On the eve of the significant anniversary Rustam Minnikhanov, Rais of the Republic of Tatarstan, Chairman of the Group of Strategic Vision «Russia – Islamic World», presented the republic's state award — the medal of the Order "For Merit to the Republic of Tatarstan" — to Supreme Mufti of Russia Talgat Tadzhuddin. This ceremony was a fitting recognition of 45 years of his dedicated service, but it was far from the first: over the years, his titanic work has been recognized with a constellation of awards from former Russian Presidents Boris Yeltsin and Dmitry Medvedev, as well as state security agencies. Public recognition has even placed him on a par with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Alexy II in 2001. The award from Tatarstan was a fitting addition to the majestic picture of the Supreme Mufti's longstanding, dedicated service to the country.
THE TENACITY OF FAITH
Supreme Mufti of Russia Talgat Safa Tadzhuddin has walked a path that embodies the steadfastness of faith and the complex, grand history of Russia. Born in 1948 to a simple Kazan family, he absorbed spiritual values from his grandmothers and life principles from his parents. From his mother, the future mufti learned hard work, and his father became his primary moral compass. From a young age, Talgat Tadzhuddin thirsted for knowledge, and his main teacher was the hereditary Imam Akhmad-Zaki Hazrat. During the height of Soviet atheism, this wise mentor boldly taught not only faith but also selfless love for the Motherland, the preservation of the native language, and respect for people of all nationalities.
The knowledge he received from him was so profound that even subsequent studies in Bukhara and Cairo, according to the mufti, only strengthened this solid spiritual foundation. In 1966, Talgat Tadzhuddin entered the Mir Arab madrasah in Bukhara — the only training ground for Muslim parishes in the USSR. Revived after decades of neglect, it was truly unique: only 50 students were enrolled in the entire Soviet Union. In Bukhara, the future mufti was decisively influenced by his teacher, Sheikh Ziyauddinkhan ibn Ishan Babakhan, an encyclopedist and hafiz of the Quran. Today, graduates of the legendary Mir Arab madrasah, united by the spirit of the Bukhara land and the lofty principles of their mentors, can be found throughout the CIS countries.
The Supreme Mufti of Russia, Talgat Tadzhuddin, is an outstanding spiritual leader whose work seamlessly combines religious service with active peacekeeping and public service. While still studying in Cairo, he laid the foundations for his future international relations, and later, as head of the Association of Foreign Relations, he organized the first mass Hajj for 1,500 Soviet Muslims in 1990, opening a new chapter in the history of Russian Islam.
The mufti earned unquestionable authority with his consistent peacemaking stance. In 2003, he led a Russian interfaith delegation to Baghdad in an attempt to prevent war, where he conducted a prayer for peace and issued a fatwa condemning the Western invasion. He also spoke out against the 2014 intervention in Syria, supporting Russia's peace initiatives. His influence is based on a profound conviction that preaching must be connected to life, and that Islam carries within itself a peacemaking impulse incompatible with violence.
In February 2025, the Supreme Mufti's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin went beyond protocol and focused on the global world order. The main practical outcome of this meeting, as well as the Mufti's recent trip to Bahrain as part of a delegation from the Central Religious Board of Muslims of Russia (CRBM), was the discussion of a major initiative. It envisions a far-reaching reform — the creation of a Council of Muslim Sages, the highest body authorized to issue modern fatwas for the entire Muslim world. Its chairman, according to the plan, will become the Supreme Mufti of the planet.
Talgat Hazrat Tadzhuddin, Chairman of the Central Religious Board of Muslims of Russia, has been actively strengthening interfaith ties in Russia and abroad for many years. He is known for his ecumenical views and conviction that God is one for all. In his sermons, he calls for unity in the face of moral decline, emphasizing the unifying role of faith in a single Creator.
He has maintained long-standing spiritual friendships with Patriarchs Alexy II and Kirill, other Orthodox hierarchs, and leaders of the Jewish and Buddhist communities. As an active member of the Interreligious Council of Russia and the CIS countries, Talgat Tadzhuddin makes a significant contribution to dialogue between religions.
TWELFTH CHAIRMAN
After completing his studies in 1978, Talgat Tadzhuddin began his ministry in Kazan, becoming the first imam-khatib of the Marjani Mosque. In 1980, following the illness of the previous mufti, he was offered the position of head of the Religious Board of Muslims of the European USSR and Siberia (RBMES). The young imam resisted this high position for a year and a half, considering it an enormous burden of responsibility. The advice of his mentor, Akhmad-Zaki Hazrat, who said that refusal was tantamount to desertion, played a decisive role. On June 19, 1980, a Muslim congress in Ufa unanimously elected 32-year-old Talgat Tadzhuddin as the new mufti.
