Last Thursday the Islamic Cultural Center in Kyiv was visited by representatives from Singapore tourist operators. The group led by Mr. Mansur Marican consisted of Muslims and followers of other religions.

The guests were concerned by virtually everything: mosques, schedules of prayers, shops, availability of halal foods; daily life of Ukrainian Muslims, their problems, status and opportunities, arrangements for religious festivals. Great interest was shown to Muslims from among ethnic Ukrainians, for whom the new religion was not impediment when it came to preserving the national identity and originality. Too many questions concerned the history of Islam in Ukraine.

The interest is reasonable, as Singapore residents pledge to come to Ukraine on Id-Al-Adha (Kurban-Bayram)

The guests’ inquiries were by no means idle, as several tourist operators had announced the intention to organize a tourist program envisaging their Islamic compatriots’ participation in religions events in various countries. It’s not by occasion that Ukraine could attract their attention, because in Singapore, like in Ukraine, Muslims constitute a religious minority that is well-established and actively participating in social life.

Having acquainted with details concerning operation of Islamic cultural centers of the All-Ukrainian Social Organization “Alraid”, the visitors pledged to bring the first group to this year festival of Id-Al-Adha (Kurban-Bayram).