May 16, 2022

Mufti of Moscow, head of The Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia, member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation Albir Hazrat Krganov took part in a press conference on the topic: "The rights of believers in the modern world: tendencies and challenges", which was held at the international multimedia press center of The International News Agency "Russia Today". Sergey Melnikov, Deputy Director for Scientific Work of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the Russian Association for the Protection of Religious Freedom, also participated in the press conference; Priest Dimitri Safonov, Executive Secretary of the Interreligious Council of Russia, Secretary for Interreligious Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations; member of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights Alexander Brod.

There were discussed the issues of discriminatory decisions of the Ukrainian authorities against the communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the problems of aggravation of Russophobic tendencies in Western countries and vandalism against Russian cultural and religious monuments and buildings, the report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom was considered.

The annual report of the Russian Association for the Protection of Religious Liberty "Freedom of Conscience and Religious Intolerance in the modern world" was also presented, in which the most significant events and trends in the sphere of relations between state authorities, society and religious organizations were analyzed and recommendations were made to reduce the risks of escalation of the situation in interreligious relations and to prevent extremism and discrimination.

The head of The Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia, Albir Hazrat Krganov, mentioned in his speech that the members of the expert council The Russian Association of Religious Freedom had done a huge analytical work, collecting voluminous information on the observance of the rights of believers in the world. Attention to this document is huge, because in many countries of the Islamic world this document has become a complementary alternative to the report that is being prepared by the US State Department.

Albir Hazrat also drew attention to the fact that a lot of provocative events took place in the month of Ramadan in relation to Islamic shrines. In Sweden, there were public acts of burning the Koran with the connivance of law enforcement agencies. For many years there has been a conflict of Israeli policemen in the third most important Muslim shrines – the Al–Aqsa Mosque. These facts are able provoke more serious clashes on inter-religious grounds. This is a great question for European democracy, for the protection of the rights of believers.

The Mufti narrated about the visit of the delegation of The Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia to the Luhansk People's Republic, where an international conference was held on the topic: "Religions of Donbass against extremism and neo-Nazism." The opinions of representatives of traditional religions of Donbass on the situation in Ukraine were listened to. At the meeting with the muftis, parishioners spoke about the shelling of religious sites by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the persecution of leaders of religious organizations. The Muslims of the Republic of China have made a decision to canonically join the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia, and the Muslims of Donetsk decided to join the State Duma of the Russian Federation under the leadership of Mufti Ravil Gainutdinov.

"Today we provide assistance and support to the Muslim organizations of the LPR and the DPR - this is both humanitarian aid and the provision of spiritual religious literature," Albir Hazrat mentioned.

The head of The Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia underlined that a lot of work is being done in our country to strengthen good relations between religions. Big celebrations will be held in Kazan this week on the occasion of the celebration of the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by Volga Bulgaria. The events are held at the federal level with the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin. As part of the celebration, new mosques will be built in many regions, educational institutions will be opened, books will be published, conferences will be held, which has a positive impact on the development of Islam in Russia - the leaders of Muslim organizations are very grateful for this attention to the country's leadership.

Albir Hazrat Krganov also suggested that, in the future, during the preparation of the report on the rights of believers, use the experience and capabilities of Muslim organizations from other countries, with which The Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia productively cooperates - the expert group of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which includes 67 countries, and the World Islamic League (WIL). They, like The Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia, also prepare similar reports - therefore it is advisable to combine common efforts on this topic.

"The Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia presents a report on the observance of the rights of believers every year, according to a good tradition. Our new Report is already prepared and will be presented to the broad public in the near future. In particular, it raises the problems of the shortage of prayer houses and the issuance of permits for the construction of mosques," the mufti said in conclusion.

December 24,2021

Commenting on the speech of Russian President Vladimir Putin during his annual press conference held on December 23, the Chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia, Mufti Albir Hazrat Karganov, said to the TASS news agency that the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published in the mass media outlets in some European countries do not include freedom of creativity, but even they are considered a provocation with the aim of contributing to the outbreak of turmoil in the world, and Russia in this case is like a wall that protects traditional values of the interfaith society.

“As a Muslim, I thank Russian President for his position on the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad and I support it. In fact, this is not creativity at all, but a specially designed provocation in order to contribute to the outbreak of unrest and turmoil and achieve some dirty task”, said Albir Hazrat. He also stressed that we must put an end to such destructive manifestations in the modern and educated society.

Albir Hazrat also pointed out that "Russia stands as a wall protecting its historical, humanitarian and moral values."

Mufti added: «We are here as a wall, and our President is absolutely convinced that Russian society has an accurate concept of all these descriptions and formulations."