His election in 1980 ushered in a vigorous revival of Islamic life in the USSR. He supported the perestroika policies, seeing them as a long-awaited opportunity for a spiritual revival. Faced with a severe shortage of qualified personnel — in 1979, only one person from Bashkortostan was studying at Islamic universities — the mufti secured an increase in quotas for education in Soviet madrassas. Thanks to his persistence, by 1985, the number of shakirds from the RSFSR had increased significantly.
One of Tadzhuddin's main achievements was the opening of the Rizaetdin Fakhretdinov Higher Madrasah in Ufa in January 1989, on the basis of which the Russian Islamic University (RIU) of the CRBM was later created. RIU became a worthy successor to the pre-revolutionary Islamic educational institutions and began training imams and teachers. Over the years, the university has graduated over 1,000 specialists, and its structure has expanded to include evening and correspondence departments and a network of branches across the country. The university is also developing international ties, including a student exchange agreement with Morocco, and has been admitted to the Federation of World Islamic Universities.
Under Talgat Tadzhuddin's leadership, tens of thousands of copies of the Quran and hadith were published, and new mosques were opened across the country. During the first four years of his leadership, the number of Muslim ministers in the USSR increased by 525. At the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, he made titanic efforts to consolidate Russian Muslims. The importance of training was emphasized at the first RIU graduate congress in August 2012 in Ufa, where approximately 800 graduates gathered. The congress noted the high level of education at RIU, and the graduates were tasked with reviving the former glory of Muslim scholarship in the Volga region, drawing on both domestic and international experience.
In 1989, at the initiative of Mufti Talgat Tadzhuddin, the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by the peoples of the Volga and Ural regions and the 200th anniversary of the Religious Board of Muslims of the European USSR and Siberia were widely celebrated. In 1990, at the Fifth Congress in Ufa, he was re-elected mufti and awarded the title of Sheikh-ul-Islam.
However, in 1992, RBMES experienced a schism. To preserve the integrity of the administration, it was transformed into the Central Religious Board of Muslims of Russia and the European CIS Countries (CRBM), and Talgat Tadzhuddin was awarded the rank of Supreme Mufti of Russia. Despite this, he continued his work to strengthen Muslim communities and restore mosques with renewed vigor.
The Supreme Mufti of Russia, Talgat Tadzhuddin, is a key figure in the country's religious life. His work is built on constructive interaction with government authorities and active participation in public life. The mufti regularly meets with the country's leadership, participates in federal congresses, and his contribution to strengthening interethnic peace is highly valued by government officials.
The most important areas of his work are the uncompromising fight against extremism and criticism of destructive foreign religious influence. Talgat Tadzhuddin advocates for the secular nature of the state, seeing it as a guarantee of religious independence, and is convinced that caring for the spiritual health of the nation is the shared responsibility of domestic religious leaders.
Under his leadership, hundreds of new mosques were built, which symbolizing the spiritual rebirth of Muslims in Russia. One of his signature projects was the Lyalya-Tulip Mosque in Ufa, which Russian President Vladimir Putin visited in 2001 to meet with the Sheikh ul-Islam. With his preaching of peace, friendship between peoples, and spiritual and moral revival, Talgat Tadzhuddin makes an invaluable contribution to strengthening interfaith dialogue and the country's prosperity.
LIGHT OF ISLAM TO CHILDREN AND YOUTH
For over 25 years, Supreme Mufti Talgat Tadzhuddin held Muslim national congresses in ancient Bolgar, believing that a great Islamic educational center would be established there, and that the revived shrine would become a meeting place for Muslims across Russia. Recently, under the leadership of the first president of Tatarstan, Mintimer Shaimiev, major new buildings were erected in Bolgar: the White Mosque and the Bolgar Islamic Academy, which serve the spiritual revival of society. Tadzhuddin's first sermon was delivered here in 1989, amid the ruins of the ancient city, when he called on the faithful to be devoted to the Almighty, to love the Earth, and to live in wisdom. His words touched the hearts of thousands.
Supreme Mufti Talgat Tadzhuddin devotes exceptional attention to the spiritual and moral education of the younger generation, personally participating in numerous forums and gatherings. In his speeches to students, schoolchildren, and young professionals, he calls for channeling the energy of youth into "patient creation and spiritual enlightenment," speaking out against the destructive influence of extremism.
Of particular significance are his heartfelt sermons, in which he emphasizes: "Mutual trust and respect between the peoples of our vast Motherland and the followers of traditional faiths... is a priceless gift from God. This gift, preserved for us by previous generations of Russians, is the most precious thing we have left."
