On October 17, the National Library of the Republic of Tatarstan hosted the grand opening of the International Festival of Islamic Art "Ostabike - Keeper of Traditions". In anticipation of the BRICS summit, outstanding artists, sculptors and masters of artistic crafts from Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Egypt gathered in Kazan. Among the participants were full members of the Russian Academy of Arts, people's and honored artists.
The festival is dedicated to women as keeper of the hearth. Women perform many social roles: they are companions, educators and active members of society. It is no coincidence that the name of the festival is "Ostabike", which is translated from Tatar as "educated woman", "wise mentor".
The event was held on the initiative of the Religious Board of Muslims of Russia with the support of the Russian Academy of Arts. The opening of the festival was attended by the Mufti of Tatarstan Kamil Hazrat Samigullin and the head of the Religious Board of Muslims of Russia Albir Hazrat Krganov.
For the festival guests were organized interactive areas and master classes on Arabic calligraphy, the creation of shamail, Nyrta lace-making, tying a headscarf, watercolor painting with elements of art therapy and making hasite.
The initiator of the event, executive director of the festival and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Arts Elmira Akhmetshina noted that first and foremost, a woman is a mother who gives her whole heart and soul to her children, passing on knowledge and traditions to them. "If a woman-mother does not do this, then our civilization will not continue. That is why we decided that the main person at our festival will be a woman", - said the executive director of the event.
In her speech, the Chairperson of the Public Chamber of the Republic of Tatarstan, Zilya Valeeva, noted the role of women in modern society: "There are still women who have contributed to girls, to the development of the culture of our republic, whose portraits have not survived. And so the first thing I was happy about was the plans of the festival organizers to make an art gallery of outstanding women of our republic, who have historically long shown their activity and have done a lot to ensure that Tatarstan is one of the most advanced regions of our vast country".
Zilya Valeeva recalled the words of the Tatar educator Shigabutdin Marjani on the importance of education for women. “He said that if we start educating girls today, in ten years we will not have problems with the younger generation. And today this very important attitude is being implemented by the women who are present here”, - said the chairperson of the public Chambers of the Republic of Tatarstan.
The Islamic Art Festival was accompanied by an award presented by the Religious Board of Muslims of Russia. As part of the gala event, awards were presented in four nominations: "Keeper of Social Values", "Keeper of Knowledge", "Keeper of the Cultural Code" and "Keeper of Family Traditions".
Kamil Hazrat also emphasized the role of women in Islam in his speech: “Half of our religion came thanks to the blessed wives of the Prophet ﷺ . We would not have read the hadiths about how he behaves with his household and would not have known this side of the Prophet ﷺ . Thanks to the blessed wives, this knowledge came to us”. The Mufti of Tatarstan noted that the Holy Quran contains suras dedicated to women, while only one ayat talks about what a man should be like.
It is important to note that the event is timed to coincide with the Year of the Family in Russia, announced by decree of President Vladimir Putin. Albir hazrat reminded about this in his speech. "We all think about where the roots are, where the foundation is, where the Motherland begins, what kind of education do we receive? And here the image of a woman, in particular I would like to say, the image of Tatar women, is an amazing phenomenon", - the mufti said.
Albir hazrat remembered the names of prominent Tatar women, including Rashida Abystay and Nurkamal abystay. "There are also many representatives from among women, Muslims, who make a very big contribution to the development and preservation of our culture, traditions and convey amazing love that no one else can convey", - the mufti noted. Albir Hazrat expressed deep respect to all women of Tatarstan and Russia as a whole.
As part of the opening of the festival, thematic master classes for adults and children were also held at the National Library of the Republic of Tatarstan, and a presentation of the Digital Gallery of Turkic and Islamic Art was held. A round table was held on the topic of "The Image of Women in the Art of Turkic Peoples". An art symposium and exhibitions based on its results in various cities of Russia are ahead.
The hall of the national library displays about 30 paintings by 20 authors, including works by the People's Artist of Tatarstan Farit Valiullin, Honored Artist of the Republic of Bashkortostan Salavat Gilyazetdinov and artist from Chelyabinsk Alena Askarova. The festival started in the Tatarstan city of Naberezhnye Chelny, where from October 3 to 6, as part of an art symposium, artists from different cities and countries together in one room created works on a given theme in a short time.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Islamic Art Festival "Ostabike"