On 21 May, members and participants of the Group of Strategic Vision ‘Russia – Islamic World’ visited ‘Izge Bolgar Zhyeny’, which was held in the city of Bolgar.
This year, a meeting of Muslims in Bolgar celebrated the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by Volga Bulgaria.
The federal-level celebration has become an international event these days, thanks to the large number of foreign guests of honor from Islamic countries.
A delegation of the participants in a session of the Group of Strategic Vision ‘Russia – Islamic World’ visited all the important sites of the Bolgarian Museum-Reserve. More than 20 000 people took part in the celebration together with them on the vast open-air territory of the museum.
Photo: official website of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan
Chairman of the Group, President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov welcomed the guests of Bolgar at the opening ceremony of Izge Bolgar Zhyeny and the Day of Official Adoption of Islam by Volga Bulgaria.
In his speech he told about the history of this momentous event for our country.
Photo: official website of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan
‘In 922, in the land of Bolgar, covered with ancient legends, our ancestors, led by Ilteber Almush, with the participation of distinguished guests – the embassy of Baghdad Caliph Al-Muqtadir, voluntarily adopted Islam as a state religion. This important event became a determining factor in the further development of the vast Volga-Ural region, and had a significant impact on the formation of the multinational Russian civilization that absorbed traditions of the West and the East’.
Rustam Minnikhanov noted that thanks to the support of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and centralized Muslim religious organizations, the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by Volga Bulgaria is celebrated at the federal level. Tatarstan hosted landmark events the leitmotif of which this year was the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam: The International Economic Summit ‘KazanSummit’, the XII All-Russian Forum of Tatar Religious Figures ‘National Identity and Religion’, celebrations of ‘Izge Bolgar Zhyeny’, the laying of the foundation stone of the Cathedral Mosque in Kazan and a plenary session of the Group of Strategic Vision ‘Russia – Islamic World’.
An excursion to the Cathedral Mosque, a XIII century architectural monument, was organized for the Group of Strategic Vision delegation. In medieval Bolgar, this mosque used to gather Muslims for prayers. To this day, although only the walls remain, the mosque is still used for prayers during the annual Bolgar Zhyeny (Day of the Adoption of Islam by Volga Bulgaria).
The guests also visited the mausoleums, where they were shown an exhibition of Bolgar epigraphic monuments, and the Black Chamber, a XIV century monument that housed a madrasah, a khanqah and khan’s court in different periods.
In the museum and exhibition complex ‘Monument Commemorating the Adoption of Islam by Volga Bulgaria in 922’, the guests could see with their own eyes the world’s largest printed Quran, made to a special order from the Republican Foundation for the Revival of Monuments of History and Culture, and also entered in the Guinness Book of Records.
СAhmed Sarir, Director of the Asia Department of the OIC General Secretariat, shared his impressions of the event.
Din Shamsuddin (on the left) and Ahmed Sarir (on the right)
‘I sincerely congratulate all Muslims of Tatarstan and Russia on the wonderful holiday of the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by Volga Bulgaria. Wherever I have been during my visit to Russia, I have met sincerely believing people who are tolerant to representatives of other religions. Islam is a respected religion and I admire how it is supported by the Russian state’.
The official part of the celebrations ended with a solemn dinner with President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo in the slider: official website of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan