Mintimer Shaimiev: We cannot allow another Berlin wall in relations between Islam and the West

On 24 June, the President of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev took part in the plenary session of the II International symposium The Muslim Culture in the Volga-Urals Region.

Addressing the participants of the rally, the President noted that it is not by accident that Kazan hosts so many established experts on the history and development of Islam and the Muslim culture.

"Tatarstan and Russia have a rich history of Islamic traditions. As is known, Islam was adopted as the state religion in May 922 in the Bolgar state, situated not far from Kazan. By that time it had already established itself as the dominant faith in the Mid-Volga Region. Islam had been brought even earlier to the Northern Caucasia along with the crusades of the Arabs. All this makes Islam an integral part of the Russian statehood along with Orthodoxy that was adopted in Kiev in 988. When interpreting history these two civilisational sources that contributed to the establishment of the Russian statehood should be taken into account.

In the Middle Ages the Islamic civilisation was exceptionally developed. At that time Europe learned from the Muslim scholars and philosophers, therefore Tatars adopting this civilisation greatly facilitated the development of their economy, culture, science and education. Since then Tatarstan has become the most northern outpost of the Islamic world," said Mintimer Shaimiev.

He also emphasised that the Islam professed by the Tatars was determined by the historical conditions. "Tatars' s ancestors adopted Islam voluntarily which determined its peaceful nature in the following centuries. There are many weird perceptions of the Tatars being barbarian, ferocious nomads. One interesting fact, however, is that in the Chingizkhan's code of laws all religions were declared equal and religious institutions were relieved of paying taxes. It is not accidental that the age of the Golden Horde was the time of prosperity for Orthodox monasteries. Religious tolerance, despite the complex history, has at all times been inseparable from the Tatar culture," said President Mintimer Shaimiev.

The leader of the republic noted, that jadidism, a reformatory movement, was of great significance for the development of Islam in the Volga-Urals region.

"Two hundred years ago Kursavi and Marjani originated a unique theological school of thought developed by a series of brilliant scholars: Zya Kamali, the Bubi brothers, Galimjan Barudi, Musa Bigiev, Rizaetdin Fakhretdinov and others. They were educators, publishers, founders of the best madrasahs (schools). Their efforts led to the appearance of a truly striking amount of religious publications and schools. Our imams have a lot to learn from them.

The outstanding contribution of the Tatar businessmen who financed the system of education needs to be made special mention of. They achieved nearly total literacy among Tatars by the XXth century. Jadidism is valued due to the fact that it mainly focused on knowledge, education, sciences, openness towards other cultures, religious tolerance, liberation of women, provision of advanced knowledge along with moral values which made young people competitive. It was not accidental that the advanced intellectuals, writers, famous political workers, best businessmen studied in jadid madrasahs. The Russian Islamic University and the madrasahs of the republic need to develop these remarkable traditions," said Mintimer Shaimiev.

The President of Tatarstan noted that over the centuries of living together the Tatars and the Orthodox Christians have not just cumulated an experience of tolerance but learned to understand and support each other. " It has become habitual to us, we sometimes do not even think about the significance of the achieved relations between the faiths. In fact, this experience deserves special study. It incorporates the traditions of jadidism, soft, liberal, tolerant Islam. There have been decisions based on the balance of interests and agreement between the religions. We have managed to form common values of this republic based on the interests of the whole multinational people and reject all possible extremes, be it nationalism, chauvinism, fascism or wahhabism. It is not accidental that the report prepared by the Council of Europe's human rights commissioner Alvaro Gil Robles says in particular: "The visit to Tatarstan was particularly impressive. The authorities of the republic had adopted numerous legislative acts aimed at reinforcing the rights of the local ethnic groups, including these in the sphere of the languages." This is a high assessment of our efforts in the field of understanding between peoples and faiths," enhanced the President.

"The tension that arose between the West and the Islamic world is a global concern nowadays. We cannot allow one more "Berlin wall" to appear. We must be open towards one another. Nobody is going to benefit from Islamophobia, it only aggravates the situation. Terrorism is not originated by Islam but uses it as a cover. Unfortunately, the media has in the recent years paralleled Islam and terrorism, Islam and radicalism. Islam is being diabolised. This should not be allowed. Our experience shows that Islam is not a rigid faith, it is capable of facing modern challenges, it is essentially flexible, tolerant and susceptible to the ideas of democracy and liberalism. While studying the experience of Islam in the Volga-Urals regions, one can find answers to many current issues. This experience has to become a common patrimony not just of our people but of the whole Islamic world and western countries. The more so as a number of jadid concepts are quite comparable with the modern concept of "EuroIslam"," Mintimer Shaimiev noted.

Mintimer Shaimiev expressed solidarity with the address of President of Russia Vladimir Putin concerning Russia's participation in the Organisation of Islamic Conference as an observer to the General Secretary of the OIC Aekmeleddin Ihsan Ouglu. "Russia is mainly Orthodox, of course, however, there are around 20 million ethnic Muslims in it. Russia and previously the USSR has historically had close business relations with the Islamic world, that are still positive and a significant factor in the global politics. Considering all this, I believe, this process should be accelerated. Tatarstan along with other republics is willing to make an adequate contribution to cooperation with OIC," said Mintimer Shaimiev. The II International symposium The Muslim Culture in the Volga-Urals Region is held within the framework of the official events dedicated to the 1000th anniversary of Kazan. The organisers of the symposium are the International Research Centre on History, Culture and Art of Islam (IRSICA), Kazan Council of People's Deputies, History Institute of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences. The participants of the event are over 70 statesmen and politicians, historians, orientalists, public and religious figures from 12 countries. Ambassadors of Egypt, Afghanistan, Yemen, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Syria and the League of the Arab States in the Russian Federation.