It’s become a good tradition for “Alraid” Islamic Cultural Centres to receive students from various secular and clerical universities in order to hold classes and lectures on theology and religious studies. Thus, they introduce culture and tradition of followers of islam to people of other religious beliefs.
So it wasn’t unusual to see both the students of Kyiv Greek Catholic Theological Seminary along with students of Kyiv Borys Grinchenko University at Kyiv ICC (25a Dehtiarivska Str) on 18 September. According to KBGU Senior Scientific Researcher Vita Tytarenko,the meeting, still, was not all the way conventional on that day, for it was the occasion when secular and clerical students came at the same time. After the event ended, the Greek Catholics sand “Mnogaia Lita!” (“Ad multos annos!”), traditional Ukrainian encomium right in the ICC’s yard.
“This is unprecedented occasion when two groups of students, both seminarians and philosophers, attended at the same time. As far as I can see, the seminarians came in terms of traditional interfaith meetings in order to learn the peculiarities of Islamic faith, culture and traditions. Yet my students from Grinchenko University gained double advantage today, for they not only gained new knowledge in terms of their “Religious Processes in Ukraine and Worldwide” course, but also personally witnessed grassroots interfaith dialogue between ordinary believers who did it not for the cameras and the media, but for mutual respect. Can there be a better illustration of interfaith cohesion?” noted Ms.Tytarenko.
She also thanked Said Ismagilov, Mufti of Religious Administration of Muslims of Ukraine, for facilitating the event.
After a lecture given by Mufti, where he gave a brief introduction of history of Islam, came Q&A session where the guests could ask literally anything, from theological matters to everyday rituals. They were also shown around the ICC, visited the library, Gymnasium “Our Future” and the mosque, and were presented with some printed editions on Islamic studies
