Islam in Ukraine - Kyiv Muslims

When Attention is as Needed as Presents: “Maryam” Activists Visit Hospice in Skybyn

Islam in Ukraine — Thu, 09 May 2019 22:30:51 +0000

On the threshold of Ramadan, Muslimahs from Women’s Organisation “Maryam”, along with male volunteers from Kyiv Islamic Cultural Centre, visited Hospice in Skybyn village (Brovary District, Kyiv region). They brought along some groceries, personal care products and bed linen (there’s lack of bed linen in the Hospice, moreover, five of the patients are bedridden).

Still, the patients got something as needed as presents, namely simplehuman company. Everyone has a painful story to tell, for all of the patients are internally displaced persons, elderly and critically ill from the occupied territories of Ukraine. They have critical need for care and support, and especially some hearing ears.

According to Mr.Oleh Horbachov, Head of the Hospice, legally, they have some relatives on the government-controlled territories, and thus receive no government support. Actually, those relatives are hardly ever seen, unless at funerals — as a rule, that’s the only time the hospice workers do see them.

The facility is open for everyone, but only those in severe need stay longer than a week or two, for that time is enough so that the modest living conditions scare away any freebie lover.

As of today, the hospice is donations-subsidized, and they rent both the building and the land — so finding an investor who’d help them buy the property is a high priority. Most of the donations are spent on food and utilities.

06/05/2019

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Tariq Sarkhan

Muslimahs of Ukraine

Kyiv Muslims congratulated the sixth Hafiza

Islam in Ukraine — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 11:03:01 +0000

On blessed Friday, March 18 (9 Jumada al-Thani, 1438 of Hijri calendar) at Kyiv Islamic Cultural Center, the Muslims congratulated the new Hafiza, Gana Ahmed Taha, Syrian by birth. She has completed the reading of the Holy Qur'an by heart, her mentor was Sheikh Haider al-Haj.

New Hafiza told her sisters in faith that she had not the possibility to devote much time to studying of the sacred texts in her mother country. Moreover, she was sure it was beyond her power to learn the Qur'an by heart. After she had moved with his brothers to Ukraine, Gana Ahmed Taha began to attend the Islamic Cultural Center – first, she went to the mosque, then she joined the women's social organization "Maryam". When she found out, that she could attend lessons in Tajwid and in studying of the Qur'an, "Firdaus", she decided to test her strength and she took this classes. To her great surprise, she realized that she could learn the ayats by heart quite easily, because she was acquainted with the Holy Book since her childhood, she often re-read the Qur'an – thus, a year passed after the course had started and she has already received the congratulations from fellow believers on the title of Hafiza.

Thus, there are already six women who received knowledge in Kyiv ICC and became the Huffaz (plural form of Hafiz) of al-Qur'an – the guardians of the Islamic heritage, who learned by heart all the ayats of the Qur’an. Besides, the knowledge of the Qur'an word by word lets Hafiza teach in the women's madrasa, and be a spiritual mentor of the students during their studying of the Koran.

It will be recalled that the first ethnic Ukrainian woman, who had learned the Koran by heart, became Vera Fryndak. Before her, in the whole history of independent Ukraine, the Huffaz were only the men, mostly, Crimean Tatars. Vera Fryndak completed learning all the 114 suras of the Koran by heart, last year, in March.

The reference:

The ayats of the Qur'an and the hadiths were learned by heart during the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and they were passed on from generation to generation. Huffaz were the real guardians of the Islamic heritage. The tradition of the oral transmission of the Qur'an and hadiths still exists, along with the writing transmission.

23/03/2016

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Women’s Social Organisation “Maryam”

Blood Donation Benefit As Symbol Of Ukraine’s Unity

Власкор — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 15:27:08 +0000

Kyiv Muslims showed their solidarity during the Ukraine’s Unity Day, aiming to help the compatriots who desperately needed help, like wounded and oncology patients. It was on January 22, they held a Blood Donation Benefit at Kyiv Islamic Cultural Centre, with medical workers from Kyiv City Blood Centre arrived on site.

As Ms.Olena Lata, the Transfusiologist, said they’ve always had good results when attending the Islamic Centre:

— We thank the Islamic Cultural Centre for holding such events twice a year, and there are always many people eager to donate their blood. Muslims have healthy living habits, so most of them are fit to be donors.

