Recently in Ukraine increases attention to the problems of the Muslim Ummah, influence of the Islamic factor on the internal and foreign policy of our country. Thus, the scholars of Islam pay attention to some warps, discrepancies, incorrect estimations and judgments in the relation of religious-political trends or a Muslim life in Ukraine. For example, the hypertrophied enthusiasm for the topic of radical Islamism in Ukraine which is presented as the main, dominating problem of the whole Muslim Ummah of Ukraine and especially its Crimean part. What is the basis of such conclusions?..
Muslims in Ukraine
Nowadays, when the first stage of Muslim revival in Ukraine practically finished, on the foreground there are the problems of qualitative improvement of life and activity of the Muslim Ummah, and increase of efficiency of its potential use in the development of economy, science and culture of Ukraine, overcoming of consequences of global financial and economic crisis. This stage led to reconstruction of the infrastructure of the Muslim life. In Ukraine work several spiritual managements and centres. At the same time the great value get issues of fuller satisfaction of spiritual needs of Muslims of Ukraine, increase of their contribution to strengthening of the international positions of the country, substantiation of qualitatively new model of development of Ukraine adequate to modern realities and calls. The decision of these and other problems demands, first of all, formation and developing of the state strategy of further development of Muslim revival in a context of Eurointegration aspirations of Ukraine.
In these conditions, special value has consolidation within the limits of the Muslim Ummah of Ukraine, overcoming splits and dissociation.
In 2009, Muslims of Ukraine made important steps towards the decision of these questions.
Therefore, in April of this year, at the State Committee on Affairs of Nationalities and Religions, was created the Council of Representatives of Spiritual Managements and Spiritual Centres of Muslims of Ukraine. The Council, into which structure entered the SMM of Ukraine "Ummah", the SMM of Crimea and Religious association of independent Muslim communities of Ukraine "The Kiev Muftiyat", representing the majority of all Muslim communities of Ukraine. Thereby, by the leading managements and centres of Ukrainian Muslims was created the co-coordinating body allowing qualitative improving of coordination of activity of Muslim organizations, and their interactions with the state structures of Ukraine.
On this background appeared shortage of educational institutions and cultural-educational centres, prepared, learned, authoritative Imams, and generally low level of knowledge of the Ukrainian Muslims of their religion. For instance, in the recent interview in the newspaper "Voice of Crimea" the vice-president of the Republican Committee of the ARC on affairs of religions Bulatov noticed that for the last five years the active process of revealing and returning of the former Muslim cult buildings and other religious property almost stopped. In Crimea, mosques building is suspended, including the fact that the beginning of building of the Cathedral mosque in Simferopol did not start too [2]. In combination with indecision of many problems of the Crimean Tatars, the above-stated factors will be favorable circumstance for appearing in Crimea of some radical trends.
During his performance at the meeting of the President of Ukraine with the Presidium of the Mejlis of the Crimean-Tatar people on July, 3rd, 2009, the chairman of the Mejlis Dzhemilev emotionally estimated delaying by local authorities of Crimea of building of the Cathedral mosque in Simferopol, "I will say frankly, that such impudent and cynical relation to the Tatars and to their religion nobody could expect"[3].
The policy of the Mejlis and its managements is directed on rendering of assistance in development of traditional Islam in Crimea, counteraction to distribution on the peninsula of activity of extremist structures. The first deputy of the chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean-Tatar people, the President of the World congress of the Crimean Tatars, Chubarov, repeatedly stated that the management of the Mejlis is worried by purposeful actions on strengthening in Crimea of the political organizations of the extremist sense, which shelter behind Islam. This fact, as he said, "makes us concerned, as such organizations try to spread values unusual for traditional Islam in Crimea, in particular, such, which introduce mistrust and fear in the polyethnic and multi-religious Crimean society, deny possibility of peaceful co-existence of people of different cultures and cultural wealth" [4]. As to the role of the external factor in distribution of the extremist trends, which shelter behind Islam, Chubarov unequivocally notices that in occurrence of similar organizations Medzhlis considers activity of external forces which wish to weaken unity of the Crimean Tatars. According to Chubarov, the radical organizations may be created by the structures of the Russian Federation. However, sometimes such people and receptions may, he emphasized, use our Ukrainian politicians, too [5]. In the light of all this, nowadays, special value gets cardinal and system increase of attention of the state structures and public organizations to rendering of the effective help to traditional Islam in Crimea, strengthening of its material and personnel base and, certainly, the decision of topical problems of the Crimean Tatars.
Turn of the West to the new policy concerning Islam
Coming to power in the USA of Obama, his position concerning Islam became catalysts of strengthening of a line of the Western world on searches and formation of a new course concerning the Muslim population of their countries. Its essence consists in working off such mechanisms of interaction with Islamic communities and structures that would allow realizing of the effective policy of integration of the Muslim population in the western society at preservation of its religious identity, to involve Islamic potential in development of the western society more fully. The special attention is thus given to cooperation of heads of the western countries, the European Union with the leading public structures of Muslims in the western countries.
Among such structures, it is possible to note a positive role of Federation of the Muslim organizations of Europe, working in close interaction with the European Union on Fatwa and Research. Created in 1989 with the central office in Belgium, the federation unites the Muslim organizations of 28 European countries.
The main tasks of the Federation is consolidation of the European Muslims, protection of their rights, upholding of a positive image of Islam in the opinion of Europeans, and also the help to the state structures and public organizations in the decision of problems of integration of Muslims in the European society that they became its organic component. The ideological platform of Federation is based on recognition multinational, multi-confessional, multicultural character of Europe. The federation professes the concept of "wasatiya" - Islamic middle-way, equation, moderation and centrism. Such method of refraction of Islam allows Federation to consolidate the majority of the European Muslims on the teamwork on transformation of Islam into a western civilisation component.
The trend of "wasatiya" - or the middle-way Islam, which appeared in the end of the XX-th century, sometimes is named as "a new Islamic trend" [6].
Arisen in the course of the 80th years of the last century within the limits of the structures of Brother Muslims, the trend of "wasatiya" quickly develops, turns, actually, into an independent trend in modern Islam and wins leading positions in the Muslim Ummah of Europe.
Nowadays, the idea of "wasatiya" dominates in the Islamic society, and it for a long time went beyond the frames of the movement of Brother Muslims, and is widely popular in the Islamic world. Political and legal practice of "wasatiya" supporters in Europe is directed on working out of the pragmatical approach to problems of adaptation and integration of Muslims to life in the conditions of the western democracy.
In the modern Europe there is an intensive discussion, both at the academic level, and at the level of practical policy, of a complex of the questions connected with the development of a political course concerning leading directions of Islam in Europe and its organizational structures. The general tendency that is well noticeable during the latest time, consists in recognition of necessity of adjustment of cooperation with the moderate Muslim organizations ready for the constructive work with the power in working out of mechanisms and forms of integration of Muslims in the European society. Such an approach considers a present leading position of such organizations in the Muslim Ummah of Europe, and their growing potential, aspiration to cooperation.
Certainly, this process is uneasy, it is accompanied by a fierce debate, discrepancy of views, but the main thing, is that it gains strength and opens big prospects for the further development of all western civilization which integral part is Islam, as it is admitted nowadays.
The Federation has good, strong relations with the managements of the European Union and the EuroParliament. In January, 2008, at the initiative of the Federation was accepted such a major, basic document, as the Charter of the Muslims of Europe which solemn signing was visited by the assistant to the head of the EuroParliament. The charter became the original manifesto of the European Muslims, the political-legal base of their aspiration to share the European values and to be integrated into the European society. Certainly, the process of integration of Muslims into a modern European society is a very complicated process, which faces many difficulties, contradictions and prejudices. Nevertheless, it is possible to speak about active and multilateral process of formation of new European Muslim identity, which, undoubtedly, is going to play the unique historical role in the development of Muslim and world civilization.
By calculations of the American Institute of a migratory policy, relative density of Muslims as a part of the European Union population to the middle of this century will increase from the present 5 % to 20 % [7]. Quantitative and qualitative changes in the European Muslim Ummah can testify that within next decades, carrying out of the qualified, flexible, innovative policy from outside managements of the European states and the European Union structures will get one of decisive conditions of transformation of Incorporated Europe in leading force of world politics and economy.