December 10, 2021

Human Rights Day is celebrated annually around the world on 10 December every year.The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the first global enunciation of human rights and one of the first major achievements of the new United Nations. The formal establishment of Human Rights Day occurred at the 317th Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on 4 December 1950, when the General Assembly declared resolution 423(V), inviting all member states and any other interested organizations to celebrate the day as they saw fit

The day is normally marked both by high-level political conferences and meetings and by cultural events and exhibitions dealing with human rights issues. Besides, it is traditionally on 10 December that the five-yearly United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights and Nobel Peace Prize are awarded. Many governmental and non-governmental organizations active in the human rights field also schedule special events to commemorate the day, as do many civil and social-cause organisations.

Over the last three years the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia in conjunction with Moscow Bureau for Human Rights has been preparing a generalized report "On the Situation with the Observance of Muslim

Rights in the Russian Federation .This initiative attracts a lot of attention among specialists and experts in the development of the Muslim community in both in Russia and abroad.

Earlier this year the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia was honored to receive a special consultative status in the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Consultative status for a non-governmental organization enables it to engage in a number of ways with ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies, the Human Rights Council and, under specific conditions, some meetings of the General Assembly and other intergovernmental bodies, as well as with the United Nations Secretariat.

November 29, 2021

The head of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia, Mufti Albir Hazrat Krganov, met with Mufti of Kyrgyzstan, head of The Spiritual Directorate of the Muslims of Kyrgyzstan Zamir Hazrat Rakiev.

The meeting took place in a warm and friendly atmosphere, where the two sides discussed further development of interfaith dialogue, Islamic education and upbringing of modern youth, the activities of Islamic organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both sides considered further areas of cooperation between the Muslim community of Russia and the CIS countries and agreed on cooperation between the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia and the Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan

Both muftis paid particular attention to the issue of spiritual security, prevention of destructive ideas among labor migrants in Russia, including those arriving from Kyrgyzstan. The parties reached an agreement on joint work in the regions of Russia with the involvement of theologians, experts and religious leaders to conduct seminars, spiritual and educational events and explanatory conversations with labor migrants from Kyrgyzstan.

The head of the SAMR presented to his colleagues from Kyrgyzstan the project called “ROSMIGRANT” which is aimed at adapting and integrating migrants into a legal and cultural field of the Russian Federation, improving the quality of their life in the new social-economic and cultural environment and reducing the criminal level among migrants.

Bedsides, Albir Hazrat introduced to his colleagues the document titled "Strategy for the Development of Islam and Islamic Organizations in Russia Until 2035"
At the end of the meeting, the parties discussed the participation of hafizes of Holy Quran from Kyrgyzstan in the events that are usually held by the SAMR in the month of Ramadan.

International art exhibition "Palestine through the eyes of Russian artists” was opened on November 26 in the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation. The organizers noted that this particular exhibition was the first event of its kind that took place in Moscow.

The organizers of the exhibition were the Commission of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation on the Harmonization of Interethnic and Interfaith relations, the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia and the regional public organization of the Chuvash Republic “Society of Friendship and Cooperation between the Peoples of Chuvashia and Palestine”. The exhibition was held with the support and assistance of the Embassy of the State of Palestine to the Russian Federation.

This event was attended by members of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, Russian and foreign diplomats, public figures, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society and other public organizations and departments.

The event was held in a friendly and official atmosphere. In his speech, Mufty Albir Hazrat drew the guests' attention to the fact that Palestine and Russia have been linked by traditionally friendly relations throughout the centuries. We see that over the past few years, these relations have continued to develop and strengthen in many areas. The head of the SAMR also added that "the main message of this exhibition is to demonstrate the desire to establish peace, justice and interfaith harmony in the modern world, since human brotherhood, solidarity and dialogue are the main postulates for achieving harmonization in the field of interreligious and intercultural relations." According to Albir Hazrat, it is deeply symbolic that the event takes place during the visit of President Mahmoud Abbas to Russia and his meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

The exhibition " Palestine through the eyes of Russian artists " has already collected the works of more than 250 artists working in different genres. Every stroke and smallest detail convey the atmosphere of the Palestinian land, acquaint the viewer with the Palestinian culture and difficult history. Abdel Hafiz Nofal, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Palestine to the Russian Federation, in his speech expressed gratitude to the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation and the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia for organizing and implementing this important cultural and educational project.

November 25, 2021
The head of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia, Mufti Albir Hazrat Krganov, met with His Eminence Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot,  President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

The meeting took place in a warm and friendly atmosphere, where the two sides discussed the issues of interaction between the Christian and Muslim communities in the modern world. His Eminence Cardinal stressed that all world religions need to work together to preserve the peace and prosperity of humankind. According to His Eminence Cardinal , brotherhood, solidarity and interfaith dialogue are the main tenets for achieving harmonization in the field of interreligious relations..