Ms.Tetyana Evloeva, initiator of “Be A Donor!” project, thinks it was a good gesture to hold one of the Benefits on the Ukraine’s Unity Day:

— Of course, we stuck to the idea of holding such a benefit on January 22, for this is a wonderful way to demonstrate that Ukraine is truly united, that we eagerly help each other, share with one another and don’t stay aside when someone’s in trouble and danger. We hold our benefits since 2012. Only Muslims participated at first, but then people on other religious views joined the Benefit in 2014. We are open for everybody — for both communication and joint projects, for we do something good, and at the same time we get to know each other better, which allows us to deflate stereotypes. It’s a sort of symbol and living proof that Ukrainians are able and have to unite and do something good for the benefit of everyone.

Indeed, there were people of different religious views among those who came to Kyiv ICC on January 22 to share their blood; there were Muslims and Christians and Atheists, etc.; Ukrainians, Russians and people of Oriental origin; civilians and people in uniform. Among those willing to donate their blood were the Chechen fighters of the Jokhar Dudaev International Peacemaking Battalion.

In 4 hours, the doctors examined 40 people before giving the verdict “fit or unfit to be a blood donor now”. Some people left disappointed — they weren’t fit for blood donation on that day. Anyway, the medical workers didn’t leave the Islamic Centre empty handed: they collected almost 13,5 litres of blood that day, and maybe this would be a salvation for someone.

22/01/2016

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Another Muslimah Became Hafidzah In Kyiv

Tetyana — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 12:42:56 +0000

Another hafidzah, Ms.Noon Baraghooth, joined the ranks of women who successfully completed reciting the Holy Book for her hafth Bin Asim degree, having become the fourth participant of the Qur’an Memorizing Circle “Firdows” who received a respective certificate, after Ms. Samia Arada, Ms.Vira Fryndak and Ms.Najah Sweidan.

The event itself, with all the female parishioners present, began with Ms.Baraghooth’s recitation of her final Surahs under the supervision of Shaikh Haydar Al-Hajj, with her husband, daughters and grandchildren cheering for her. They also were the first to congratulate her upon the successful termination of her course. Now, having received a certificate, Noon can teach this style of recitation herself after she passes her tajweed exam.

She thanked her teachers for his help and patience, and her family for being very supportive and having complete faith in her.

This achievement is very important for Noon not only because of her love for the Holy Book, but also because that was a chance for her to achieve the dream of her childhood. Long time ago, she and her friend made their point to become hafidzah by all means. The other girl achieved that goal earlier, and Noon, having entered a Medical University, had to postpone her Qur’an memorization course. Later, she got married, had her children born, educated, married and got their own children… still, the women felt that something important was missing in her life for all of those years.

For that reason, when a Women’s Qur’an Memorization Circle “Firdaws” was launched at Kyiv Islamic Cultural Centre, she joined it immediately. Fellow students not only helped her maintain regular training schedule, but also set the high pace: three women completed reciting the Holy Book for her hafth Bin Asim degree and got their certificates in the course of past year. And they were one of the first people to greet Noon Baraghooth upon the completion of her own course and achieving her long-awaited dream f becoming a hafidzah last Friday.

26/10/2015

Another Muslimah Became Hafidzah In Kyiv

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Amina Okueva: “Doctors And Blood Donors Saved My Life. Later, I Became Both A Doctor And A Donor Myself”

Tetyana — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 10:30:51 +0000

Ms.Amina Okueva — a surgeon, a volunteer ATO fighter and a public figure — shared her vision of problems Ukrainian blood donation system has, in terms of another benefit of Kyiv Muslim promoting unpaid blood donation (held at Kyiv Islamic Cultural Centre on September 11, 2015).

Amina knows the situation first-hand, for she had to fight for the patients with vast blood loss many times when a surgeon at Odessa City Hospital. She eagerly gave us an insight into health care system.

How important is the problem of Blood donation from a doctor’s point of view?
Vital! For the science, be any reckoning, couldn't create a medicine fully replacing donors’ blood.

I’ve been working as a polytrauma and gastrointestinal bleeding surgeon after I graduated from the University. Thus, we faced vast blood loss during every shift, and donors’ blood was needed very often.

I often saw life literally sinking from a person with vast blood loss that was impossible to be stopped fast, and that was a terrific spectacle, especially when we could do nothing about it… On the contrary, I saw people come to life after blood transfusion, giving the patient extra time while the surgeons fixed their organs.

How common is the situation when necessary blood type of required Rh can’t be found, or if there’s not enough?
Such problems can arise with rare blood type and Rh combinations. As far as I remember, about 50% of Europeans have O (+/-), A (+/-) and B(+/-) is 20% each, and only 10% have AB. Naturally, Rh has to match as well, but only several percent people of each group have Rh(-). So, for instance, AB Rh(-) is scarce, but at the same time it’s required way more seldom that O Rh(+), for instance.

