Results of Caravan "Muhammad – Mercy for the Worlds" in Donbass

In 2012 the AUASO "Alraid" and the Religious Administration of Muslims of Ukraine "Ummah" together with the Donbass local religious communities carried out a considerable quantity of actions devoted to Mawlid an-Nabi – the month of birth of the Prophet Muhammad. The place was chosen not casually, after all Donbass is the second region of the country by quantity of compactly living Muslims (after the ARC).

Carrying out of religious-educational caravans was initiated as the respond to the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Muslim communities did not succumb to provocation, but found it necessary to inform people who actually was this great person to dispel conjectures and errors spread by spitpoisons about this outstanding historic figure.
 
The success of carrying out of these actions and wide public interest caused by them promoted transformation of the caravan into a good annual tradition.

Renaissance of the Donbass Ummah

For the Muslims of the region participation in such actions is not just a possibility to learn more about the last Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him); it is also the act of acknowledgement of their religious and cultural identity by the people who during the Soviet period were exposed to aggressive assimilation in the non-Muslim environment for long time.
 

By assimilation is explained perception of religious actions by the overwhelming majority of young men as "traditional meetings of old men". That is why the RAMU "Ummah" and local religious leaders constantly call the senior generation to take with them youth to change perception that there were continuers of the Prophet's duty after the perished old men. Recently, however, the situation gradually changes and it is possible to see mature and absolutely young men and women who, in their turn, take with them their children and teenagers. Gradual revival of Donbass Ummah begins.

People love their Prophet; however, unfortunately, many of them have insufficient information about him. This year the lecturers, reminding the present about the events from life of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), placed emphasis on his relation to representatives of other faiths which the last Messenger brought up in his followers by the personal example. Nowadays this topic is more than actual for all Muslims against whom aggressive propagation about their ostensibly irreconcilability to believers of other faiths is carried out. It is actual for this multinational and multicultural region where a lot of Muslims live.

In each of settlements the literature on the Prophet Muhammad and wall calendars were handed free of charge; children received sweets and memorable gifts.

Similar actions not just expand knowledge of Muslims; visiting them non-Muslims, and, in particular, representatives of the authorities, open for themselves the true essence of Islamic religion concerning good neighborhood, joint construction of the society, mutual aid and justice, abandoning the stereotypes imposed to them.

But Muslims of Ukraine not only tell about high ideals of their religion — they try to use each possibility to embody them in their everyday life.

For this reason activity of Muslim communities of the country finds positive estimation of representatives of the power of various levels.

Mawlid an-Nabi in Bryanka

The largest action took place in the city of Bryanka of Lugansk region. In the Central palace of culture of the city gathered about 200 Muslims from Bryanka, and also from the nearby Kirovsk and Stakhanov. In spite of the fact that in the street there was a strong frost, and the premise of the recreation center is not heated, all participants with big enthusiasm and celebratory mood remained there up to the end of the action — even small children who prepared poems about the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and read them aloud.

The city administration of Bryanka has warmly congratulated by Muslims on this memorial.
 
The Mufti of the RAMU "Ummah", Sheikh Said Ismagilov, acted with the lecture about life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and those principles which he put as the main base of image of the followers of Islam; told about his life, high moral qualities which he confirmed among the surrounding him people by his personal example, supported their aspiration to be corrected and to become better.

Imams of the cities read ayats of the Holy Quran and dua. Moreover, each of communities has shown a video clip illustrating its activity: Sunday schools, holidays, joint prayers, fasting and iftars, charitable actions and many other things.

The majority of Muslims of Lugansk region are the Tatars from the last waves of migration (post-war industrialization, restoration of mines and factories demanded working force), therefore the official part was followed by tea drinking with traditional Tatar dishes and sweets.
 
Mawlid an-Nabi in Konstantinovka
 
The city of Konstantinovka occupies important position in Donetsk region because it is close to the set of other industrial cities: Dzerzhinsk, Artemovsk, Gorlovka and others. Therefore on the actions carried out in the new mosque of the city come the believers from neighboring settlements. The Imam of this mosque who specially came from Turkey, except for carrying out of religious practices, gives lessons on Islam, teaches the Quran reading, prayer and other prominent aspects of religious practice of children and adults.

For the action dated for Mawlid an-Nabi gathered about 130 persons.

After the lecture on life and the great example of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), the Imam read ayats from the Quran and dua. Historically the majority of the parishioners are Sunni Azerbaijanis; therefore tea drinking took place in accordance to their traditions and with the dishes of the Azerbaijani cuisine.

Mawlid an-Nabi in Lugansk

The action took place in Lugansk on Friday and consequently started with Friday khutba (sermon) on life of the last Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Lugansk cathedral mosque. It was overflowed — the main hall and a balcony contained about 200 men, moreover, on a separate floor there settled down up to 50 women and children.

The community of Lugansk is multinational: its basic part consists of the Caucasians; however, there are also the Arabs, the natives of Central Asia, the Tatars, the Ukrainians and the Russians.
 
After the khutba and the Friday prayer there was a lecture about life of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) which was accompanied by the reading of the Quran and dua both for the living and for the late believers.

After the informative part of the action, the gathered could communicate behind a cup of hot tea and entertainment.

Mawlid an-Nabi in Alchevsk
 
Alchevsk is a metallurgical city; the main part of Muslims there is represented by the Tatars. That is why the actions dated for Mawlid had the Tatar national coloring.

Gathered Muslims (about 80 persons) were congratulated by the city mayor. Especially it was pleasant to receive congratulations from pupils of one of children's orphanages who are helped by the local community: the children have learned that Muslim community has a memorial and made a gift on their own – an ornament for a mosque in the form of a tree from a wire with leaves from beads. This tree, height about 25 centimeters, became very valuable and touching gift for the Muslims.

According to the ancient Tatar tradition, besides the lecture about the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), ayats from the Quran, hadith, dua and salawats (blessings to the Prophet) the Imam read a kasyda "Burda" ("Raincoat"). This is an original "Poetic biography of the Prophet Muhammad" in the form of quatrains which is translated on set of languages of the world and simplifies perception and storing of important events from life of the last Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).

Staff reporter.