Lawmaker asks security committee to investigate second muftiate

LRT reported that conservative lawmaker Dalia Asanavičiūtė-Gružauskienė has asked the Seimas National Security and Defence Committee to investigate whether the Lithuanian Council of Muslim Religious Communities, also known as the second muftiate, poses a threat to national security.

The opposition Homeland Union Lithuanian Christian Democrats said on Thursday that if the committee found the organisation could conflict with Lithuania’s national security interests, Asanavičiūtė-Gružauskienė would propose that the Ministry of Justice deregister it.

According to the lawmaker, the establishment of the second muftiate, approved by the Ministry of Justice in 2019, split Lithuania’s Muslim community and threatens the country’s historical heritage.

Her appeal to the committee says the organisation is gradually taking control of Lithuanian mosques from the historical Lithuanian Tatar community.

“The second muftiate is aggressively taking over the management of houses of worship. As a result, historical Lithuanian Tatars feel they are being driven out of their mosques, while immigrants are taking their place,” Asanavičiūtė-Gružauskienė was quoted as saying in the statement.

The lawmaker also pointed to the organisation’s links with foreign foundations. She said some of its cooperation partners had faced international accusations, including allegations of financing terrorism or promoting radicalisation since 1996.

Asanavičiūtė-Gružauskienė also referred to the State Security Department’s 2025 national security threat assessment. She said the report noted that terrorist organisations were actively expanding the influence of Islamist propaganda in Europe while seeking vulnerable people inclined towards radicalisation.

The State Security Department says people in closed religious groups who do not integrate into society are particularly vulnerable to radicalisation, making resilience to such propaganda vital to national security.