On June 27 the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began. Deputy Mufti of Muslims of Crimea Ayder Ismailov hsared his view what the current Ramadan will be like for Muslims of Crimea, caught in the new conditions, reports Religion in Ukraine referring to Islam.in.ua.
“The Crimean Mosques will be open to parishioners around the clock, and imams are all in their places. But I think that there will be difficulties with distribution of food packages to the needy, providing material assistance to the elderly and sick people. Due to the fact that the work of the banks has not yet been stabilized, the charity money does not come to our accounts. In previous years, many of our compatriots from abroad came to Crimea to spend this holy month with us”, said Deputy Mufti of Muslims of Crimea Ayder Ismailov.
When asked whether the teachers of religion from Turkey will come to Crimea this year, he said: "We are waiting for the arrival of 4 teachers, all necessary documents are ready. But I cannot say definitively whether they will come or they won’t. Annually we received 5 - 10 theologians from Turkey, which helped us to improve religious knowledge. Currently in Crimea 22 teachers still work. There are problems with prolongation of the period of their religious ministry here”.
Ayder Ismailov also confirmed that there were difficulties in obtaining charitable aid from Turkey, but there were no similar proposals from Russia, such as Tatarstan, whose different delegations became frequent visitors in the Crimea.
“This is not an issue, said Aider Ismailov, aid from Russia may be a separate issue. But it is not quite correct to restrict attempts of assistance from the Crimean Tatar Diaspora that tries to fully support their brothers and relatives in the Crimea. Last year with the support of our community in the Crimea hundreds of packages of products needed for cooking Fitr dishes were handed out. This year we are deprived of this opportunity, and hundreds of people in need, especially now that food prices have increased several times, will be devoid of this aid.