Welcome speech of the Presidential Representative in the Volga Federal District A.V. Konovalov to the participants of the third meeting of Group of strategic vision “Russia – Islamic World” that took place in Istanbul on 1-2 February 2007.
Your Excellencies!
On behalf of the Russian Presidential Administration, I would like to welcome the members of Group of strategic vision “Russia – Islamic world” and the participants of the third summit and wish you a pleasant and meaningful dialogue with the aim of the further spread of international and inter-regional tolerance and peaceful coexistence of different cultural and national traditions.
This is the third meeting of the Group and, as it seems to me that now there are all possibilities to say that its activities have become an important factor in optimizing the international dialogue. The projects of the Group which are on the agenda today also look as quite attractive initiatives to develop cooperation between Christendom and Islam.
I would like to thank the representatives of the Turkish authorities for the excellent organization of the conference, as well as their genuine interest to both modern Russia and to activities of the Group.
Dialogue within the framework of Group “Russia – Islamic world” is very interesting both for the world and for the Russian Federation, and in particular, for the Volga Federal District, which we represent, together with the President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Mr. Shaimiev.
The Muslim religion came to the banks of Volga in VIII-IX centuries and, as we can judge from heritage of the famous Arab traveler Ahmad Ibn Fadlan, in the first quarter of X century, in the year 921, Islam became the official religion of the state Volga Bulgaria.
The Muslim religion and tradition have made a huge contribution to the culture and social structure of the Turkic ethnic groups living in the Volga region, which later together with the Slavic and Finno-Ugric peoples have formed the multinational people of Russia, which has today the age-old traditions of good-neighborly and peaceful coexistence. In 1789, the first Islamic Spiritual Directorate was created in Ufa.
At the beginning of the XX century, Tatarstan, the theological school of Kazan and its reformist course became very well known and respected throughout Islamic world. Today, the spread of Islamic historical traditions in the Russian Muslim community, the restoration of Islamic theological education system, increasing the role of Muslim culture in strengthening of tolerance at the international level are the priority for the Russian authorities and have the full support of the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The office of the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Russian President in the Volga Federal District is ready to help our Muslim friends in developing web-resources and invites Group members to cooperate on this issue.
Your Excellencies!
The modern world has many problems, but one of the most important is the lack of honesty in the behavior of people, and in the communication between them. At the same time we can make a prediction that sincerity and loyalty will return to the world civilization as vital values very soon. The Group’s activities can be an important factor in the development of this process.
I wish you a successful communication. And may the Lord accompany us in our affairs.