January 26th, 2021

The head of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia (the SAMR) Albir Hazrat Krganov participated in in the international scientific and practical conference "Inter-confessional Consent As the Key Factor for Post-Covid Rehabilitation and Spiritual Revival in Russia" which was held on January, 26, 2021 in Makhachkala, Dagestan. The event was hosted by scientific and educational complex "Zhuravli" and dedicated to the establishment of a new spiritual and educational center called "Unity".

Opening the conference, General Director of the "Zhuravli" complex Professor Magomed Magomedov stressed that this event precedes the start of the second stage of the All-Russian action "Glory to Doctors"

The conference was attended by the head of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia Mufti Albir Hazrat Krganov. On behalf of the SAMR and the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, Albir Hazrat gave a welcoming speech to the participants of the Conference and thanked the organizers for their significant contribution to the fields of medicine, healthcare and strengthening of interethnic relations in the country.

In his speech, he pointed out attentive attitude of the Russian government to the aspirations of Russian citizens, including religious organizations.

Albiz Hazrat noted that almost 200 nationalities live on the territory of the Russian Federation. They speak different languages, practice different religious traditions and, despite this, treat each other with great respect and they are always ready to help each other.

"Initially, our country was shaped as a multinational and multi-religious state, and the main goal was to strengthen this spiritual unity and to transfer these good relations, which has been developing for centuries, to the next generations. This is our sacred duty today", the Mufti said.

January 19th, 2021

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and High Representative of the UN Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Angel Moratinos have discussed preparations for holding a world-wide conference of the heads of state, parliamentarians and leaders of world religions on inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday following the meeting held the day before.

According to the ministry, "the talks focused on preparations for holding a world conference of the heads of state, parliamentarians and leaders of world religions on inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue for the sake of the whole world and humanity which is going to be organized and held by the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Russia in May 2022 under the aegis of the United Nations".

Lavrov and Moratinos also discussed the alliance’s efforts in the field of strengthening inter-civilizational and inter-religious dialogue and conflict-prevention measures in civilizational, ethnic and confessional dimensions. "The importance of maintaining equitable co-existence of different civilizations and the unacceptability of spreading theories of the exclusiveness of any races and religion were emphasized during the meeting," the Foreign Ministry said.

In this context, Lavrov informed about the steps that Moscow is currently taking in this direction, including the annual adoption of the Russia-initiated resolution of the UN General Assembly entitled "Combating Glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other Practices that Contribute to Fueling Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance".

January 18th, 2021

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Government to consider the issue of organizing a simplified procedure for attracting labor migrants to construction sites until March 1, 2021. The list of instructions following the meeting of the State Council and the Presidential Council for Strategic Development and National Projects which was held last December is published on the Kremlin website. During this meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said that the construction sites witness a lack of workers, including foreigners. President of the Tatarstan Republic Rustam Minnikhanov also complained about the shortage of workers at construction sites and asked the President to order the government to organize a targeted import of migrants to construction facilities.

“Taking into account earlier instructions given to the Government of the Russian Federation and the Commission of the State Council of the Russian Federation in the direction of "Construction, Housing and Utilities, Urban Environment", it is obligatory to consider the issue of simplified procedure for involvement of workers who are not citizens of the Russian Federation in construction and installation works. In order to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection, all sanitary and epidemiological requirements must be met.», the document says.

Previously it was reported that the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation proposes to simplify the conditions of entry to Russia for migrant workers. According to the ministry, the construction sector of the Russian Federation is experiencing a lack of labour force. One of the conditions to allow foreign labor to enter the country must be a negative result of test for COVID-19 received no earlier than three days before the date of entry.

January 9th 2021

Russian President Vladimir Putin was admired how carefully Muslims preserve Christian shrines, citing the example of the Umayyad Mosque in the Syrian capital Damascus where the relics of John the Baptist (prophet Yahya) are kept. The Russian leader noted that during his visit to the Orthodox Church in Damascus last year he managed to visit the Umayyad Mosque to see the relics of John the Baptist.

«It was quite unexpected for me to find out that the relics of John the Baptist are carefully preserved in the mosque and greatly revered in the Islamic world», said Putin in an interview for the film «No Room for Error. The Christmas Visit to Damascus» which was aired on the «Russia 1» TV Channel.

The President pointed out the close ties between Islam and Christianity. Both world religions are based on common moral, ethical and humanitarian values. Many Muslims, like Christians, contribute great respect to both Jesus Christ and John the Baptist. In this regard, Vladimir Putin praised the representatives of Islam for preserving Christian shrines in Syria.

December 22^nd The head of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia Mufti Albir Hazrat Krganov participated in the round table conference devoted to discussing the rights of Christians in Africa held on December 22^nd in Moscow.

Speakers pointed out that Christians in many African countries have been recently subjected to racism and persecution because of their religion and in some areas there has been a real genocide against the Christian population. This is what exactly causes great concern among the international religious community.

The participants condemned the activities of extremist organizations and groups such as Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab and Fulani tribe, noting that all they commit their crimes based on religious and ethnic intolerance, ignoring and violating human rights and basic freedoms such as the right to life and freedom of religion.

