Vladimir Putin meets muftis of centralized religious organizations of Muslims of Russia and heads of the Bolgar Islamic Academy in Kazan

On January 25, during his working visit to Kazan, Russian President Vladimir Putin had a meeting with muftis of centralized religious organizations of Muslims of Russia and heads of the Bolgar Islamic Academy.

The meeting touched upon the issues of forming an integral system of religious education and the development of the national theological school and discussed the first results of work of the Bolgar Islamic Academy.

Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to Volga Federal District Mikhail Babich, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov and other officials took part in the meeting.

Opening the meeting, Putin reminded he met with many leaders, including those, who are present here, in Ufa in 2013 on the occasion of the 225th anniversary of the formation of the first Russian muftiat. "I want to emphasize once again that there is no doubt that the traditional Islam is an essential part of the Russian cultural code, with the Muslim Ummah being an important part of the Russian multi-ethnic people," Putin said.

"Back then, we talked about the need to revive the theological Islamic education in Russia. This education has always been very profound and has a great history. Before the revolution in 1917, Russian Muslim theologians were recognized throughout the world as highly respected people, their opinion was highly respected. It is true that much of this heritage, if not all of it, was lost or watered down during the Soviet period, and we need to create a new theological school now,” the President stressed.

He reminded that from the very beginning he supported the idea put forward by the leadership of Tatarstan. "With the creation of the Bolgar Islamic Academy, we have created the whole triad, including madrassas, universities, and the academy. I want to thank everyone who worked on this project. Without your active position and without sponsors, who are also well known, this project would not have been possible. It is an attractive project, important and very necessary for our country,” Putin continued.

Then, the first results of work of the Bolgar Islamic Academy were discussed. "Let us talk about how the project is developing, what else we needs to do in addition so that not only this project but also other projects, possibly more modest, but not less important, are implemented where people need them, and so that we create our own theological school while respecting the achievement of the Islamic world in this area,” the President said.

He stressed that "time flies, and the venerable age of some of our muftis makes us think about the need to train their successors, which should be done at home and based on the precepts of traditional Islam".