Things are much simpler when the surgery is planned and everybody has enough time for all the logistic procedures with donors’ blood. But we don’t have much time when an Ambulance brings a dying patient urgently, so it depends on the luck in those situations.

When and how was the first time you faced blood donation issue? Whom did you become first, a donor or a recipient?
A recipient; it was a long time ago. I had that unpleasant thing called DIC, Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation. To put it simple for non-medicians, it’s a process in a human’s body when blood loses it’s ability of clotting and literally becomes like water. This change is reversible, but in order to reset the clotting system, donor’s blood is a must. And that is perhaps the only case when preserved blood won’t do, and so donors need to be present here and now. I’ve been lucky enough to have the most popular blood type and Rh, so they found donors quickly; many of the hospital staff donated their blood for me. So I survived, and my body recovered with zero consequence from blood loss.

What moved you to becoming a donor yourself?
I can’t say I am a regular donor in the full meaning of this word, but I donated blood from time to time when a patient needed my blood type and there wasn’t any in stock, or there was no time to go and get it. So, when I saw that my blood was vital for someone, I just donated it to that person. I wanted to become a regular donor, but, by force of circumstance, haven’t achieved that goal at the moment.

But you keep donating your blood?
I haven’t done that for a while. But I’m ready to present half a liter of my blood to any person when needed *smiles*.

How often do the doctors raise the topic of blood donation in their immediate environment?
Few people, I suppose, discuss work beyond the workplace, and that is true for any profession. Blood transfusion is a part of doctor’s job, so we do not discuss it very often. Except for we share our disappointment when we lose a patient because there wasn’t enough donors’ blood or something like that.

Overall, the State pays very little attention to promoting blood donation, and that’s a problem. At the same time, people come in an eyeblink when there are many persons injured in some accidents, shellings, during long fights at the battlefield and so on. It demonstrates that Ukrainian people are non-indifferent, and reveals a high spiritual potential of our nation.

Nevertheless, people need to know that donor's’ blood is needed all the time, even when there are no vast disasters, for we have car accidents, industrial injuries and home accidents; there are many people with cancer and other long-term illnesses, such as ulcer disease, who can face vast blood loss at any time. And all those people are around us! Unfortunately, nobody is granted from finding themselves or their close ones in a situation like that.

How often the ATO fighters need blood transfusion?
Regularly. Most of the ballistic and shell wounds are aligned with vast blood loss, and donor’s blood is needed for an adequate treatment.

Did you donate your blood for your brothers-in-arms?
Not yet. First of all, blood transfusion is a strictly in-hospital procedure, carried out at hospitals only. I contact the wounded fighters only at the first stage, which is medical first aid, right after the injury. Only blood substitutes are allowed at this stage, in order to win time for delivering the person to the hospital. And only there, after all necessary checkups, blood transfusion is permittable. I have a very popular blood and rhesus type, so I haven’t yet faced the urgency to donate it “in field”.

If you were on all the national television right now, what would you say to your compatriots about blood donation? How would you persuade them to become blood donors?
Blood donation, when done right, is not only safe, but also a useful procedure, for the body produces new blood.

Besides, it’s good for both the body and the spirit, for it’s great to think that you share a part of you with someone — someone good, of course *smiles* — and this, God willing, saves their life… and that person mentions you, a stranger who helped them survive, in their prayers for the rest of their life — isn’t that great?

interviewed by Tetyana Evloeva

16/09/2015

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School Supplies For The Displaced Children - Let's Make Their Lives Easier!

editor — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 13:34:27 +0000

Families with schoolchildren will keep me honest: it’s quite expensive to prepare the offsprings for the new school year. What should the Internally Displaced Persons do, then, when they hardly have enough money to pay for their food and apartment, after losing their homes, belongings and regular income due to the war? Members of Women’s Social Organisation “Maryam” decided to join the project of IDPs Assistance Centre at 9/11 Frolivska Str and collected the school supplies for the displaced children as much as they could during the whole previous week.

They’ve been buying pens, copybooks, pencils, sharpeners, daily planners, watercolors, etc. during the previous week, and brought school bags donated by their own children. Besides, they brought some clothes for the babies and some for kids of other ages.

“Maryam” activists took it all to Frolivska Street yesterday. The local volunteers assured them that there’s still a huge demand for the school supplies, and that people are also welcome to bring the old school uniforms too small for their own kids, as well as schoolbags and office supplies, to the IDPs Assistance Centre.

