The conflict situation which developed in the Muslim Ummah of Crimea requires open discussion and acceptance of measures on overcoming of negative tendencies. Edition of "Voice of Crimea" addressed with questions on the given topic to the vice-president the Republican Committee of the ARC on Religious Affairs, Ayder Bulatov.
In the beginning of our conversation we would like to get updated information on the quantity and condition of Muslim communities in the ARC, and also mosques, medrese and other religious institutions.
— First of all I would like to make a small excursus to our near past to estimate current state of Islam in Crimea from historical positions of the past.
At the moment of returning of the Crimean Tatars to their historical Motherland in the late eighties of the ХХ century their general religious literacy was on a low level, though practically all considered themselves Muslims. Islam was perceived by the majority of the people only as a part of traditions or culture of the Crimean Tatars transferred by senior generation.
Namaz, which is one of the pillars of Islam, until recently was performed by very few believers, and the only collective Namaz which was performed among the Crimean Tatars, was a Jenaze-namaz (funeral ceremony) which was lead by a local self-educated Mullah.
On returning to the historical Motherland, along with arrangement processes of the Crimean-Tatar people, started the process of revival of their religion: building of mosques, restoration of Islamic institutions, many entered religious courses or spiritual schools (medrese), found at that time.
Against uneasy formation of all faiths traditional for Crimea it is possible to tell without exaggeration that Islam found itself in the difficult situation. If the majority of Christian cult buildings in the days of the Soviet power was used as warehouses, clubs and shops, and in such kind they remained up to the present time, Muslim mosques were simply destroyed — to erase the traces of Islam on the Crimean earth. In 1784 in Crimea operated about 1530 mosques, and by 1988 there was less than ten Muslim cult buildings which kept traces of Muslim mosques. Some of them were declared to be architecture and town-planning monuments.
Despite this, started rough process of revival of Islam. In the beginning of 2009 in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea was registered 341 Muslim religious organizations: the Spiritual Management of Muslims of Crimea (SMMC), 335 Muslim communities which are under its initial management, and 5 Muslim spiritual educational institutions (medrese). At the disposal of Muslim communities there are 281 mosque, among which 80 are built anew.
— The appeal about necessity to legalize cult constructions, to receive state certificates on the land of the mosques allocated under the building was repeatedly stated. And in general, on whose balance are they? How the designated problems are solved?
— The state of affairs with the presence of legal documents on mosques I would name, to put it mildly, unsatisfactory. From the specified 80 constructed mosques only 13 have characteristics sheets, and from the transferred and adapted 180 mosques, the majority are still registered as clubs, shops, boiler-houses and offices … State certificates on the land have at maximum 5-6 Muslim communities. That is it turns out that for the present day the majority of the Crimean mosques de jure, do not exist at all, and by the right of their accessory it is possible to consider them as ownerless buildings. Legal consequences of operation of cult buildings without reports of acceptance in operation and legal documents are very serious, and the Spiritual Management of Muslims of Crimea and Muslim communities are notified on it.
We would like to note another fact. For last five years practically finished the active process of revealing and returning of the former Muslim cult buildings and other religious property. Though on the IV Kurultay of Muslims of Crimea, which took place in July, 2008, was accepted the Reference to the President of Ukraine about problems of returning of Muslim religious objects, actually, the Republican Committee on Religious Affairs did not get any accordingly issued reference on this point in question. The divergence of Muslim communities is especially obviously shown in comparison with other faiths which heads conduct indefatigable work on return of the former cult property and building of new cult objects.
(The Crimean Muslims, from their part, complain on obstacles from local authorities in the decision of questions of building and legal registration of mosques. Read more in the article "Crimean Authorities Earn on Mosques?" - Ed.)
The southern coast of Crimea is a pearl of our peninsula. The remained former Muslim cult structures which were subject of transfer to Muslim communities, were invaluable property of the Crimean-Tatar people. It is necessary to return them to Muslim communities, and it is strange that returning of these Muslim relics is very passive. Nowadays it is no wonder that some of these objects at the Black Sea coast became a private property, including the Crimean Tatars, too.
