TBILISI, DFWatch–The Friday prayer in Samtatskharo, a village in eastern Georgia, went ahead as normal without interruptions yesterday, after being canceled three weeks in a row due to protests by locals.

Minister of Reintegration Paata Zakareishvili showed up in Samtatskharo Friday to attend the prayer.

“The problem is less complicated than what was reported,” he said, adding that during the visit he met with locals, the village trustee and Muslim leaders.

“The local population and Muslims agreed that there will be no more such problems in the future.”

But what happened in Samtatskharo is not an isolated incident. Religious conflicts are taking place in Georgia repeatedly. This is the reason non-governmental organizations Friday organized a rally in Tbilisi named ‘Everyone has a right to pray’.

“Who measured spirituality?” “love your neighbor,” “treat others as you want to be treated,” some of the posters read. The protesters gathered at Meidan, in downtown Tbilisi, in the old district and later moved to a Mosque in the same district, where the Friday prayer was in process. After the prayer Muslims thanked participants for their support. Soon after, the rally ended.