This educational work is embodied in large-scale events, such as plenary sessions of the GSV “Russia - Islamic World”. At a May 2025 conference dedicated to the joint experience of Russia and the Islamic world in youth policy, he emphasized Russia's historical role as a country that has united many peoples based on mutual respect for religions.
Talgat Hazrat also highlighted the serious challenges of our time, the main one being the deliberate destruction of traditional values among young people. The mufti condemned the practice of gender reassignment as a "capture of minds and souls" that contradicts God's will, and called for the protection of the younger generation.
He expressed particular compassion for the long-suffering Palestinian ummah. Tadzhuddin declared that Russia's strength lies in unity, and the call for peace must be expressed through kind words, not war. He concluded his speech with a key thesis that sounded like a spiritual testament: "We have one enemy — Satan — and one goal — peace."
Supreme Mufti Talgat Tadzhuddin prioritizes the upbringing of children and actively promotes the revival of charitable traditions in Russia's Muslim community. Under his wise leadership, the Central Religious Board of Muslims of Russia has become the largest Islamic organization in the country, conducting extensive charitable activities. The mufti himself, preaching compassion, personally sets an example by providing constant care and support to those in need. His work in this area has received official recognition at the state level — since 2011, he has served on the Republican Council for Charitable Activities under the leadership of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
The fight against orphanhood is at the heart of the mufti's social initiatives. With the pain of a father and grandfather, he speaks of children deprived of parental love, and staunchly declares that orphans should not exist in society at all. He sees the cause of this tragedy in a frivolous attitude toward marriage, when people feel no responsibility to the law, their own conscience, or God. Overseeing an orphanage in Ufa, he bitterly notes that most of the children are so-called social orphans, whose parents are alive but abandoned them due to addictions such as alcoholism.
In his sermons, quoting the Prophet ﷺ , the mufti calls for softening hearts by stroking the head of an orphan and helping those in need. He insists that religious organizations actively take on the responsibilities of underprivileged families, emphasizing that parents are primarily responsible for raising their children and instilling faith from an early age. He is particularly concerned about drug addiction, which he calls worse than an atomic bomb because of the endless tears it brings to thousands of mothers and fathers. Talgat Tadzhuddin concludes that the existence of orphanages is a disgrace to society as a whole, and urges everyone to demonstrate responsibility by taking up guardianship over orphans.
The Central Religious Board of Muslims of Russia, under the leadership of Supreme Mufti Talgat Tadzhuddin, actively promotes patriotic education and social service. The mufti is a supporter of the institution of military clergy, personally instructs conscripts, and cares for veterans. He also advocates for the development of organ donation, viewing it as a charitable act whose purpose is to save human life.
As a sign of interfaith unity, the leaders of all major religions in Russia, including the head of the CRBM, regularly participate with the President in important state ceremonies, such as the flower-laying ceremony at the Minin and Pozharsky monument on National Unity Day. On this holiday in 2025, Vladimir Putin presented state awards, recognizing the contribution of the Council for Interaction with Religious Associations.
Receiving the Certificate of Honor, Talgat hazrat Tadzhuddin stated:
"National Unity Day is not only our shared holiday, but also the cherished dream of all nations, a command from the Almighty Himself. We have entered an era when, in any conflict, it is clear who is on God's side and who is on the side of the devil. And our country sets a tremendous example for the world in this regard.
Russian Muslims wholeheartedly support the special military operation. No one is allowed to divide our Fatherland. At the front, soldiers listen to priests and imams, and they say with one voice: "There is one God, one Motherland."
Achieving unity is a great effort, but losing it is easy. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: “Whom the Almighty does not correct through Scripture, the authorities will correct.” May God, grant you help for many years to come.”
The celebrations in Kazan, dedicated to the 45th anniversary of Talgat Tadzhuddin's ministry, became a vibrant demonstration of unity and continuity in the Russian Muslim community. The program of festivities, which began in Ufa with a large-scale international conference, "Ideals and Values of Islam: One Ummah - Common Destiny", and the CRBM congress, seamlessly moved to the capital of Tatarstan. The key event here was a gala reception with the active participation of the Mufti of Tatarstan, Kamil Samigullin, which vividly underscored the deep respect and close cooperation between the religious boards.
In his speech, addressing the audience in Arabic and Tatar, the Supreme Mufti spoke of the origins of Islam in Volga Bulgaria, thereby drawing a wise parallel between this rich history and his own role in preserving it over the past 45 years. The high award from the Republic of Tatarstan and the visit to Bolgar, organized with the support of the Religious Board of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan, marked a fitting conclusion to the Kazan leg of the anniversary celebrations, symbolically linking the Mufti's personal journey with the fate of all Russian Islam.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the Rais RT