Religioscope

At a conference in Moscow on cooperation between government and religious organizations on 10 October, Viktor Zorkaltsev, chairman of the State Duma's Committee on Public and Religious Organizations, called for creating a center in Russia for the training of Islamic clerics in order to provide Russia with greater "spiritual security" and to limit the training of Russian citizens in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other Middle Eastern countries, RIA-Novosti reported.

Zorkaltsev said that Russia's concept of national security includes defending the country's spiritual and moral heritage and its historical traditions.

Speaking at the same conference, presidential envoy to the Volga Federal District Kirienko called for providing basic scholarly training in Islam within the borders of the Russian Federation, the website religio.ru reported. (Newsline, 11 October 2002)