Chairman of the Religious Board of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan (RBM RT) Mufti Kamil Samigullin emphasized the importance of the 10th meeting of the Group of Strategic Vision “Russia - Islamic World” (GSV), which took place on December 11, 2024, in Malaysia. This meeting became a platform for exchanging opinions. According to the mufti, when voicing the thesis on pluralism, it is important to remember that the opinion – this is knowledge plus experience; that is, not every person who comes from the street can constructively speak out on the topic under discussion.
"Experienced people have gathered here. We cannot agree with all of them, but some of the speeches were very interesting. They talked a lot about the problems in Gaza and the Syrian issue. Let's hope that this will not remain just empty words, and that after what has been said, some results and real help will follow", - said Kamil hazrat.
The Mufti noted that the Russian Ummah is closely following the events in the Middle East. Thus, during the meeting, news emerged about the death of Sheikh Tawfik Al-Bouti, a professor at the Faculty of Sharia Sciences at Damascus University. At the end of November, the famous Muslim theologian visited the publishing house of the RBM RT “Huzur”. However, Kamil hazrat clarified that the news is most likely fake (later, Sheikh Al-Bouti appeared in the media to refute the reports of his death – editor’s note), nevertheless, the events taking place in the region require practical results from the discussions.
"In any case, opinions need to be exchanged in order to hear and listen to each other. Our beloved Prophetﷺ said that love for the worldly is the beginning of all delusions and any mistakes", - recalled Kamil hazrat. He also cited one of Jalil hazrat Fazlyev's (chief qazy of Tatarstan - editor's note) speeches at the plenum of the RBM RT as an example. Jalil Hazrat then stated that when in a family, and in any business, the ego comes first, then things don’t work out.
In the words of Kamil hazrat, in his speech Jalil Hazrat also spoke about his meeting in 2009 with the first president of Tatarstan, Mintimer Shaimiev, who currently holds the post of state adviser of the republic. Shaimiev asked the question: "What is needed for the development of religion?" Jalil Hazrat replied that we need people who put public interests above personal ones; moreover, this applies to any area, not just religion.
“When we start to really think about the ummah, about Muslims, about brothers and sisters, about what is happening, we’ll worry about it, at least once a day, then, by the will of the Almighty, everything’ll change”, - explained Kamil hazrat. In confirmation, the mufti quoted ayats from the Holy Quran: “And whoever fears Allah, He will provide for him an exit and provide for him from where he does not expect” (Surah 65, ayats 2 and 3 – editor’s note). That is, a person should not worry about food and what will happen to him if he shows piety, explained hazrat.
“The most important thing is to be each other’s helpers in piety to Allah”, - concluded the Mufti of Tatarstan.
It is important to note that in his speech at the 10th meeting of the GSV Kamil hazrat Samigullin invited the participants to cooperate with Tatarstan and the RBM RT in the field of development of Islam. The Republic is a real Islamic center of Russia, where known how to work with foreign Muslim partners and investments and where ready to offer many interesting projects. In particular, Kamil рazrat spoke about the development of Islamic finance in Tatarstan and the extensive publishing activities of the RBM RT. The project of the handwritten Quran in Kazan deserves special attention.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: RBM RT