I heartily congratulate you on the historic memorable date – the Day of the official adoption of Islam by the Volga Bulgaria.
21.05. 2018
Dear Tatarstanians!
Dear compatriots!
I heartily congratulate you on the historic memorable date – the Day of the official adoption of Islam by the Volga Bulgaria.
From this truly important event for the Tatar people, which left its indelible mark on the fate of Muslim civilization, we are separated by many centuries of glorious deeds of pious forefathers. And today, as in 922, on our native land, we give praise to the All-Merciful Allah for that great truth that allowed us, through all the trials, to preserve our unity, faith, language and culture.
We are sincerely grateful to the wise rulers and theologians of the past for their perspicacious choice and invaluable contribution to the treasury of Islamic thought, which laid a solid foundation for our spirituality and well-being. It is gratifying that the enduring religious values find a lively response in the hearts of the modern generation of Tatarstanians.
Through the efforts of the Republican Foundation “Renaissance”, rising from the ruins, the legendary Ancient Bulgar revives, where last year the Bulgarian Islamic Academy was solemnly opened, designed to become one of the leading Muslim scientific, educational and spiritual-educational centers. I am sure that each of us must personally touch the shrines, which bear the names of the Companions of the Prophet and their faithful followers, making their own contribution to the reconstruction of this unique pearl.
It is highly symbolic that the revival of the Ancient Bulgar is carried out simultaneously with the reconstruction of the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God of the Virgin Bogoroditsky Monastery and the island-city of Sviyazhsk. Preserving and multiplying its main asset – interethnic and interreligious unity and mutual understanding – Tatarstan confidently looks to the future, providing an example for others.
I wish all of us to usefully mark the Day of the official adoption of Islam by the Volga Bulgaria.
Peace to you, good, happiness and prosperity to you and your loved ones! May the Almighty bless our good aspirations!
President of the Republic Tatarstan
Rustam Minnikhanov