Mufti Albir Hazrat pointed out that high Islamic values call for mutual respect. He also praised the social projects that are currently being implemented by the Holy See.

The two parties also discussed prospects for bilateral cooperation. Albir Hazrat informed the guests about the experience of interreligious dialogue in Russia, his work in the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation and upcoming celebration of the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam in Volga Bulgaria.

In turn, His Eminence Cardinal highly appreciated the activities of the SAMR and expressed his interest in joint cooperation in several areas, including work within the framework of international organizations.
At the end of the meeting, both parties exchanged symbolic gifts.

October 27, 2021
The head of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia, Mufti Albir Hazrat Krganov, met with the Head of the Youth Religious Department in the Syrian Ministry of Endowments, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Sayed, on October, 27.
The meeting took place in a warm and friendly atmosphere, where the two sides discussed the geopolitical situation in Syria now, the epidemiological situation in the Middle East, in addition to the issues in the field of education and enlightenment of young people and prospects for bilateral cooperation.
Albir Hazrat informed his guest about activities carried out by the regional divisions of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia and the implementation of new youth projects.
At the end of the meeting, Sheikh Abdullah presented the book on the dialogue between Islam and Christianity, entitled "Islamic-Christian Relations." Passion and Brotherhood "Syria is a Model for the World", which was recently issued by the Syrian Ministry of Endowments.

October 28, 2021
The head of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia, Mufti Albir Hazrat Krganov, met with an official delegation from Lebanon, which consists of Fadi Boudayya, editor-in-chief of the International Maraya Network, Sheikh Jaafar Fadlallah, a Muslim scholar from Lebanon and Wael Al-Mawla, director of the Lebanese Al-Manar TV Channel Bureau in Syria.
The meeting took place in a warm and friendly atmosphere, where the two sides discussed the difficult political and economic situation in Lebanon in addition to the problem of Syrian refugees and displaced persons in Lebanon and the role of Muslims community in Russia.
Albert Hazrat noted that according to official estimates, more than twenty million Muslims live in Russia and the activities of Islamic organizations are currently widely supported by the Russian federal and regional authorities.
At the end of the meeting, both parties discussed possibilities of bilateral cooperation. In particular, Albir Hazrat briefed the guests on the preparations for convening a World Conference on Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue scheduled to take place in 2022 in St. Petersburg and also invited them to visit the opening of an art exhibition "Palestine through the Eyes of Russian artists" in the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation scheduled to be held in November of this year.

October 18, 2021
The head of the Spiritual Assebly of Muslims of Russia, Mufti Albir Hazrat Krganov, met with the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to the Russian Federation, Dr. Abdel Hafeez Nofal, on October, 18. The meeting was also attended by the Ambassador's advisor, Dr. Abdullah Issa.
The meeting took place in a warm and friendly atmosphere, where the two sides discussed the tensions between Palestine and Israel and the epidemiological situation in the Middle East and also exchanged views on the current worldwide problems.
Albir Hazrat informed the guests about preparations for the celebration of the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam in the Volga Bulgaria and the convening of a World Conference on Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue which is supposed to take place in 2022.
The two parties also discussed prospects for bilateral cooperation; in particular, the issue of assisting the Embassy of the State of Palestine to the Russian Federation in organizing an art exhibition entitled "Palestine through the eyes of Russian artists" scheduled to be held in November of this year.
At the end of the meeting, the Mufti introduced to the guests to the provisions of the document "Strategy for the Development of Islam and Islamic Organizations in Russia Until 2035" and told them about the work carried out by the regional structures of the SAMR.

October 13, 2021
The representative of the SAMR Mr. Vladislav Neledva took part in European Regional Forum on the topic “Conflict Prevention and the Protection of the Human Rights of Minorities” which was was held on 12th and 13th October 2021 .

The Regional Forum was initiated by the United Nation Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues and organized by the Tom Lantos Institute in cooperation with a number of regional organizations.

The meeting was held via the Zoom conferencing platform.

The main purpose of the European Regional Forum on “Conflict prevention and the protection of the human rights of minorities” is to provide regional insights, which will feed into the thematic work of the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues for his report to the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council in March 2022. Furthermore, discussions will inform the work and recommendations of the 14th session of the Forum on Minority Issues, which will take place in Geneva in December 2021.

Discussions were also focused on the development of mutual understanding on the role of minority rights protection in conflict prevention; the legal, institutional and political challenges related to the recognition and implementation of minority rights in order to address longstanding problems that can lead to tensions and possible conflicts.

At the end of the forum, the speakers expressed their valuable recommendations for solving discussed problems, which will subsequently be summarized by the organizers. The final list of recommendations will be handed to UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Fernand de Varennes for presentation at the Forum on Minority Issues, which is supposed to be held in Geneva December this year.