Last weekend, another general meeting of the Religious Administration of Muslims of Ukraine "Ummah" was held in Kyiv.  The event was planned for March, but due to the full-scale invasion of Russia, the meeting had to be postponed indefinitely.

According to the leaders of "Ummah", the open-armed aggression of the Russian Federation and the temporary occupation of new territories in the east and south of the country significantly affected the activities of the religious administration.  One of the loudest events was the resignation of longtime mufti Said Ismagilov. He left the religious activity and joined a team of paramedics at the front.  All this time, the duties of the mufti were performed by one of his deputies, the imam of the Lviv Islamic Cultural Center, Murat Suleymanov. 

As a result of active hostilities, three mosques belonging to the communities of the RAMU "Ummah" were destroyed and seriously damaged, and some communities had to stop their activities due to the Russian occupation.

Despite all the problems, the board of "Ummah" decided to hold a general meeting to consider several urgent issues and make relevant decisions.  Leaders and representatives of twenty communities of religious administration from several regions took part in the meeting.

During the solemn part, the participants expressed their gratitude to Said Ismail for many years of hard work in the position of mufti.  On behalf of all members of the "Ummah", Murat Suleymanov presented the First Mufti of the Religious Administration with an honorary certificate for a significant personal contribution to the development of the Muslim community of Ukraine, for serving Islam and Ukraine.

One of the main items on the agenda was the election of the mufti, chairman and board members of the RAMU "Ummah".  Three candidates were nominated for the post of mufti: imam of Lviv Murat Suleymanov, imam of Zaporizhzhia Muhammad Mamutov and imam of Sumy Rustam Khusnutdinov.  According to the results of the voting, Murat Suleymanov was elected as the new mufti of the Religious Administration of "Ummah", and Muhammad Mamutov became his deputy.

Islam Himadutin and Dilyaver Saidakhmetov were nominated for the position of chairman of the board - the second candidate received the majority of votes.  Islam Himadutin (he became deputy chairman), Khadzhimurad Putilin, head of the Military Chaplaincy Department, Hamza Isa, and Seyran Arifov, representative of the Ukrainian Center for Fatwas and Research, were elected members of the board of the "Ummah".

The meeting discussed the current state of events and problems faced by communities and religious administration.  After that, the newly elected mufti and the head of the board had a speech.

A joint statement was adopted, which outlines the priorities and principles of the activity of religious management.  The participants emphasized full support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine and called on the whole world, including Muslim countries, to support Ukraine in its just struggle.

The full text of the statement can be found on the website of the RAMU "Ummah".