Evolution Of Islamic Communities In Ukraine And Other European Countries: First Days of IV School Of Islamic Studies

IV International Summer School For Islamic Studies left behind its centreline: two days of five have passed. The organisers have drawn up the schedule in the way where both lectures and reports elaborated each other, giving a better insight of the topic from different angles and combining history and contemporary, theory and practice.

This School United the representatives of different organisations and educational institutions of Ukraine and neighbouring countries.

Ms.Aurelia Felea, a professor at TIraspol University (Moldova) shared the information about Muslim prisoners of Gulag (System of Soviet labour camps and prisons that from the 1920s to the mid-1950s housed millions of political prisoners) she found during her research, and Mr.Mariush Marshevsky, a PhD in History and a research officer at the University of Poznan (Poland) presented his analysis of reasons of radicalisation processes among the Muslim youth in some Western European countries.

Besides, there were three more lectures; one by Mufti of RAMU “Umma” Shaikh Said Ismagilov (Crisis transformational processes in Ukrainian Muslim communities during 2014-2015), another by Master of Shariah Shaikh Sairan Arifov (Main aspects of moderatism in Islam; nature of extremism and radicalism in different Islamic sects), and the third one by a diplomat with great work record of 40 years (Islam in the West: authenticity and modernisation, problems and solutions).

It’s been the second year in a row when International School of Islamic Studies is held in Kyiv, as the School’s original location in Crimea is unavailable due to Russia’s occupation over the peninsula.

As hit the Mark by Mr.Said Ismagilov, “There can be no freedom of scientific thought where there’s no freedom of thought as such.”

The facilitators organised not only the interesting research programme, but also excursions and sail sings for the participants.