On 20 May the Rais (Head) of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov took part in the plenary session of the XIII All-Russia Forum of Tatar religious leaders held at the Kazan Expo Exhibition Center with participation of 1000 people from 77 regions of Russia.

Speaking at the session, the moderator of the event  – the regional Deputy Prime Minister Vasil Shaykhraziev, who is the Chairman of the Milli Shura National Council , informed that this year the forum is held as a part of  the International Economic Forum “Russia – Islamic world: KazanForum 2023”, which gathered more than 15 000 people from 84 countries.

In his speech Vasil Shaykhraziev stated the importance of the unity of the Muslim Umma of the country and said that in the difficult times Muslims never stand aside.

The participants of the plenary session also discussed issues of preservation of Tatar language and traditional spiritual and moral values as well as the development of the Islamic education system. Speaking about Islamic education the Mufti of Russia Ravil Gaynutdin said it was important to preserve and pass the heritage of outstanding Muslim educators and theologians.

Mufti of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia Albir Krganov in his speech condemned actions of the West aimed at tarnishing Islam and pitting religions against each other and called for necessity of consolidation of efforts in struggling against Islamophobia.

Speaking at the session, Rustam Minnikhanov stated that one of the priority spheres of work today is preservation of the Tatar language and national traditions. “Our people have two pillars – Islam and the Tatar language. Without them we do not have future and we should continue this work together,” he said.

He said that this year the meeting of Tatar religious leaders coincided with holding the KazanForum and added that in this difficult time the interaction of Islam and Orthodoxy is extremely important.

In conclusion Rustam Minnikhanov handed in a number of Tatarstan state awards.