A new generation of Ukrainians is coming, and this generation didn’t see the Soviet Union and the post-Soviet crisis. This generation thinks of such “adult problems” of our society as social, political, economical hardships Ukraine faced, and is looking forward finding means of overcoming those problems. The IDP children’s life is full of hardships and bitterness. Let’s make it easier for them to change the world for the better when they grow up, and provide them with at least the school supplies they desperately need in order to get a good education for reaching their goals!

Source: ALRAID

03/09/2015

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Kyiv Muslims Filmed A New Social Ads “Be A Donor!”

Tetyana — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 01:37:54 +0000

Another social ads on Blood Donation, second one filmed by Kyiv Muslims, was published today. Muslim donors in that short movie are supported by the ATO fighter from the Christian Special Forces Battalion “Saint Mary” Mr.Alexander Artiukh, Kyiv Police Department officer Mr.Bogdan Shevchuk, doctor at Kyiv City Blood Centre Mr.Olexander Dobrovol’skii and President of Charitable Fund “Zaporuka” (Ukr. “Bond Security”, helping children fight cancer) Ms.Natalia Onipko. This was the second video filmed under request of Muslim Social Initiative “Be A Donor!”; the first one was published earlier this summer and confined to World Donor Day (June 14).

This time the appeal wasn’t abstract, for they took four most frequent situations of the current time when blood donors are needed. This list, however, is not anywhere near to being complete, and searching for healthy donors on the daily basis is literally the only means of survival for many people.

No Donors, No Information
Nonetheless, most Ukrainians don’t even think about it, for people simply don’t know there’s a lack of donated blood and blood donors before this trouble ever touched their relatives or friends.

The State, unfortunately, never uses its informational resources to inform the Ukrainians on this very important matter. The medical workers, at the same time, complain that both Journalists and most donors remember them on the threshold of World Blood Donors Day (June 14) or during some emergency situations, when many people are injured. Many donors come during those short periods of time, and there can be a wrong impression that such a crowd provides enough blood for the country so that the doctors even have to stop collecting blood for some time.

It gives the wrong impression that there’s plenty of blood. But the blood can’t be stored forever; besides, it is used quite quickly — the stock has to be renewed all the time! Regular donors are almost distinct in our country. At the same time, many people around can easily die without donors’ blood. Regular donors are wanted badly — still, there are only a few of them.

Kyiv Muslims couldn’t stand aside. They not only organise Blood Donation Benefits for their adherents since 2012, but also started an informational campaign in order to educate people in this important sphere. First, they made the full list of recommendations and contraindications in a special brochure for Donors (in Russian); and then launched a series of motivators on Facebook which still lasts. As for this year, they decided — if we don’t see Blood Donation Promotional Ads on national television — why not make some on our own? It’s hard to underestimate role of Internet and social media in sharing the information nowadays!

Future Belongs To Unpaid Donors
It bears reminding that “Be A Donor” is a Social Initiative by Ukrainian Muslims that informs people on so much for Blood Donation , and also promoting unpaid donation in the Ukrainian society. It’s the fourth year of the Project’s close cooperation with the doctors from the Kyiv City Blood Centre.

Blood donated for free is the main part of the national blood stock in 62 countries today. As for the Muslims, unpaid blood donation is the only fitting for them, as Islamic scholars are unanimous in the opinion that a person can be payed for Blood or Organs donation only in case of extreme need. Nevertheless, even in such situation making sure that blood donation will harm either the donor nor the recipient is a must.

World Health Organisation also think that the future belongs to unpaid donors, and they even named creating stock of blood donated free of charge before 2020 as one of their main priorities.

For such people save somebody’s life consciously and as a random act of kindness, and thus they have no reason to conceal their illnesses and other obstacles that could lead to transmitting different infections to recipient. At the same time, financial interest often makes people conceal their illnesses preventing them from being donors from the doctor, and that can harm both recipient and the donor.

28/08/2015

Be A Donor - Save Lives!

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“Become a Donor!” blood donor benefit

Kyiv Muslim Women Carry On Helping People Affected By ATO

Tetyana — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 11:08:56 +0000

Female Muslim volunteers gathered once again at Kyiv Islamic Cultural Centre this Saturday in order to bring the food each of them cooked that morning to Kyiv Military Hospital and treat the soldiers wounded in the ATO zone.

Cutlets, rise, meat chunks, butter, — and rolled pancakes stuffed with jam, cheesecakes for dessert. “Tea-party kit” was completed with some fresh lemons.
All the dishes were cooked in the very same morning, and the main course was still hot, as the woman who cooked it put the food in a hot box to make sure the soldiers are fed with fresh food, not rechauffe. They also collected and sent a package for the 93 mechanized brigade, “Alraid” press-service reports.

