More than 12,000 Muslims, including representatives of Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and other countries of the Islamic world. The republican iftar (a joint meal after evening prayers during the holy month of Ramadan) in Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, on 29 March brought together so many guests for the first time.
Report by Ishtiaq Hamdani
The event showed that Kazan is becoming one of the most important centres for the development of Islam and Russia’s ties with the Islamic world. A collective iftar with the participation of thousands of Muslims of the republic and guests of honour is organised here every year. This year it was held for the first time under the auspices of the Russia-Islamic World Strategic Vision Group and has actually acquired an international status.
Ambassadors and consuls of a number of Islamic countries and representatives of international organisations attended the Iftar. The centre of the event was the Kazan Expo venue, which traditionally hosts major international events. Before the meal and evening prayer, sermons on family values were preached at the site as part of the Year of the Family announced in Russia. The believers also made a collective prayer for the people of Palestine.
A memorable gift for the participants of the republican iftar was a muskhaf – an updated edition of the Koran «Kazan Basmasy». The edition of the same name was first published in 1803 in the Asian Printing House in Kazan and went down in history as the first printed Quran that received theological recognition in the Muslim world, the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Tatarstan said. Earlier, updated muskhafs were handed over to the Consulates General of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Uzbekistan in Kazan. Among the treats of the Republican iftar were traditional dishes: pilaf, dried fruits, oriental sweets. About 3 tonnes of meat, 1.5 tonnes of rice, more than 1 tonne of dried fruits and 2 tonnes of vegetables, about 2 thousand litres of juice and 12 thousand bottles of water and lemonade for all the participants of the iftar were spent on collective revelry.
An exhibition of halal products and a 3D installation dedicated to the month of Ramadan awaited guests in the pavilion of the exhibition centre. «This year we were able to organise iftar for 12,000 people, I think it went well. The Republican Iftar has already become a world-class event, guests from other countries and consuls came. We will think how to expand the geography next year. Here people see each other, hug each other, iftar unites believers», Kamil Samigullin, Mufti and Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan, told journalists.
According to the participants, the Republican Iftar was held at a high level and became an important stage in the preparation for one of the main events of the year in Russia. In May, Kazan will host the XV International Economic Forum «Russia – Islamic World: KazanForum» — the largest event in Russia with the participation of delegations of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) states. Representatives of Islamic clergy will traditionally take part in the Forum. Much attention will be paid to the topics of halal industry development and Islamic finance.
