Muslim delegation from Ukraine visited Ufa

Delegation from Ukraine, consisting of the representative of the Central Clerical Muslim Dept RF in Ukraine Rinat Aisin and the head of Sevastopol’s Muslim community, director of the mosque “Akyar Jamie” Enver Resuliev, has paid an official visit to Ufa yesterday. The meeting with the Russian Mufti Council and discussion of possible prospects for development of Muslim education in Crimea were the main goals of the visit.

“Restoration of spirituality and Islam in particular began in Crime already at the beginning of 90s” – Enver Resuliev told to “Bashinform” – “The earlier deported Crimean Tatars started to return to their historical motherland approximately the same time”.

After Enver Resuliev had been elected the chairman of the local Muslim community “MUNEVVER”, he has to be engaged in organization of help for the resettlers and at the same time in restoration of Islamic culture in Sevastopol. One of the main aims was restoration of the mosque “Akyar Jamie”, erected in Sevastopol in the memory about the Emperor Alexander the Third at the beginning of the XX century. Solemn opening of the mosque has taken place on April 20, 1914. The mosque successfully functioned till 1938 but during Stalin’s repressions its imam Usuf Rakhimov was shot and the mosque – closed. Thanks to the efforts of Enver Resuliev the mosque was officially presented to the city’s Muslim community and acknowledged the historical monument of architecture. The long-term and complicated period of its restoration started after.

After restoration and erection of a new minaret the mosque “Akyar Jamie” has become the best mosque in Crimea. The Muslim cemetery was opened in Sevastopol soon after that and the madrasah started working under the mosque since 2003.

Today 20 pupils study there. The Muslim community in Sevastopol intends to establish an Islamic University in the city for training of high-qualified Crimean clergy there.

“There is no yet such educational institution in Crimea” – Enver Resuliev says – “We understand it is too difficult to open such institution, basing just on our own powers. We are happy if the Central Clerical Muslim Dept RF would make a decision to open a division of the Russian Islamic University in Sevastopol”.

Enver Resuliev has become acquainted with the organization of the lessons at the Russian Islamic University and was completely satisfied with it: “It is so good that not only students from Bashkortostan but from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and many other Russian regions study here. I hope once we’ll watch the same situation in Crimea”.