Siberia's intellectual Islam

Celebrations are underway for the 1,100th anniversary of the conversion of the Volga Bulgarians. Russia's Muslims are calling for the rediscovery of traditional values, such as the Orthodox patriarchate. The synergy of Islamic leaders with the Putin administration. The exaltation of Russian civilisation.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - A conference was recently held in Novosibirsk, central Siberia,  on "Intellectual Islam: the contemporary Islamic world. A look from Siberia", attended by a delegation of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia (SMR) led by Mufti Albir Krganov. It was part of a series of events dedicated to the 1,100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by the Volga Bulgarians. Asmr sections from the Novosibirsk region, the whole of Siberia, Russia and the Tatars contributed to the meeting.

Participants addressed issues related to the potential of religious organisations in the moral and spiritual, but also patriotic and civil education of the younger generations. They then reflected on issues such as the formation of Russian popular identity, the influence of religious values offered by Russia's traditional confessions - especially Islam and Orthodoxy - in the development of ethno-confessional dialogue and the spiritual security of the country.

Representatives of religious and academic communities from Kyrgyzstan and Jordan, as well as Professor Ismail Bul-Bul of the Bulgarian Islamic Academy, former Mufti of Palestine, also spoke. From other sections of Asmr, the president of the Kemerovo region in Siberia, Mufti Tagir Bikčantaev, from Moscow, Imam-khatyb Denis Mustafin and other representatives of Muslim administrations made their contributions.

Krganov gave the opening address, announcing that by decision of President Vladimir Putin, the Islamic jubilee celebrations have been extended to the entire Russian Federation, following the openeing ceremonies in Tatarstan last month, which caused a great stir. He stressed the fact that "the baton of this celebratory relay has rightly passed from the Tatars to the land of Siberia, and for us the program is deeply connected to current events and the expectations of the population". He was referring to the Ministry of Culture's project to redefine the "foundations of state policy and strengthen traditional values", the Grand Mufti wanted to ensure the contribution of Muslims to this solemn cultural and educational commitment.

Krganov sees Russia as a protagonist in teh emergence from the spiritual crisis of the contemporary world, in the "return to the organic cultural and civil foundations of the people's identity, with religious rebirth, the rediscovery of the values of classical culture, the formation of new value motivations that inspire social and economic activity, with the change towards the better of the moral and spiritual image of the young generation, with the guarantee of the unity and security of the people and the nation".

The Muslims of Russia are grateful for the social changes of recent decades, which have allowed the full expression of religious freedom and the opening of religious schools at various levels, the publication of Islamic information materials and the creation of social associations with a Muslim orientation, many of them to help the faithful make the pilgrimages abroad that are so important to the Mohammedan faith. The Islamic contribution to Russian national identity is a form of 'prophylaxis against pseudo-religious extremism', capable of strengthening the whole 'Eurasian civilisation, of which the Russian state is a fundamental pillar in the intersection of traditions, territories and human destinies'.

• russia
• moscow
• siberia
• islam
• vladimir putin
• orthodox patriarchate
• tradition
• religious freedom