In Crimea is practically suspended building of mosques, except Sofievka village in Simferopol area, where coordination on allocation of the land area and a base laying are made exclusively due to the energy of the chairman Muslim community "Ittifak" of Server-aga Asanov. After the death of the well-known author Idris-aga Asanin stopped the process of revealing, research and fixing of Muslim holy places (aziz) and ancient Muslim burial places, therefore it is no wonder that on their place are built pleasure institutions, children's playgrounds, gasoline stations…
— Though we speak about religion, in Crimea it is closely connected with policy. In the Islamic world there are religious centers, and each of them strives to extend its influence on the Ummah. With this aim are created representations, established funds and organizations in different countries. What foreign Islamic representations, establishments function in Crimea? What is their activity?
— For last two decades Islam became the real factor of social life in Crimea. Nowadays in the Crimean Ummah there are about 300 thousand Muslims, the overwhelming part of them being the Crimean Tatars. During the first period of difficult process of arrangement of the Crimean-Tatar people on the native land, absence at repatriates of their own financial, material, religious and personnel resources, there could be no any active process of mosques building and revival of Islamic institutions in Crimea. Therefore, naturally, gazes of the Crimean Muslims were turned towards the Muslim states, first of all Turkey and the Arabian East, which with understanding reacted to appeals for help.
However, having analyzed almost 20-year-old experience of revival of Islam in Crimea, it is possible to notice that with growth of well-being they, with rare exception, did not become self-sufficient, self-regulated cells in system of Muslim religious structure. The traditional custom in the Muslim countries, when parishioners endow on the maintenance of mosques, medrese and spiritual instructors, did not fully find distribution in Crimea. Relying on the aid of various religious centers of foreign countries already took roots in consciousness of the Crimean Muslim communities.
Therefore, the reviving of the Crimean Ummah appeared to be susceptible to influence of external forces and became an "unplowed field" for Muslim missionaries. Religious preachers arrive basically from the Turkish Republic. Only one religious organization represents official Turkish Islam — the Ministry of Affairs of Religions of Turkey (Diyanet), the others are representations of various public and religious vakufs, adhering to various religious trends. All foreign Muslim preachers arrive to Crimea under the invitation of the Crimean Muftiyat.
I will begin, perhaps, with a religious-political party Hizb-ut-Tahrir al-Islami, which name is well-known not only by the Crimean Tatars, but even by the rest of population of Ukraine. Hizb-ut-Tahrir al-Islami (Party of clearing of Islam) is based in 1953 by the judge of the Shariat appeal court Takiyuddin Nabhani. The party's purpose is aspiration to return Muslims to the truly Islamic way of life and distribution of Islam as religious-political ideology worldwide.
In the information field of the Crimean autonomy this group appeared in 2003. I wish to emphasize that this Islamic movement should not be perceived as a party in its direct understanding (as we will assume, the Party of Regions, Communist Party, etc.), with all inherent to party organizations attributes and aims. Appreciably this is a two-componential Islamic sect of the modernist type, aimed to return Muslims to God and Islamic way of life. That is the practice of the work of this organization is comparable to missionary activity in which are engaged hundreds of preachers in Crimea.
The society is concerned that not less important purpose of Hizb is building of the Islamic state - Caliphate, however very few people know that building of the Muslim state is supposed in the countries which population traditionally practices Islam. As it is known, Ukraine and even the Crimean autonomy are not territories with the overwhelming Muslim population.
The activity of Hizb should not be called closed or conspired: they founded Muslim religious communities, they are engaged in public religious-educational activity to which, by the way, are invited journalists, civil servants, the heads of the Mejlis and the Muftiyat. They publish their newspaper "Renaissance", there are some sites on the Internet.
Despite certain utopianism of ideas of Hizb-ut-Tahrir, quantity of their adherents increases (on some researches, their quantity is estimated as 20 thousand persons). Ideas of Hizb are supported by the increasing layers of the Crimean-Tatar population: from teenagers to people of mature age, from medrese graduates to Imams of the regional scale. It is possible to explain it by increasing aspiration of a Muslim part of the population of Crimea to find a way out from a difficult economic situation which it faces in last decades, and also to find ways of youth rescue from defects which penetrated our society: immorality, lie, disrespect for seniors, alcoholism, drug addiction, prostitution … Recently frequent statements from managements of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine about interdiction of Hizb-ut-Tahrir, as we see, do not ward the modern youth off the party, on the contrary, it adds popularity of this organization, making its ideas more attractive. In the sphere of influence of the party there were already involved the Muslim communities which are under jurisdiction of the Spiritual Management of Muslims of Crimea.
