Address of Tatarstan President on the occasion of the Day of official adoption of Islam by the Volga Bulgaria

Dear Tatarstan citizens!

Dear compatriots!

From the bottom of my heart, I congratulate you on the historic memorable date – the Day of the official adoption of Islam by the Volga Bulgaria.

Many centuries of glorious deeds of pious forefathers separate us from this truly important event for the Tatar people, which left its indelible mark on the fate of the Muslim civilization. Today, as in 922, on our native land, we praise the All-Merciful Allah for that great truth that allowed us to preserve our unity, faith, language and culture through all the hardships.

We are sincerely grateful to the wise rulers and theologians of the past for their perspicacious choice and invaluable contribution to the treasury of Islamic thought, which laid a solid foundation for our spirituality and well-being. It is gratifying that the enduring religious values ​​resonate with the hearts of the modern generation of Tatarstan citizens.

Through the efforts of the Revival Regional Foundation, the legendary Ancient Bolgar is reviving emerging from the ruins, where the Bolgar Islamic Academy designed to become one of the leading Muslim scientific, educational and spiritual centres was solemnly opened last year. I am sure that each of us must personally touch the shrines, which bear the names of the Companions of the Prophet and their faithful followers, making their own contribution to the reconstruction of this unique pearl.

It is highly symbolic that the revival of the Ancient Bolgar is carried out  alongside with the reconstruction of the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the island-city of Sviyazhsk. Preserving and multiplying its main asset – interethnic and interreligious unity and mutual understanding – Tatarstan confidently moving towards the future, providing an example for others.

I wish all of us to celebrate the Day of the official adoption of Islam by the Volga Bulgaria with profit to our hearts.

I wish you and your loved ones peace, good, happiness and prosperity to you and! May the Almighty bless our good aspirations!

Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov.