Rustam Minnikhanov meets Muslim religious figures in Bolgar

On July 21, at the Bolgar Islamic Academy, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov had a meeting with Muslim religious figures under the traditional Izge Bolgar Zhyeny Congress dedicated to the anniversary of official adoption of Islam in Volga Bulgaria.

“We live in a large multinational community. It is very difficult to preserve the national culture and language, particularly if a person lives away from his national republic. Therefore, we can work, first of all, through mosques and imams in other regions,” Minnikhanov said in his welcoming speech.

Tatarstan President emphasized that nowadays Russia is actively cooperating with Muslim countries. On the instructions of the Russian President , Minnikhanov is heading the working group of the Russia-Islamic World Strategic Vision Group, which is carrying out significant work on popularization of our country in the Islamic world.

According to Minnikhanov, the International Economic Summit “Russia – Islamic World: KazanSummit” became an efficient instrument for building constructive relations with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Islamic Development Bank.

He noted that there are over 20 million Muslims in Russia today. “The Islamic lifestyle needs the appropriate infrastructure. This is not only halal food, but also halal health care, education, tourism. The increase in this sector will give an additional impetus to the development of business,” Minnikhanov stressed.

Tatarstan President placed particular emphasis on the issues of the Islamic education.

Minnikhanov added that the Izge Bolgar Zhyeny Congress traditionally takes place in the ancient city of Bolgar, the territory of which has changed over the past 8 years. This is a great achievement of Tatarstan State Counsellor, Chairman of Board of Trustees of the Revival Regional Foundation Mintimer Shaimiev, he said.