Ravil Gaynutdin: ‘Religious leaders should be heard all over the world’
The award ceremony for the Holy Quran Award competition concluded a three-day series of events that the Russian Muslim Religious Directorate held ahead of the summit of BRICS leaders. Before the gala evening, the leaders of BRICS Muslim religious organisations gathered in the Pushkin Hall of Korston hotel and signed a joint resolution. At the last moment, Mufti of Tatarstan Kamil Samigullin found himself at the same table with them. Read more details about it in a report of Realnoe Vremya.
Nine points, nine signatures
A competition of readers from 20 countries was recently held in Kazan, and on 25 July, an international scientific and theological conference Religious Silk Road: the Significance of Religious Values in Greater Eurasia was organised. On 26 July, a solemn ceremony of awarding the readers was held in Korston where the resolution was signed.
“It is extremely important for us, together with our foreign partners, to declare our commitment to spiritual and moral ideals, humanistic and universal values,” Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gaynutdin opened the meeting.
The text of the resolution was read by Vice Chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia Rushan Abbyasov who first listed the leaders of Muslim religious organisations of the BRICS countries who gathered in the hall (the full list is below).
The resolutions distributed to those present were absent, but also sitting at the table were Chairman of the UAE General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments Umar Mubarak Ad-Dir'i and Mufti of Tatarstan Kamil Samigullin were sitting at the table. Moreover, the nameplate and a chair for the head of the Tatarstan Muslim Religious Directorate were placed literally before the start of the event. And he is not in the photo that accompanies the resolution on the website of the Council of Muftis. As it was explained by the press service of the Russia Muslim Religious Directorate, this is about oral support: “Those who support are indicated in the document.”
It should be reminded in April 2021 Ravil Gaynutdin addressed Rustam Minnikhanov with an appeal “to prevent the erosion and destabilisation of the religious space of the republic” pointing out that in the Tatar interpretation of the Quran, it is stated in a footnote to one of the ayahs: “If you despair in your affairs, ask for help from the inhabitants of the graves.” This is “nothing more than a harsh attempt to introduce the teachings of the marginal Turkish sect Ismail Aga into the Tatar-speaking spiritual space,” the letter stated.
“I just want to wish him (Editor’s note: Mufti Gainutdin) good health and a spring mood,” Samigullin said then.
“BRICS has become a multifunctional international organisation”
The resolution includes 9 points, the last two of which are gratitude to the leadership of the Russian Federation, wishes for success in holding the upcoming BRICS Leaders’ Summit in Kazan and gratitude to the organisers of the event — the Muslim Religious Directorate of Russia, the Muhammad bin Zayed University of Humanities (UAE), the government of Tatarstan and the Muslim Religious Directorate of Tatarstan.
Here are the first seven of the above-mentioned clauses:
1. The dynamic development of BRICS in all areas of activity, its great potential and focus on becoming a representative integration forum for interaction between all leading capitals of the multipolar world deserve high praise. We are pleased to note that by uniting different states and representatives of different civilisations, BRICS has become a multifunctional international organisation covering not only politics and economics but also the cultural and humanitarian areas.
2. We, the leaders of Muslim religious organisations of the BRICS countries, feel a special responsibility before God and the peoples of our countries in protecting divinely inspired moral and ethical standards expressed in preserving the foundations of the traditional family, continuity of generations, love for the motherland, protecting the national, cultural and religious characteristics and traditions of its peoples, opposing soulless globalisation and the erosion of identities.
3. The leaders of traditional religions of the participating countries have a major role to play in preserving and enhancing dialogue, harmonious coexistence and good neighborliness of representatives of various religions and peoples.
4. The religious leaders of BRICS Muslims are fully supporting the efforts of the leaders of the countries particularly emphasising the inter-civilizational nature of the organisation to strengthen this association as the most important international institution based on the proximity of political and economic interests, call for further integration of the member states on the basis of common spiritual and moral values in the name of creation, the desire to build a multipolar world taking into account all the ethnic, cultural and religious diversity of humanity.
5. The leaders of Muslim religious organisations of the BRICS countries support all international efforts to ensure a just peace and stability in conflict regions of the world.
6. The Islamic religion like other religion does not accept terrorism and extremism in any form, confirming that there can be no justification for any terrorist acts.
7. Within the association, religious organisations of Muslims of the BRICS states intend to further strengthen horizontal ties, interaction, cooperation and partnership in the cultural and humanitarian sphere for the benefit of common interests of the member states and their peoples.
After a group photo, a significant part of the guests left, but Gaynutdin found time to talk with Ayatollah Ali Reza Arafi and Khaled Rezk al-Sayed Taqi al-Din.
The best reciter is from Bahrain
“The most pleasant thing will happen now is the distribution of awards, prizes to our winners who readers the Quran,” Gaynutdin told journalists. Among the participants, he singled out a guest from Egypt, Mohamed Abdelkarim Kamil Attiyah Mohamed (he eventually took second place). “He is a hafiz, he learned the Koran by ear, its tajweed, mahraj, maqam (Editor’s note: rules of orthoepic reading, including articulation, melody). It is incredibly difficult, but he was able to do it by ear and achieve high results.”
The Sheikh also explained the meaning of the resolution:
“With the blessing of Almighty Allah, we give our blessing to the leaders of the BRICS countries who will gather in Kazan by holding a competition of reciters from the BRICS countries. First of all, we send to the secretariat of the summit, they must familiarise the leaders so that they do not forget about spiritual, moral, ethical values, about what spiritual leaders, not theologians, but also ministers of Islamic affairs, declare. Secondly, it is an appeal to our society, to the world community. Religious leaders must be heard throughout the world.”
The award ceremony began with a performance of Ilgiz Shaykhraziev who recited the Fatiha surah and was joined by the Chamber Choir of the republic. In the evening, one could see a scene where a blogger (Rishat Akhmadullin) tried to burn the Quran but he was confronted by a scholar (Fanis Zigansha) who took him on a journey, sanctified by the beautiful recitation of the Quran from the participants in the competition. Mohamed Samir Mohamed Magahed from Bahrain was chosen as winner chosen by the international jury.