In Crimea there are mentioned Islamic groups, naming Salafis. There are mentioned Wahhabite groups, too, however, there are basically no differences between them. Salafism is the general term of all fundamentalist trends in the Sunni Islam, stems from Arabic "salaf" — "ancestors". The basic idea of Salafism is clearing of Islam from century innovations and its returning to the epoch of the Prophet Muhammad and the first four Caliphs. There are practically no obviously expressed contradictions between this group of Muslims and official Crimean Islam, except celebrating of Muslim holidays when basically adherents of the sect were solidary with Hizb, counter to decisions of the Muftiyat, and in their own way defined dates of Muslim holidays.
Habashites. This sect received its name on behalf of Abdullah al-Harari al-Habashi (al-Abdari), the native of Harar in Ethiopia which in Arabic is "Habashi". Ideological opponents ambiguously perceive their traditions, such as original way of celebration of birthday of the Prophet Muhammad — Maulid, visiting of tombs of the holy people, addressing to God through the holy people, blessing with holy relics, etc. Despite sharp counteraction of the Crimean Muftiyat, all of them won certain base on the peninsula and continue to expand their influence among jamaats.
The independent Muslim communities, accused of split of the Crimean-Tatar people, are often mentioned, too, however, very few people remember background of occurrence of independent Muslim communities in Crimea. In the end of 1999 the Spiritual Management of Muslims of Crimea initiated creation of religious association of Muslims of Simferopol and the Simferopol area. At the constituent conference was selected the leader of the association, it is fixed by the official report. In some weeks the SMMC changed its decision, and as a result of the protests the part of Muslim communities which were a part of specified association, started irrespective of the Muftiyat to register Muslim communities which got names of the independent ones. The majority of the Muslim communities, not concordant with activity of the SMMC, adopted subsequently this experience, and activity geography of the "independent" extended almost throughout the whole peninsula. Nowadays, taking into account Muslim independent communities preparing for registration, their number reaches 100 religious associations of citizens which periodically bring up a question of registration of the religious centers and managements.
— Can you name the new forces which expressed desire to work in religious sphere?
- Continuing our conversation on organizations working among the Muslim population of the peninsula, I should note increasing authority of the social organization "Аvdet" which chose its own way of realization of Islamic projects. One of priority directions of the activity of this organization is spirituality revival. In the statement of the organization it is said, "… in this point "Avdet" adheres to a position not less rigid, than in the agrarian question. It is – without fail – revival on the Crimean peninsula of Islam and Islamic values. It is mosque building in every settlement of Crimea. It is opening of medrese in each mosque. And medrese will be urged to carry out a role of the local cultural centers, in which people will study Islam bases, the native and the Arabic languages, history, customs and traditions of the Crimean Tatars…" "Avdet" has 122 primary cells throughout the whole Crimean peninsula, among them 42 cells — in the Simferopol region.
I will give one more example though it may not absolutely correspond to the question set by you, but characterizes a condition of the Crimean-Tatar communities in Crimea.
In the end of 2008 in the Crimean autonomy, the Center of Razumkov conducted profound researches, in particular, of processes of formation of the Crimean regional identity. And so, on a question "What religion do you profess?" 1,6 % from among the interrogated Crimean Tatars appeared to be believers of other faiths! That is for these people on their historical native land Orthodoxy and Judaism appeared to be more demanded and convincing, than Islam which is traditional religion of the Crimean-Tatar nation! Takes place active converting of the Crimean Tatars to other faiths, it is confirmed by my personal observations: during the last years among figures of the Christian religious organizations quite often one can see the Crimean-Tatar surnames, and some of them already became religious pastors.
I will add that more 0,5 % of the Crimean Tatars interrogated by experts of the specified analytical Center, ascribed themselves to atheists (non-believers). If results of the interrogation would be proportionally related with total number of the Crimean Tatars living on peninsula, we will get an eloquent picture where one can see one more community of people of the Crimean-Tatar nationality, not belonging to other religious faiths, or being atheists. It is necessary to notice that this situation formed during the last 10 years.
— What influence on them exercises the Mufti of Muslims of Crimea and the SMMC?