The head of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia Mufti Albir Hazrart Krganov stated that all the blatant crimes against the Christian population that we can see today in many African states are related to attempts to rewrite history and erase from people's memory the friendship between Muslims and other religions that has been existing for centuries. In this regard he mentioned the Migration to Abyssinia, where Negus of Abyssinia (Ethiopia), which was a Christian country, welcomed Muslims and provided them with safe living conditions. This fact demonstrates that Muslims and Christians established their relations on the basis of mutual respect and trust.

The Mufti also added that it is necessary to enhance inter-religious cultural and civilizational dialogue in order to overcome religious ignorance as well as make joint efforts to fight terrorism.

During the discussion, some speakers stressed the need to take effective measures to establish mechanisms to protect Christians in Africa. For example, the head of the Russian Association for the Defense of Religious Freedom Sergey Melnikov proposed the United Nations to ratify a special convention aimed at protecting the rights of religious believers all around the world.

In conclusion, the participants expressed their hope for a further cooperation on this issue.

December 22 Russian President Vladimir Putin praised existing relations between Russia on one hand and Arab and Islamic countries on the other hand during his annual press conference held on December 17^th, describing them to be stable and strong.

"We have very stable and long-term relations dating back to centuries and today they even tend to expand. During the Soviet period those particular ties were mostly connected with certain ideological considerations. Nowadays the scope and geography of our cooperation with the Arab and Islamic world has become much wider and we appreciate it very much. I expect us to continue developing these relations", stated Putin.

Russian leader pointed out that the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) cooperates with almost all sovereign investment funds in the world, and its relations with some Arab investment funds are considered to be “unique due to the remarkable development and great expansion they have recently seen".

Putin added that partners of the Russian Federation in the Arab world trust RDIF activity to the extent that they have decided to participate in financing some ambitious projects.

Russian journalist Evgenia Avramenko praised Vladimir Putin for his help in releasing sociologist Maxim Shogali and his interpreter Samer Swivan who were held in Libyan prison for more than one year: “We achieved this due to our cooperation with our friends in the Arab world".

Putin also stressed the role of the President of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov in strengthening bilateral relations, saying that “Ramzan Kadyrov along with other regional leaders makes a great contribution regarding rapprochement with Arab countries."

December 18^th

The Arabic language is a pillar of the cultural diversity of humanity. It is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, used daily by more than 420 million people. World Arabic Language Day is celebrated every year on December 18^th since 2012. This date coincides with the day in 1973 when the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted Arabic as the sixth official language of the Organization.

The native speakers of Arabic basically live in the region called the Arab world, as well as in many neighboring countries, including Turkey, Chad, Mali, Senegal, and Eritrea.

In the diversity of its forms, classic or dialectal, from oral expression to poetic calligraphy, the Arabic language has given rise to a fascinating aesthetic, in fields as varied as architecture, poetry, philosophy and song. It gives access to an incredible variety of identities and beliefs and its history reveals the richness of its links with other languages. Arabic has played a catalytic role in knowledge, promoting the dissemination of Greek and Roman sciences and philosophies to Renaissance Europe. It has enabled a dialogue of cultures along the silk roads, from the coast of India to the Horn of Africa.

The Arabic language is extremely important for Muslims all over the world as the language of the fundamental sources of Islamic law: the Holy Quran and the prophetic Hadith. It is widely acknowledged that not a single worship in Islam can be performed without knowing single surahs or ayahs from the Holy Quran. Arabic is also one of the main ritual languages ​​for many Christians living in Arab states.

Today, Arabic is the language of politics, science and literature. The direct or indirect influence of the Arabic language can be traced in many other languages ​​of the Islamic world, such as Turkish, Persian, Kurdish, Urdu, Malaysian, Indonesian, and Albanian, as well as in several African languages ​​such as Hausa and Swahili, and European ones, in particular in Spanish, Portuguese, Maltese and Sicilian.

The celebration World Arabic Language Day usually takes the form of music concerts, literary readings, competitions, cultural events, lectures, art exhibitions, performances and exhibitions of folk art.

December 17^th

Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the publishing of the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad which caused the outbreak of the crisis between France and the Arab and Islamic world, stating that it is not permitted to insult the feelings of believers.

"Where another person's freedom begins, your freedom ends. This is a postulate, a common one, and those who act thoughtlessly, insulting the rights of believers, their feelings, they should always remember that this will have some kind of backlash," the head of state said on Thursday at his annual big press conference. "On the other hand, this backlash should not be aggressive", noticed Vladimir Putin.

The president reminded that there was no hint of aggression in all world religions. He emphasized that the reaction to the trampling of someone's rights, including the feelings of believers, should not be aimed at the deprivation of human life, because this, in principle, contradicts the very spirit of any world religion. "God gave life and only God can take it away. That is what no one should forget", Putin added.

The crisis mentioned above started after the Frenchmagazine "Charlie Hebdo" published a series of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that was considered to be an attempt to insult the feelings of Muslims all over the world, especially after the France government justified this action as protecting freedom of expression and allowed to publish these cartoons on a large scale. Afterwards a young Muslim killed a French teacher who demonstrated them during the lesson on free speech given in one school in Paris suburb.

In this context the Islamic world started a large campaign aimed at the boycott of French commodities and products, in order to express its anger with the policy of Paris, although the French government refused to apologize on the issue of publishing the offensive cartoons.