On 15 November the International Conference “Orthodoxy and Islam – Inter-Сonfessional Dialogue in Achieving Global Peace” was held at the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society Centre.
The scientific event was organized by the Group of Strategic Vision “Russia – Islamic World” and the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society.
Speeches were made by: Chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society Sergey Stepashin; Sheikh-Ul-Islam, Supreme Mufti, Chairman of the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia Talgat Safa Tadzhuddin; Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, Deputy Chairman of the Group of Strategic Vision “Russia – Islamic World” Farit Mukhametshin; Metropolitan of Kazan and Tatarstan Kirill; Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Mikhail Bogdanov; Head of the Karachay-Cherkessia Republic Rashid Temrezov; Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Ramazan Abdulatipov; Head of the Department for Interaction with Religious Organizations of the Russian Federation President’s Internal Policy Department Evgeny Eremin; Chairman of the Council for State and Religious Relations under the Head of the Republic of Bashkortostan Azat Fattakhov and others.
The congress was moderated by Hieromonk Grigory Matrusov, Chairman of the Expert Council under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia for Interaction with the Islamic World, and Rushan Hazrat Abbyasov, Deputy Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation.
The events began with welcoming speech by Rustam Minnikhanov, President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Chairman of the Group of Strategic Vision “Russia – Islamic World”, which was read out by Farit Mukhametshin, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, Deputy Chairman of the Group.
In his address, Rustam Minnikhanov stressed that the Group of Strategic Vision “Russia – Islamic World” paid much attention to the study of international experience of inter-confessional peace, harmonization of intercultural dialogue and consolidation of cooperation between the countries of the Islamic world. He also noted the importance of events dedicated to the celebration of the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam, which were of great help in uniting the Muslims of Russia. This historic event largely determines the vector of foreign policy and the development of inter-confessional dialogue in the country. Rustam Minnikhanov also added that Russian President Vladimir Putin in his address to the 2022 session noted the importance of cooperation with the countries of the Islamic world in countering global information challenges and manifestations of extremism and terrorism. The politician is convinced that only through joint efforts it will be possible to consolidate the international dialogue and give direction to a new global interaction.
Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov read out the welcoming speech from Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, which noted that “ensuring peaceful development, well-being and prosperity of all mankind is impossible without establishing a mutually respectful dialogue between world religions and civilizations. We see this as an important component in the ongoing formation of more equitable multipolar world order architecture, involving respect for identity of peoples around the world and their right to determine their own destiny”.
According to the conference moderator, Hieromonk Grigory Matrusov, the clergy gathered at the conference were united by their concern for the fate of the world. Today Islam and Christianity are facing a great challenge.
“Either we become allies and truly overcome the threats of overt Satanism that confront the faithful, or we will not find a point of our cooperation and interaction. Then it will be difficult to defeat evil. Therefore, I believe that our event today should serve as a real contribution to this cause,” the religious figure expressed his opinion.
In his speech, Chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society Sergey Stepashin said that today the agenda was no longer about dialogue, but about common efforts, tasks and goals. He noted that “in the recent past, we could not even imagine that our relations with Saudi Arabia would be even better than with our best partners in Europe and America”.
The politician also recalled how six years ago he had visited Syria on behalf of President Vladimir Putin and met with President Assad, Patriarch John X of Antioch and the Syrian Grand Mufti.
“I saw no difference in dealing with them. The Patriarch has had one brother killed; the Mufti has had his son killed by the same thugs. We speak the same language about common threats to peace, despite our different nations. It is ISIS (banned in the Russian Federation), which tried to impose its rules of the game on the world, violating all norms of not only international law, but also moral rules. We have coped with ISIS (banned in the Russian Federation) by our joint efforts. The Syrian tragedy has shown us once again that peace is very fragile and we must fight together,” Stepashin concluded his speech.
According to moderator Rushan Hazrat Abbyasov, the dialogue between Orthodoxy and Islam is very important in achieving global peace: “Christians have always been particularly close to Muslims. For instance, it was the follower of Jesus Baraka ibn Nawfal who supported the prophet Muhammad when he began receiving revelations from God. In Christian Ethiopia the Meccans found refuge from the pagans of Mecca. Umar ibn Khattab guaranteed freedom of religion in Palestine”.
In his address, Farit Mukhametshin drew attention of the audience to the fact that today the world was facing a transformation of the world order and serious challenges that were a threat to security. There is an increasing demand for a fairer international system. The overwhelming majority of the international community rejects neo-colonial policies that impose the will of some countries over others. In this context, strengthening global peace through inter-confessional dialogue between traditional religions becomes an important issue. Russia is always open to dialogue and solving spiritual problems of Muslims and Orthodox Christians.
In continuation of the topic raised, Hieromonk Grigory Matrusov fluently quoted the ayats of the Quran in the Arabic language, focusing on the word “us”, which in Arabic means “people”. The Orthodox figure expressed his view that God in the Quran did not address Muslims in the context of piety, but all people, calling on them to respect and reverence the Creator.
Metropolitan Kirill of Kazan and Tatarstan also supported the theme of piety. He said that it was reverence for God that was the basis of both religions. “Piety has gone out of our lives and as a result there are no righteous people. We need to bring piety, righteousness back into our lives and nurture pious passionaries’. It often happens that a righteous person from one community is also considered righteous in another community. Consider Sablukov, who was the first to translate the Quran from Arabic into Russian. When he passed away, it seemed that the Muslim Ummah was grieving much more than the Orthodox community”.
The religious figure also noted the wisdom and piety of Supreme Mufti of Russia Talgat Tadzhuddin, who is understandable and close to both Muslims and Christians.
Farit Mukhametshin delivered a speech at the end of the conference. He summarized the results and noted that a final information and analytical material would be published in Russian, English and Arabic on the basis of the proceedings of the Conference. The recommendations of the Conference will be forwarded to religious and spiritual-educational organizations.