Besides, they delivered a fully-packed pick-up of warm clothes and footwear collected and sorted by activists of Women’s Social Organisation “Maryam” to Reception Station for helping the internally displaced people (9/11 Frolivska Str.)

RAMU “Umma”, along with “Maryam”, continue collecting things for the resettled people at Kyiv Islamic Cultural Centre. All the collected Items will be sorted and, when the stock is big enough, delivered to 9/11 Frolivska Str.

11/02/2015

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Homemade food for soldiers

Clothes for displaced people

Kyiv Muslims Repeated Their “Become A Donor!” Benefit

Tetyana — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 12:46:34 +0000

It’s been the third time in a row this year when the charitable blood donation benefit was held at Kyiv Islamic Cultural Centre. According to the facilitators, more people came to share their blood this time on December 5, though not as many as one would like. Another hallmark of this benefit was that non-Muslims, who read about it in the social media, came to the Islamic Cultural Centre in order to join it.

Ms.Tetyana Evloeva, a journalist, became the main facilitator of this benefit after she learned about the lack of donors’ blood in Ukraine. When she made a checkup, it appeared that donorship is not only out of favour, but is the last thing most people involved in charity think of.

According to the medical workers, because of the constant lack of donor blood in Ukraine we stopped so low that the relatives of the recipients carry donor blood in public transport, buy it for cash and not only obtain the legally approved documents and checks.

“I contacted the Kyiv City Blood Centre,” - Ms.Evloeva says, - “and learned the conditions we have to fulfill for a benefit like this: what the room the equipment, etc., must be. We had a suitable room at our ICC, so the medical workers came and checked it, and scheduled the date after they approved it. I contacted my co-workers from other department to get some cooperation and a small budget, and everyone liked the idea, as this is indeed a good and charitable deed. We pulled together quite well it seems.”

Mr.Said Ismagilov, Mufti of RAMU “Umma”, stressed the importance of voluntary donorship and said that the procedure must be done according to the rulings of Shariah. “The most important thing is that the donor must be in good health and physical state, so that he is suitable for donation. The main principle of Shariah says “Do no harm!”, so the donorship must neither harm the donor nor the recepient.”

As for the donors who came to Kyiv ICC, they learned about the lack of donors from different sources and came along to support the benefit and help the people who life-saving treatment.

Note: According to the World Health Organization, average 12-15 ml of blood in the blood bank is needed per one Ukrainian, yet the country has only 8-8.5ml. At this point, lives of thousands people are at risk because of the lack of donor blood - injured in car accidents, after surgeries, women after caesarean section. Haemotherapy, however, is done only in cases of serious blood losses. Still, there is a wide range of diseases that can’t be cured without systemic blood transfusions and blood components - such as hemophilia, cancer, aplastic anemia,
immunologic diseases. Treatment of these diseases lasts for years, and without donors’ blood such patients are doomed. Besides,many vital products for medical treatment are also made of donors’ blood.

Statistically, every third European adult is a regular donor, and about 49% of Europeans donated blood at least once. This number increased since 2012 (only 37%)
.
Donorship is most popular in Austria (66%), France (52%), in Greece and Cyprus (51% each), and least popular in Portugal, Italy and Poland (22, 23 and 25% respectively). Besides, most donors are well-educated men over 35.

Mr.Hennadii Razumov, oncologist of superior merit, says that bone marrow is stimulated with every blood donation, which can prevent marrow cancer and other types of oncology.

Staff reporter

08/12/2014

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The "An-Noor" Activists Thank Donors For Their Contribution In The Blood Donorship Benefit

oleg — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 09:46:55 +0000

A blood donorship benefit arranged by the “An-Noor” NGO took place at the Kyiv Islamic Cultural Centre Mosque on Friday, August 30.

The facilitators highly appreciate the contribution of everybody who came having intention to share their blood with those who are badly in need for it. People came regardless the cold and rainy weather, necessity to be on a two days diet (no eggs, milk products, fat and fried dishes) and the need to leave their warm and cosy beds on Friday morning.

The "An-Noor" activists ask Allah Almighty to reward them with all the best both in this life and hereafter, and also reward people who either wanted to come but couldn’t do it for some important reason or came but were rejected by the doctors because of the results of preliminary examination.

They also express gratitude for the medical officers mobile team from the Kyiv City Blood Centre. They are very good, kind and sympathetic people, and it’s a pure joy to approach such doctors. We hope our cooperation lasts for many years.

Source: arraid.org

Blood Donors Recommendations Brochures Printed: Get Your Copy At Kyiv Islamic Centre!

Kyiv Muslims Call Everyone To “Become a Donor!” And Save Somebody’s Life

05/09/2013

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