Muslims can congratulate Christians on their religious holidays, including the Resurrection of Jesus, and participate in the Easter meal, it does not violate their faith, but concerns universal human values, Moscow Mufti Albir Krganov, head of the Spiritual Assembly of Russian Muslims, told RIA Novosti.
Easter, or the resurrection of Jesus, was celebrated in the Russian Orthodox Church this year on May 2. But the holiday does not end there - it is celebrated for 40 days. At the same time, on Bright Week - the first week after Easter - the churches reproduce the Easter service with the crying of "Christ is risen!" Traditionally, believers greet each other with this phrase.
Krganov noted that in Russia and the CIS, representatives of different confessions congratulate each other on confessional holidays, "because we live in the same society and cherish these relations."
"When we congratulate Christians, Jews, and Buddhists on their holidays, we do not renounce our religious beliefs. We wish peace, goodness, health, well-being. We approach it from a universal, rather than religious perspective, without violating our faith," the Mufti explained.
So, according to him, at the Muslim holiday of Uraza Bayram (in 2021 celebrated on May 13 - ed.) in the community members of other faiths are also invited to the celebration - and they come. "It's the same if we are invited to the Easter table - a Muslim can take part. What if he drinks tea and eats cake, does he lose his faith? That's absurd. Religion is above prejudice," the head of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims stressed.
At the same time, he said, "the opinions of Muslim scholars are divided as to whether it is allowed to congratulate non-believers on their holidays." "From my point of view, you can congratulate people who are not at war with Muslims - here we are talking about religious wars, for example, in history - the Crusades," Krganov said.
"And if there is a misunderstanding between politicians in different countries, religious organizations should try to improve these relations. We have to come to an agreement. We must serve the cause of strengthening friendship between peoples," the interlocutor added.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Mikhail Metzel / TASS
Based on materials from RIA Novosti