Muslim Congress to be established in Ukraine
The activists of the NGO "Congress of Muslims of Ukraine" reported it at a press conference in Ukrinform activists.
The initiators of the Muslim Congress were Muslim public and cultural organizations from all over Ukraine, including the All-Ukrainian Association “Alraid” and the League of Muslim Women of Ukraine.
According to Seyran Arifov, chairman of the All-Ukrainian Association of Public Organizations "Alraid", the need to create an organization is dictated by a new stage in the formation and development of the Islamic community in Ukraine in the context of the European vector of development of the country.
"Now, when it comes to the European direction of Ukraine's development, Muslims have more opportunities and challenges to participate more actively in the social, scientific and cultural life of their country. All these challenges encourage us to create a new platform,” Arifov said.
According to him, the idea of creating a Congress of Muslims is based on a moderate understanding of Islam and creating conditions for a rapprochement between representatives of different faiths and religions living in Ukraine.
”We adhere to a moderate direction in Islam, reject any form of extremes and radicalism and anything that can incite phobias or religious hatred among Ukrainians, between Muslims and non-Muslims," Arifov stressed.
As noted by the representative of the Islamic Cultural Center in Dnipro, Pavlo Fedosov, the idea of creating a Congress of Muslims of Ukraine was influenced by the events of the revolution of dignity and the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
“The events of the revolution of dignity in 2013 greatly influenced the processes of cohesion that emerged in the Muslim environment. The basic principles of the revolution, defending freedom, dignity and justice are natural principles of Islam. Many Muslims took part in the Maidan events. Since that time, the unification of Ukrainian Muslims around these main principles has begun. Subsequently, this process was accelerated by Russia's military aggression and occupation of territories where Muslims historically lived - Crimea and eastern Ukraine,” Fedosov said.
The head of the League of Muslim Women of Ukraine, Niyara Mamutova, is convinced that the entire Ukrainian society will benefit from the Association of Muslims of Ukraine on one public platform.
“We work for the benefit of our country, we are not indifferent to its fate and future, as for every Ukrainian patriot who invests in the development of the country. The league of Muslim women of Ukraine has joined the Congress of Muslims, and this cooperation should bring good results. Each organization has accumulated experience in holding events over the years, connections with other organizations, and implementing certain projects,” Mamutova said.
According to the participants of the event, on November 27, Kyiv will host the general constituent assembly of the Congress of Muslims of Ukraine (CMU) - the first All-Ukrainian public Association, which is an ideological and organizational platform for a wide range of organizations engaged in both Islamic religious work in Ukraine and unite Muslims around social activities, cultural or charitable causes. Social activism, scientific, educational and cultural work are chosen as the general vectors of the organization's activities.
