Russia has opened its first Muslim medical clinic in Moscow, triggering a debate whether medicine should be blind to religious boundaries.

Such medical clinics are to be opened in the predominantly Muslim regions of Tatarstan and Saratov, in the near future. Officials said the clinic aims to provide followers of Islam the possibility to receive medical treatment “without compromising the strict rules of their religion”. Islam is the second largest religion in Russia, with over 20 million Muslims in country’s 142 million population.

The doctors at the clinic said healing starts even before the patient enters the treatment room, due to its calm and relaxing atmosphere. “When someone knows that he is at a specialised centre, he already feels better. Even if only in his mind, this is already the first step in his treatment,” surgeon Pavel Chepenko told Russia Today TV.

In the clinic women will be treated by female specialists, who will wear headscarves, while men will be examined by male medical staff. The facility also includes a special cafeteria and a prayer room with a screen separating men from women, a buffet with non-alcoholic drinks and a drug store with only alcohol-free medicines.

Chairman of the Mufti Council of Russia, Ravil Gainutdin said: “We, Muslims of Russia, are native citizens of this country and should live comfortably and peacefully in our state. If Muslims want to set up their own medical centre, no one has the right to say they should not.”

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