State policy of Ukraine concerning Islam
It is necessary to ascertain that what concerns Islamic direction, Ukraine extremely passively participates in the European initiatives until now. Volume, depth and substantial part of participation of Ukraine in such initiatives does not correspond nor to the importance of the problems standing in this sphere in front of Ukraine, nor to the requirements and potential of its Muslim Ummah. From outside Ukraine, differently, for example, from neighboring Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, it is not put forward any initiative or project, having the all-European sounding.
Paramount value, taking into account the European traditions and the European experience, has creation of effective mechanisms of cooperation of the state structures with the religious and cultural-educational organizations of the Ukrainian Muslims, filling of their work by the concrete and constructive maintenance. Nowadays in Ukraine are already created serious reserves in creation of such mechanisms.
It is a question of already mentioned Council of representatives of spiritual managements and centres of Muslims of Ukraine at the State committee on affairs of nationalities and religions. Nowadays it is important to organize effective work of this Council, especially in adjustment of active participation of representatives of the Muslim organizations in completion of such major bills as "About the freedom of worship and religious organizations", the Concept of the state-confessional relations in Ukraine, about returning of cult constructions to the religious organizations and others. It is important to see prospect of transformation of the Ukrainian Ummah into the component of the all-European Ummah. It is necessary to finish the political-legal bases of such policy according to the European requirements and standards.
In its turn, working out and acceptance of the long-term program of development of Islamic formation and cultural-educational centres will allow to improve qualitatively burning issues of shortage of the learned Imams available nowadays, adjustments of release of the modern and qualified learning-methodical materials, textbooks. The important problems face the Ukrainian science, which should investigate on the level of up-to-date demands and the level of development of world Islam many topical problems of its development in the modern world, its role in overcoming of consequences of global financial and economic crisis, formation of new model of development of the mankind, meeting requirements of the XXI-st century more deeply.
In this plan it is necessary to improve qualitatively work of the All-Ukraine social organization "The Ukrainian Centre of Islamic Studies", to transform it into original All-Ukraine coordination centre on studying of the major problems of the development of Ukrainian and world Muslim Ummah, generating of effective initiatives on development and enrichment of inter-religious and inter-civilization dialogue, active use and introduction of achievements of a Muslim civilization into an economic, sociopolitical and spiritual life of the country. The centre and its active workers should set the fashion to working out of some the major problems, such as formation of the European model of a policy concerning Islam in Ukraine, the state strategy of the decision of the Crimean-Tatar question in modern Ukrainian realities, practical use of mechanisms of Islamic banking and Islamic financial institutions in Ukraine and some others.
We would hope that the mentioned issues will impulse to discussion and analysis of the complex of problems of Muslims in Ukraine and ways of their decision in the constructive and weighed spirit.
Vyacheslav SHVED, the vice-president of the All-Ukraine Social Organization "The Ukrainian Centre of Islamic Studies", Historical Sciences Candidate, PhDs, for UNIAN
The literature
1. D. Brylev "Ukraine - the extremism centre in Europe?" UNIAN - Religions. - 24.07.2009.
2. Islam - the real factor of a social life. Questions of the editor-in-chief of the newspaper "The Voice of Crimea" Eldar Seitbekirov to the vice-president of the Republican Committee on Aaffairs of Rreligions Ayder Bulatov (//The Voice of Crimea, 2009.-12 Oct.)
3. A meeting of the President of Ukraine with the Presidium of the Mejlis of the Crimean-Tatar people.//http://kirimtatar.com/
4. Refat Chubarov: Russin politicians have to represent the Tatars as the threat for the Ukrainians. - UNIAN, 04.09.2009.//http://www.for-ua.com/news_print.php? news=386160.
5. In the same place.
6. Munster A. Islamisation in Eastern EUROPE. - A case study of Arraid in Ukraine//http://www.islaminstitute.de.-seite2/
7. Gorski E. Report: Global Muslim population hits 1,57 billion//The Guardian. 2009, October 8.
8. The resolution of the International conference "Russia and the Islamic world: partnership for the sake of stability" (Moscow, on September 24, 2009//http://www.muslim.ru/1/cont/8/15/1859.htm.
By UNIAN
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Islam in Ukraine: Basic Stages of History