— According to my observation and according to many Crimean Tatars, consecutive and active work of Hizb, Salafites, Habashites and other religious sects and conversion of new generation of the Crimean Tatars to Christianity takes place in that environment of the Crimean-Tatar population where positions of the Muftiyat or local Muslim communities are especially weak. As it is seen from ethnic mass-media, despite it, the Mufti invariably accuses of Intraislamic conflicts in Crimea public authorities of the peninsula. So, for example, in his interview to the journalists of the Crimean-Tatar mass-media on January, 6th, the Mufti "expressed serious concern on loss of spiritual reference points among the Crimean Tatars under the influence of various religious trends, sects and groupings which captivated the peninsula during the last years … In the course of a direct talk the Mufti of Crimea emphasized that there are no any special theological disagreements among the Crimean Muslims. And contradictions, which periodically occur in the Muslim Ummah, is a result of political games, a leading role in it playing the present authorities of Ukraine" (the newspaper "Peninsula" No (305), 09-15.01.09.) The same motives were sounded by your newspaper "Voice of Crimea" No (786), 16.01.09. Under the title "The SMMC not to allow Kiev to play with the Crimean Muslims".
— In mass-media appeared the information on attempts of creation of the parallel Muftiyat in Crimea. Who undertakes these steps and at what stage of the decision is this point in question?
— The quantity mentioned in our conversation of oppositional to the Crimean Muftiyat religious organizations, probably, already reached critical weight, and they rose the question on necessity of creation of the coordination centers and managements. For the last summer two religious associations submitted documents for the purpose of registration of the spiritual centers in Crimea. One of them carried out a constituent congress in Evpatoria in the work of which participated delegates of independent Muslim communities from various regions of Crimea. At the congress was accepted the charter of the new Spiritual Centre of Muslims of Crimea and was elected its Mufti.
As far as I know, heads of the specified Crimean Muslim centers sent constituent documents for consideration to Kiev. I wish to add that to the Republican Committee of the ARC on Religious Affairs still come people with questions of legal registration of independent from the Muftiyat Muslim religious centers.
— Disagreements already turned into open oppositions with force application. We will recollect the scandal in the building of the Crimean-Tatar academic musical-drama theatre between Habashites and the SMMC and fight in the village of Zhuravki, the Kirov area, where already appears Hizb-ut-Tahrir. Is the dialogue settled? What are the variants of events development?
— Conflicts of Muslims in public buildings and mosques of Crimea are not rare in the last years. On the eve of the holy month of Ramadan and in days of fasting - Oraza, when Islam orders termination of all conflicts, took place incidents in mosques of the village Ukromnoe, the Simferopol area, micro district Ak-Mechet, Simferopol, and the village of Zhuravki, the Kirov area. They already reach such level when they should be interfered with by law enforcement bodies, which in their own way treat conflicts among Muslims.
After a fight in the mosque of the village of Zhuravki on September, 11th, the Department of Public Relations of the Main Department of MIA of Ukraine in the ARC made an official statement in which it "showed concern about the situation which developed with penetration into Crimea of Islamic sects, part of them being forbidden in the majority of Islamic states, and actions of local Crimean authorities, trying to legalize these sects and trends".
In the given Statement, practically all described events in Crimea are turned upside down. In the Statement the militia central board expresses its concern about "position of the Supreme Rada of the AR of Crimea and the Ministerial Council of the autonomy which do not undertake any measures, and frequently indulge penetration and organization on the peninsula of different sects and their legalization that can lead to destabilization of the international peace and consent in Crimea"
The following bewilders. First, the statement of the Press-Service of the Main Department of MIA of Ukraine in the ARC is made with ignorance of the law and powers of the Ministerial Council and the Supreme Rada of the AR of Crimea, with application of Islamic "horror stories". Secondly, on the fight in the village of Zhuravki, the Kirov area, Kirov authorities should conduct an objective trial and punish the guilty; this prerogative is exclusively in the competence of law enforcement bodies. Events of the last year, when according to the information of suspicious informants the militia undertook inadequate night "storms" of houses of peacefully sleeping inhabitants, the sounded incompetent statements for mythical Islamic sects and another, bring about gloomy thoughts. Into which house of the Crimean-Tatars will rush armed cap-á-pie people next time? Whether the tragedy of Khairov family will repeat in Crimea?
