Ramazan Abdulatipov: “There are a lot of information provocations against Russia and Islam”
“Entire fake spaces based on lies are being created”
The Group of Strategic Vision “Russia — Islamic World”, headed by President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, held the online conference “Russia-Islamic World: Intersections of Information Cooperation”. The forum was supported by the permanent mission of the Russian Federation to the Organization of Islamic cooperation (OIC), the Union of Information Agencies of the OIC and the Union of Journalists of Russia. Russian and foreign media managers, diplomats, and officials participated in the forum.
The moderator was Anna Belikova, the adviser to the State Council “Russia — Islamic World', Orientalist. By the way, when presenting speakers, she easily switched from Russian to Arabic and vice versa.
This time, the participants of the “meeting” discussed, in particular, the prospects for cooperation between the OIC countries and Russia in the media sphere.
“A number of world mass media continue to actively counteract the spread of the truth about the foreign and domestic policies of our countries, while not only violating the standards of the journalistic profession and established ethical norms, but also using information technologies for malevolent purposes. Entire fake spaces are being created in the world based on unsubstantiated direct lies. This leads to that any issue that contradicts such mainstream is actually drowning in a swamp of double standards," said Farit Mukhametshin, the deputy head of the state security service and deputy chairperson of the International Affairs Committee of the Federation Council.
The senator added that today freedom of speech needs to be protected. And he called for upholding this principle in the international arena, protecting journalists who are not afraid to tell the truth and cover events objectively.
He also reminded that last year marked the 50th anniversary of the OIC (Russia has observer status in the organisation). The special session of the State Council “Russia — Islamic World” was dedicated to this anniversary in Ufa last November. It was conducted by the Chairperson of the Strategic Vision Group, President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov with the participation of the head of Bashkortostan, Radiy Khabirov.
Quoting Putin, Mukhametshin noted that Russia and the OIC are allies that together counter global threats, regulate conflicts and defend the socio-cultural diversity of the world. Moscow is an important partner for the countries of the Islamic world.
Moscow's role in conflict resolution
Ramazan Abdulatipov, Russia's special representative to the OIC, elaborated on Russia's interaction with Islamic countries. In particular, he noted that the OIC Secretary General, Yousef A. Al-Othaimeen, highly appreciated the role of Moscow in the settlement of the military conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“Many conflicts in the post-Soviet space arise because we begin to contradict the historical choice of the peoples of Russia — our interaction and friendship. And the Organization of Islamic Cooperation highlights the role of Russia and President Putin as a new opportunity to achieve peace in the South Caucasus," Abdulatipov said.
Among the joint tasks of Russia and the OIC countries, he called the fight against ignorance, which is also imposed in the religious sphere.
“There are a lot of information provocations against Russia and Islam aimed at discrediting Russia and Islam in the eyes of the world community. In this regard, we must strengthen our interaction in order to convey the truth to people and overcome lies. The dogs bark, but the caravan goes on And we should continue to do our job," said the Russian special representative to the OIC.
Abdulatipov believes that it is possible to strengthen information cooperation between Russia and the Islamic world on the platforms such as KazanSummit, St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, and Caspian Economic Forum.
By the way, the event was held in preparation for the VI International Forum of Muslim Journalists and Bloggers, which is scheduled for 2021 in online format.