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, July 5 (Itar-Tass World Service) -- Before flying to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics Muslim athletes from Russia's paralympic team will attend special religious ceremonies, to be arranged for them by imams and other representatives of Islamic organizations.

Those members of the Russian team who profess Christianity will receive a blessing from the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Alexy II. The president of Russia's Paralympic Committee, Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin, said the special farewell ceremony for the Russian paralymic team would be held in the Hall of Fame at the Poklonnaya Hill memorial.

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In Kazan, there has been a news conference timed for the release of
the Muslim cartoon called Kechkene Kamil (Little Kamil), the first film
product of this kind to be released in Russia. The cartoon explaining the
basics of Islam and translated and dubbed into the Tatar language is
addressed to the children's audience. The Islamic fund Prizma arranged for
the presentation.
Internet users are invited to see the cartoon in the Tatar language on
the web site of the Tatar-inform news agency.
The project's authors - Rinnat Gabbasov, of the culture and
educational fund Prizma, and Abdrakhman Naumov, a teacher at Russia's
Islamic University - answered reporters' questions at the Tatar-inform
television studio.
According to the project's brainfathers, they first time had the idea
of translating some animated cartoon about Islam and Muslims into the
Tatar language long ago, but it took them a while to find a suitable
product. The Turkish cartoon called Little Ali proved precisely what they
needed. Adapting it to the Tatar realities and environment was very easy.
The main character was renamed to Kamil. As the authors of the idea
explained, this name is more frequent among the Tatars.
The cartoon consists of three parts lasting a total of 50 minutes.
Part one explains the word Bismillah (In the name of Allah), which is of
tremendous importance to each Muslim. Part two is about life by faith that
prompts people to do the right and pious things. And part three explains
what namaz is, and why it is impossible to imagine a true Muslim without a
prayer. The CDs with the cartoon will be distributed free.

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Russia's Islamic University in Kazan has held a diploma distribution
ceremony. For the first time ever in Russian history graduates from the
theology department received state-approved standard higher education
certificates giving them the right to take jobs at any institutions - both
secular and religious.
The State Duma on November 13, 2007 voted for amendments to The Law on
Education empowering theological colleges and universities to issue state
standard education certificates. When he visited the Russian Islamic
University last autumn, the then First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry
Medvedev initiated the amendments' adoption.
Sixteen graduates, including eight ones from the university's
department for women students, received the state standard diplomas.
Another fourteen education certificates were issued to fourteen graduates
from the Islamic sciences department, and five more, to graduates from the
Hafizes of the Quran training center. Of the 35 graduates one woman
scholar earned the highest distinction certificate.
The university's rector, professor Rafik Mukhametshin, said in his
address it was the university's sixth turnout of graduates, and a second
from the theology department. Such specialists are in great demand not
only at religious institutions. The rector believes that experts in Islam
must be present in all spheres of society. This would help create a better
attitude to the Muslim religion.
Mukhametshin speculated that the university's graduates may well be
employed as teachers lecturing students on the history of religions. This
subject will be introduced to the curricula of schools in Tatarstan soon.

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Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry has completed an operation to
airlift to Jordan a large consignment of humanitarian aid for the
population of the Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip.
"Under the Russian government's resolution three cargo planes of the
Emergency Situations Ministry on July 1 delivered to the Jordanian capital
Amman a large humanitarian cargo from Russia - foods, medicines and tents.
The Russian aid is for the population of the Palestinian territories,
including the Gaza strip, where there remains a complicated humanitarian
situation," the Russian Foreign Ministry's information and press
department said in a statement.
The Foreign Ministry said "this aid is Russia's extra contribution to
the international community's collective efforts aimed at bringing about
an early stabilization of the situation in the Palestinian territories
and, in the final count, advancing the political settlement in the region
and creating favorable conditions for the establishment of lasting peace
and stability in the Middle East.
In all, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry has delivered about
80 tonnes of cargoes for the Palestinians. The humanitarian aide was
provided at the decision of the Russian president and government following
a request from the Palestinian National Authority.

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Chechnya is to host the international conference Sufism and its Role
in the Development of Islamic Society. It was called by the World Islamic
People's Leadership (created in Libya in September 1989 under Muamar
Gaddafi) and the Muslim Board of the Chechen republic.
An estimated 150-200 delegates are to take part. Half of them will be
representing Russia's regions and Moscow. There will be several foreign
guests from the non-CIS countries at the forum - World Islamic Call
Society (WICS) Secretary-General Mohammed Al-Sharif, member of the World
Islamic Conference from Uzbekistan Al-Sheikh Muhammad Sadyk Muhammad Yusuf
(senior lecturer at the Islamic University of Bukhara, former teacher of
Chechnya's first late president, Akhmat-Khaji Kadyrov).
Also in attendance there will be muftis from the Volga River Area and
the North Caucasus, Dr. Sc. (Philosophy) Vyacheslav Ali Polosin, expert
from the Moscow office of the Carnegie Endowment, Alexei Malashenko, and
clergymen and scholars from Chechnya's Academy of Sciences.
The forum will be held at the residence of Chechen President Ramzan
Kadyrov in Gudermes on July 6.