Traditionally, every year during the month of Ramadan, the Republican iftar is held in Kazan. This year it will be the tenth and will take place on 30 April, the penultimate day of the holy month. It is expected that 10 000 people will take part in the joint iftar celebrations at the Kazan Expo International Exhibition Centre, which is very symbolic for the jubilee iftar and the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by Volga Bulgaria. The organizers, who traditionally are the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Ak Bars Arena Stadium Management and the Tugan Avylym National Tourist Complex, have prepared a number of innovations designed to simplify the entry to the territory of the Republican iftar and diversify the cultural program.
‘Hopefully the number of iftar participants will also grow’
According to Radik Minnakhmetov, General Director of the Ak Bars Arena Stadium, the maximum number of the participants of the Republican iftar was in 2020, when it was held in an online format. Then it was attended by 30 000 people.
‘As far as the relocation of the site is concerned, when we visited the International Exhibition Centre, we saw that there was an opportunity to double the number of people there, including the convenient arrangement of furniture, taking into account the requirements of the pandemic. Hopefully, the number of iftar participants will grow every year,’ Minnakhmetov stressed.
According to Igor Astafiev, First Deputy Director General of Kazan Expo, the International Exhibition Centre is ready to accommodate such a large number of people, but one should not forget about the restrictions.
‘Unfortunately, the coronavirus infection is still with us. Therefore, the complex will keep on ensuring full compliance with all sanitary and epidemiological standards. Personal protective equipment – masks – will be provided, and the facility also has a sufficient number of sanitizers and, accordingly, germicidal emitters, which also purify the air in a quarts cleaning format. We will fully comply with all legal requirements,’ Astafiev explained.
The guests of the big majlis will include both regular Muslims, people in need, and executives of different levels, business representatives, guests from regions, officials, leaders of traditional confessions of Tatarstan. There will be free special commuter trains to and from the Kazan Expo International Exhibition Centre in accordance with the following schedule:
• The first suburban train from Kazan Pass station starts at 16:45. The return trip from Kazan International Airport station starts at 21:15.
• The second suburban train from Kazan Pass station starts at 17:40. The return trip from Kazan International Airport starts at 23:00.
What food will be served and how much does the iftar cost per person?
Radik Abdrakhmanov, co-owner of the Tygan Avylym National Tourist Complex, said the team organizing the republican iftar also faced higher prices for food and household goods – an average increase of about 20%.
‘The total estimate was 600 rubles per person. Our Republican iftar will be delicious and large-scale. Traditionally, the main treat will be pilaf. There will also be dates, dried apricots, cherry tomatoes, pickled gherkins, fruits, water, juices, ochpochmaki, bekken, chak-chak, sweets and biscuits. There was also bought 2 tons of beef, 1 ton of rice, 1,5 tons of fruits, 1 ton of dried fruits, 1,5 tons of vegetables, 600 kilos of chak-chak, 600 kilos of biscuits and other things,’ Radik Abdrakhmanov told journalists.
According to one of the event organizers, the main philosophy is to bring people together so that they can create, support each other and learn to forgive.
‘A believer remembers that he is part of the Ummah’
First Deputy Mufti of Tatarstan Ilfar Khasanov told journalists about the spiritual component of the iftar. He noted that the end of fasting is another type of worship to the Creator.
‘Today we can buy anything, but only at such an iftar does a believer remember that he is part of the Ummah of Islam. Believers, our co-religionists get acquainted, communicate, first of all, receive spiritual food, and their faith in the Creator consolidates,’ Khasanov is convinced.
The First Deputy Mufti also recalled that, as we know from Prophet Muhammad, during iftar, the Almighty accepts a person’s prayer. ‘We will read dua and ask the Almighty for health for all people, for peace of mind and for peace in the world,’ Ilfar Khasanov added.
How to become a volunteer and where to get a ticket to the iftar?
Head of the Office of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan Irek Arslanov spoke in more detail about how to get a ticket to the Republican iftar and where to apply for volunteers. ‘The bulk of applications are received by mosques and mukhtasibats. The second line of applications is sent to the Spiritual Administration, which are considered by our staff together with the Mufti. After that they are transferred to the Organizational Department and distributed,’ Irek Arslanov explained.
This year, the organizers came up with the form of an electronic invitation ticket. On the ticket, in addition to the logo of the Republican iftar, there is also the logo of the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by Volga Bulgaria. It also contains the venue scheme and the dates of the train to Kazan Expo International Exhibition Centre and to Kazan. One will need to show the ticket on a phone or print it out.
500 volunteers aged 16 and over are planned to meet the guests of the Republican iftar, organize the reading of collective namaz, serve food and clean up afterwards. They will join the preparation process 2-3 days before the event. To become part of the big team, you need to call: +7 (843) 237-86-18 or register in the telegram channel.
The cultural program of the Republican iftar
A rich cultural and educational program has been prepared for the participants of the Republican iftar from 17:00 to 19:00. According to the organizers, there will be performers of nasheeds and munajats. Famous religious figures will deliver informative sermons on the merits of the month of Ramadan; the believers from all over the Republic will be greeted by Mufti of Tatarstan Kamil Samigullin. There will also be a halal market at the gallery of Kazan Expo International Exhibition Centre, and the Modest Fashion Show, a Muslim fashion show for women, will take place at the iftar.
The halal market will feature 15 manufacturers from Tatarstan: visitors will be able to buy tea, exclusive chak-chak, shawls, clogs, ichigi, handicrafts, perfume, children’s literature, Uraza Bayram gift sets and many other things. In addition, the Khuzur Publishing House of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan will present its products, and eight madrasahs will tell about how to receive religious education in the republic.
Ilmira Gafiyatullina