ID :
11035
Sat, 06/28/2008 - 12:26
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/11035
The shortlink copeid
Russian Islamic community news roundup
(Based on reports by Islam.ru, IslamNews, IslamRF.Ru portal,
Portal-Credo.ru, and information and analysis center Sova and NEWSru.com)
MOSCOW, June 28 (Itar-Tass World Service) -- In an interview to
Portal-Credo.ru Chechnya's President Ramzan Kadyrov has explained what
Islam means to the people of his republic.
"We, Chechens, have never betrayed Islam. We'd rather be dead, than
betray our faith. Islam to us is everything," Kadyrov said, adding that
all other religions in Chechnya enjoyed the authorities' protection.
"We shall not allow anybody to split us on account of religion, it
does not matter whether you are a Christian or a Muslim," the Chechen
president said. "It's all the other way round. We seek everybody's unity.
When I took office as Chechnya's prime minister, the first instruction I
put my signature to was that to build a mosque and to put Christian
cemeteries in order."
x x x
Chechnya's Muslim Board and scholars from the republic's colleges and
universities earlier this month held a seminar entitled Islam in Chechnya
- History and the Present Day. The delegates discussed the position of
Islam in what the Chechen Republic is today, its adaptation to the ethnic
culture at different historical stages, and the role of Islam as an
integral socio-cultural system in the modern context of globalization.
Professor Vakhit Akayev, Dr. Sc. (History) in his address said that
islamophobia, when manifesting itself at the state level, could prevent
the establishment of a dialogue between cultures and civilizations. Also
it breeds radicalism, extremism and terrorism among Muslims, in
particular, among youth.
The dean of the History Department at the Chechen State University,
Professor Musa Bagayev, looked back on how Islam emerged and spread on
Chechen soil. Bagayev and some other scholars maintain that Islam firmly
established itself in Chechnya by the 18th century.
Author Said-Khamzat Nunuyev, a member of the Russian Writers' Union,
invited the audience to focus on the condition of Islam today as a factor
in Chechnya's social and political affairs. He suggested creating a
special inter-departmental ideological commission under Chechnya's Muslim
Board that would provide assistance to the Chechen authorities in their
internal and external policies. The problem of youth joblessness stands
tall. This and many other issues require society's prompt response in
various spheres of life.
"Success will be unlikely, unless we present a common front," Nunuyev
said.
An adviser to Chechnya's Mufti, Vakha Khashkhanov, pointed to college
students' keen interest in Islam and the profound religiousness of many of
them. "And still a considerable share of our youth tend to pick habits
from their European age-mates. This is a theme not only the Mufti's Office
should give much through to," he said.
Other speakers at the seminar addressed such topics as the creation of
the Chechen people's tolerant image in the Russian Federation, the
Chechens' contribution to world culture and the incompatibility of Islam
and violence.
The seminar ended with the adoption of a resolution saying that the
Chechen Republic today was in the phase of social and economic
reconstruction and the revival of Muslim values and ethic customs and
traditions was part and parcel of this process.
"Islam is becoming a legitimate factor of social and political life in
Chechnya. The secular authorities, too, rely on its fundamental
principles, thereby emphasizing their confessional identity," the
resolution said.
The participants in the seminar blamed religious extremism on a low
level of economic development, which turns Muslims, in particular, young
people, into social outsiders. According to the resolution, success in
turning the situation for the better will largely depend on the rates of
social and economic development in Chechnya, creation of jobs and market
of labor, and introduction of new technologies to all spheres of the
economy.
The president of the Federation of Islamic Organizations of Europe,
Shakib Benmakhluf paid a visit to Russia in the middle of June. He held a
number of meetings at the Council of Russia's Muftis and with
representatives of Moscow's Muslim community - The Russian Congress of the
Caucasus Peoples, the inter-regional association of public organizations
Assembly and others.
Shakib Benmakhluf said the FIOE was Europe's biggest social and
religious umbrella-type structure, uniting communities in many European
countries irrespective of their membership of the European Union. He also
said the FIOE kept the door open to Russia's Islamic organizations.
June 17 and 18 Benmakhlof spent in St. Petersburg. The Islamic
Cultural Center and the city's Union of Arab Students arranged for a
site-seeing tour and a visit to the Cathedral Mosque.
About the activities of his organization he said that after a certain
period of time systematic and steady efforts achieved the Muslims'
integration with European society.
The European Muslim, in our opinion, is a person who is proud of the
culture in which he exists. Only with his personal example a Muslim as a
member of society can help this society do away with phobias and the very
confusing and inarticulate calls for struggle against Islam as a religion,
Benmakhluf said.
On June 19 he visited Petrozavodsk, the capital of the Republic of
Karelia, at the invitation of the republic's Muslim Board. There he met
with officials at some local government ministries and with Muslim
community members and visited a mosque.