— In the policy are rather frequent cases of transition of agents from one party to the other. In a religious life we also witnessed entering of Imams of the mosques confirmed by the SMMC in Hizb-ut-Tahrir party. Among them there are graduates of domestic medrese. Arises the question on quality of education, preparation and certification of teachers, working out of the curriculum etc. Who operates levers of these processes, who is the curator?
— I believe that I practically answered your question when I spoke about missionaries who arrive to Crimea from the Muslim countries and conduct teaching activity in spiritual educational institutions. We paid attention to the educational level of teachers. Some of the missionaries invited to Crimea, are young people having education at the level of a year of Islamic courses, and some have no religious education at all. About what certification of teachers can we speak, then? Language problem exists as well. The majority of the Crimean-Tatar children poorly speak their own native tongue, at the same time visitor teachers communicate with them in Turkish language, which they practically do not understand. It excludes possibility of accumulation of high-grade knowledge. Interesting observation: youth graduates from medrese without knowing Turkish language, and Turkish teachers leave Crimea with quite good knowledge of Russian!
One more factor: in Azov medrese, the basic smithy of religious workers in Crimea, children do not visit a comprehensive school, being educated without attending lectures, naturally, thus, they cannot receive and a due secular education. Future Imams later have internal discomfort when they have to communicate with more educated Muslims who are parishioners of their mosques. I do not exclude that party members of "Hizb-ut-Tahrir" may be these better educated parishioners.
Very few people disturbs that, having fulfilled the due term, missionaries easily leave home, and the considerable part of their students which did not receive firm knowledge in questions of Islamic doctrine, sooner or later appear in the ranks of various Islamic religious-political trends. As we see, the existing system of preparation of Muslim religious workers created serious problems for the Crimean Tatars. Parents do not trust existing system of religious education in Crimean medrese any more, and they are afraid for the future of their children. Their alarm can be understood.
Already came time, when it is necessary to begin processes of creation in Crimea of own religious schools, it was repeatedly noticed. In spite of the fact that in Crimea grew the new generation of the Crimean Tatars, till now the accurate and clear program of spiritual formation of Muslim youth is still not developed.
Control levers of this process are in the Spiritual Management of Muslims of Crimea, but as we see, these levers, unfortunately, do not work.
— The state accepted a call of religious-political forces and assumed the offensive. Agents of national security made the statement on necessity of interdiction of activity of Hizb-ut-Tahrir in Ukraine. Please, share your reflexions as government official on the topic and give advice to compatriots.
— Yes, in the press there was information that the Main Department of MIA of Ukraine in the ARC prepares the bill of interdiction in the country of the activity of Hizb-ut-Tahrir. That is, if everything goes under the conceived scenario and the Supreme Rada of Ukraine will approve the bill, one should expect that in the Crimean autonomy concerning a certain part of the Crimean-Tatar population the repressive state machinery will start to operate. In that case, arises a question. Whether after this will follow systemic "cleaning outs" of the Crimean-Tatar settlements in Crimea? By what criteria the accessory of a Muslim to this religious sect will be defined? In case of prosecutions of the "forbidden" religious trends it will be very difficult to define a side separating the rights of believers from direct infringements of human rights by the state .
There are fears that first of all under repressive machinery blow may get the part of the Crimean Tatars not concordant with the activity of certain political forces. The example of some countries in which prisons stay thousands of young men and girls is indicative in this respect.
In the end of our conversation I would like to draw some conclusions based on numerous conversations with Muslims of different age and different levels of population. The opinion is unequivocal that among the Crimean Muslims during the last years there was a serious split. By some estimations, taking into consideration quantity of listed above religious and religious-political trends in Crimea, the number of oppositional to the Muftiyat Muslims already reaches many tens thousand persons. Despite a dull expression "birlyk olayiq" ("be us inited"), the dialogue between them is not planned.
The history shows: it is impossible to reconcile those quarreled on religious ground throughout centuries. It is important to realize that hushing up of existing problems exhausts illness of the Ummah into the depth, transforming it into the chronic form. It is necessary to realize it and to start real process of unification of the Crimean Muslims in a single whole, while it is not too late, otherwise there is a fear that the Crimean Tatars will definitively lose their unique identity and will disappear as the nation.
Talked Eldar SEITBEKIROV, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Voice of Crimea"
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