24.05.2021
Moscow
Damir Mukhetdinov spoke at a meeting of the Council on Interethnic Relations and Interaction with Religious Associations
On 18th of May, First Deputy Chairman of the Religious Board of Muslims of the Russian Federation, Executive Secretary of the Muslim International Forum, Doctor of Theology Damir Mukhetdinov took part in a meeting of the Council for Interethnic Relations and Interaction with Religious Associations under the Federation Council, chaired by Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev. The main theme of the meeting was the interaction of the state, civil society institutions and religious organizations in addressing issues of preserving spiritual and moral values.
In his speech, Damir Mukhetdinov stressed the importance of the program of training specialists with in-depth knowledge of the history and culture of Islam, which was launched by the President in time:
"This allowed us to prepare a new generation of Muslim clergy in just 15 years, who, in addition to religious Islamic education, received a high-quality Oriental and Islamic studies education."
An important factor that drew the attention of the First Deputy Chairman of the RBM RF is that the new qualified personnel have linked their professional activities with religious structures, leading local religious organizations and spiritual administrations. Thanks to this, the Russian Muslim clergy has reached a new level, competing in the quality of education for foreign religious figures, which should be demonstrated at the upcoming World Conference on Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in 2022.
No less important, said Damir Mukhetdinov, strengthening and dissemination of moral values is the publication of educational literature, which is due to the support of the state, is published by millions of copies and is distributed to the parishes from Vladivostok to Kaliningrad: "When visiting our mosques, we see a significant amount of literature, prepared with the participation of the leading universities of our country, Orientalists and Islamists together with religious leaders".
Damir Mukhetdinov stressed: ”In the international aspect, a significant achievement of Russian Muslims was the organization and regular holding of the Muslim International Forum. Thanks to this platform, Russian Muslims have created the opportunity to broadcast their own unique experience of state-confessional relations, including to European countries experiencing a significant crisis in this direction”.
Concluding his speech, the First Deputy Chairman of the RBM RF drew the attention of the members of the meeting to the important role played by the upcoming anniversary of the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by the peoples of Volga Bulgaria in 2022 in the practical preservation of religious and moral values of Russia, demonstrating the recognition by the state of the contribution that traditional Russian religions have made to the development of the country's culture for centuries.
Elena Druzhinina, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, also spoke about the development of Islamic education during the meeting. In particular, she mentioned the advanced training courses for religious leaders and the publication of educational and methodological manuals conducted within the framework of the program for training specialists with an in-depth knowledge of the history and culture of Islam. The Deputy Minister also spoke about the Moscow Interfaith Youth Forum "Consent of Different" held in the Moscow Cathedral Mosque and various projects implemented jointly with the Foundation for Support of Islamic Culture, Science and Education.
Deputy Minister of Education of the Russian Federation Denis Gribov, Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs Stanislav Bedkin, Deputy of the State Duma Valery Gazzaev, Acting Head of the Republic of Dagestan Sergey Melikov, Deputy of the State Duma Lyubov Dukhanina, Scientific Director of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences Valery Tishkov also made speeches during the meeting.
In his speech, Damir Mukhetdinov stressed the importance of the program of training specialists with in-depth knowledge of the history and culture of Islam, which was launched by the President in time:
"This allowed us to prepare a new generation of Muslim clergy in just 15 years, who, in addition to religious Islamic education, received a high-quality Oriental and Islamic studies education."
An important factor that drew the attention of the First Deputy Chairman of the RBM RF is that the new qualified personnel have linked their professional activities with religious structures, leading local religious organizations and spiritual administrations. Thanks to this, the Russian Muslim clergy has reached a new level, competing in the quality of education for foreign religious figures, which should be demonstrated at the upcoming World Conference on Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in 2022.
No less important, said Damir Mukhetdinov, strengthening and dissemination of moral values is the publication of educational literature, which is due to the support of the state, is published by millions of copies and is distributed to the parishes from Vladivostok to Kaliningrad: "When visiting our mosques, we see a significant amount of literature, prepared with the participation of the leading universities of our country, Orientalists and Islamists together with religious leaders".
Damir Mukhetdinov stressed: ”In the international aspect, a significant achievement of Russian Muslims was the organization and regular holding of the Muslim International Forum. Thanks to this platform, Russian Muslims have created the opportunity to broadcast their own unique experience of state-confessional relations, including to European countries experiencing a significant crisis in this direction”.
Concluding his speech, the First Deputy Chairman of the RBM RF drew the attention of the members of the meeting to the important role played by the upcoming anniversary of the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by the peoples of Volga Bulgaria in 2022 in the practical preservation of religious and moral values of Russia, demonstrating the recognition by the state of the contribution that traditional Russian religions have made to the development of the country's culture for centuries.
Elena Druzhinina, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, also spoke about the development of Islamic education during the meeting. In particular, she mentioned the advanced training courses for religious leaders and the publication of educational and methodological manuals conducted within the framework of the program for training specialists with an in-depth knowledge of the history and culture of Islam. The Deputy Minister also spoke about the Moscow Interfaith Youth Forum "Consent of Different" held in the Moscow Cathedral Mosque and various projects implemented jointly with the Foundation for Support of Islamic Culture, Science and Education.
Deputy Minister of Education of the Russian Federation Denis Gribov, Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs Stanislav Bedkin, Deputy of the State Duma Valery Gazzaev, Acting Head of the Republic of Dagestan Sergey Melikov, Deputy of the State Duma Lyubov Dukhanina, Scientific Director of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences Valery Tishkov also made speeches during the meeting.