The chief of the Muslim board of Russia's Volga River Area,
co-chairman of the Muftis' Council of Russia, Mukuddas Bibarsov, has
conducted a collective Friday prayer (jumma-namaz) at a mosque in the city
of Kuznetsk, the Penza Region. He visited the local mosque at the
invitation of its imam, Abubakr Yunkin.
The newly-restored mosque is largely a result of Imam Yunkin's
personal efforts.
The Friday prayer gathered 70 worshipers. In the meantime, just two
years ago one could see a mere 5-6 Muslims go to the mosque for the
jumma-namaz.
Imam Yunkin is an active public figure and a campaigner for a healthy
life-style.
In his sermon Bibarsov said he was very sad to see many Muslims, who
look very much like devout believers when inside the mosque, turn into
ordinary, down-to-earth people in everyday life. Quite often their
behavior has little to do with the code of Islam. He urged all
parishioners to never forget they should do their utmost to be good
Muslims outside the mosque, too.
In particular, Bibarsov said, this message of his is addressed to
those Muslims who hold prominent positions in business and whose names
have wide acclaim. Such people in the Penza Region are many.
"They should demonstrate to one and all that Islam for them is a code
to abide by in everyday life," he said.
x x x
The strategic vision group Russia-Islamic World will gather for its
fourth session in Jeddah on October 27-29, a senior Russian diplomat,
Director of the Civilizations' Partnership Center at the Moscow State
Institute of International Relations under the Russian Foreign Ministry,
Veniamin Popov has said.
"At the UN General Assembly session last September Russia initiated
the idea of creating a consultative council of religions under the UN
aegis. Last march King Abdullah, of Saudi Arabia, told a conference on the
dialogue of civilizations that the representatives of three monotheistic
religions - Islam, Christianity and Judaism - should keep meeting
regularly to look for responses to modern challenges. At the forthcoming
session we shall discuss these initiatives put forward by Russia and King
Abdullah. We shall consider ways of how best to arrange for the
inter-religious dialogue. It should not be a dialogue just for the sake of
a dialogue. It must be effective and yield good returns," Popov said.
The Russia-Islamic World strategic vision group is an advisory body
created with the aim of expanding cooperation by Russia and Islamic
countries in a variety of spheres. It incorporates statesmen, diplomats,
scientists and scholars from Russia, Algeria, Morocco, Iran, Saudi Arabia,
the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. The previous meetings were held in
Moscow (in March 2006), Kazan (in August 2006) and in Istanbul (in
February 2007).
Portal-Credo.ru, and information and analysis center Sova and NEWSru.com)
MOSCOW, June 28 (Itar-Tass World Service) -- In an interview to
Portal-Credo.ru Chechnya's President Ramzan Kadyrov has explained what
Islam means to the people of his republic.
"We, Chechens, have never betrayed Islam. We'd rather be dead, than
betray our faith. Islam to us is everything," Kadyrov said, adding that
all other religions in Chechnya enjoyed the authorities' protection.
"We shall not allow anybody to split us on account of religion, it
does not matter whether you are a Christian or a Muslim," the Chechen
president said. "It's all the other way round. We seek everybody's unity.
When I took office as Chechnya's prime minister, the first instruction I
put my signature to was that to build a mosque and to put Christian
cemeteries in order."
x x x
Chechnya's Muslim Board and scholars from the republic's colleges and
universities earlier this month held a seminar entitled Islam in Chechnya
- History and the Present Day. The delegates discussed the position of
Islam in what the Chechen Republic is today, its adaptation to the ethnic
culture at different historical stages, and the role of Islam as an
integral socio-cultural system in the modern context of globalization.
Professor Vakhit Akayev, Dr. Sc. (History) in his address said that
islamophobia, when manifesting itself at the state level, could prevent
the establishment of a dialogue between cultures and civilizations. Also
it breeds radicalism, extremism and terrorism among Muslims, in
particular, among youth.
The dean of the History Department at the Chechen State University,
Professor Musa Bagayev, looked back on how Islam emerged and spread on
Chechen soil. Bagayev and some other scholars maintain that Islam firmly
established itself in Chechnya by the 18th century.
Author Said-Khamzat Nunuyev, a member of the Russian Writers' Union,
invited the audience to focus on the condition of Islam today as a factor
in Chechnya's social and political affairs. He suggested creating a
special inter-departmental ideological commission under Chechnya's Muslim
Board that would provide assistance to the Chechen authorities in their
internal and external policies. The problem of youth joblessness stands
tall. This and many other issues require society's prompt response in
various spheres of life.
"Success will be unlikely, unless we present a common front," Nunuyev
said.
An adviser to Chechnya's Mufti, Vakha Khashkhanov, pointed to college
students' keen interest in Islam and the profound religiousness of many of
them. "And still a considerable share of our youth tend to pick habits
from their European age-mates. This is a theme not only the Mufti's Office
should give much through to," he said.
Other speakers at the seminar addressed such topics as the creation of
the Chechen people's tolerant image in the Russian Federation, the
Chechens' contribution to world culture and the incompatibility of Islam
and violence.
The seminar ended with the adoption of a resolution saying that the
Chechen Republic today was in the phase of social and economic
reconstruction and the revival of Muslim values and ethic customs and
traditions was part and parcel of this process.
"Islam is becoming a legitimate factor of social and political life in
Chechnya. The secular authorities, too, rely on its fundamental
principles, thereby emphasizing their confessional identity," the
resolution said.
The participants in the seminar blamed religious extremism on a low
level of economic development, which turns Muslims, in particular, young
people, into social outsiders. According to the resolution, success in
turning the situation for the better will largely depend on the rates of
social and economic development in Chechnya, creation of jobs and market
of labor, and introduction of new technologies to all spheres of the
economy.
The president of the Federation of Islamic Organizations of Europe,
Shakib Benmakhluf paid a visit to Russia in the middle of June. He held a
number of meetings at the Council of Russia's Muftis and with
representatives of Moscow's Muslim community - The Russian Congress of the
Caucasus Peoples, the inter-regional association of public organizations
Assembly and others.
Shakib Benmakhluf said the FIOE was Europe's biggest social and
religious umbrella-type structure, uniting communities in many European
countries irrespective of their membership of the European Union. He also
said the FIOE kept the door open to Russia's Islamic organizations.
June 17 and 18 Benmakhlof spent in St. Petersburg. The Islamic
Cultural Center and the city's Union of Arab Students arranged for a
site-seeing tour and a visit to the Cathedral Mosque.
About the activities of his organization he said that after a certain
period of time systematic and steady efforts achieved the Muslims'
integration with European society.
The European Muslim, in our opinion, is a person who is proud of the
culture in which he exists. Only with his personal example a Muslim as a
member of society can help this society do away with phobias and the very
confusing and inarticulate calls for struggle against Islam as a religion,
Benmakhluf said.
On June 19 he visited Petrozavodsk, the capital of the Republic of
Karelia, at the invitation of the republic's Muslim Board. There he met
with officials at some local government ministries and with Muslim
community members and visited a mosque.
The chief of the Muslim board of Russia's Volga River Area,
co-chairman of the Muftis' Council of Russia, Mukuddas Bibarsov, has
conducted a collective Friday prayer (jumma-namaz) at a mosque in the city
of Kuznetsk, the Penza Region. He visited the local mosque at the
invitation of its imam, Abubakr Yunkin.
The newly-restored mosque is largely a result of Imam Yunkin's
personal efforts.
The Friday prayer gathered 70 worshipers. In the meantime, just two
years ago one could see a mere 5-6 Muslims go to the mosque for the
jumma-namaz.
Imam Yunkin is an active public figure and a campaigner for a healthy
life-style.
In his sermon Bibarsov said he was very sad to see many Muslims, who
look very much like devout believers when inside the mosque, turn into
ordinary, down-to-earth people in everyday life. Quite often their
behavior has little to do with the code of Islam. He urged all
parishioners to never forget they should do their utmost to be good
Muslims outside the mosque, too.
In particular, Bibarsov said, this message of his is addressed to
those Muslims who hold prominent positions in business and whose names
have wide acclaim. Such people in the Penza Region are many.
"They should demonstrate to one and all that Islam for them is a code
to abide by in everyday life," he said.
x x x
The strategic vision group Russia-Islamic World will gather for its
fourth session in Jeddah on October 27-29, a senior Russian diplomat,
Director of the Civilizations' Partnership Center at the Moscow State
Institute of International Relations under the Russian Foreign Ministry,
Veniamin Popov has said.
"At the UN General Assembly session last September Russia initiated
the idea of creating a consultative council of religions under the UN
aegis. Last march King Abdullah, of Saudi Arabia, told a conference on the
dialogue of civilizations that the representatives of three monotheistic
religions - Islam, Christianity and Judaism - should keep meeting
regularly to look for responses to modern challenges. At the forthcoming
session we shall discuss these initiatives put forward by Russia and King
Abdullah. We shall consider ways of how best to arrange for the
inter-religious dialogue. It should not be a dialogue just for the sake of
a dialogue. It must be effective and yield good returns," Popov said.
The Russia-Islamic World strategic vision group is an advisory body
created with the aim of expanding cooperation by Russia and Islamic
countries in a variety of spheres. It incorporates statesmen, diplomats,
scientists and scholars from Russia, Algeria, Morocco, Iran, Saudi Arabia,
the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. The previous meetings were held in
Moscow (in March 2006), Kazan (in August 2006) and in Istanbul (in
February 2007).
