Deputy Chairman of the Russian Muftis Council and the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Russia, head of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Moscow Ildar Alyautdinov is participating in a conference in Cairo. The Russian delegation also includes Ramil hazrat Sadekov, Senior Imam of the Moscow Historical Mosque.
The conference is devoted to the problems related to issuing canonical decisions (fatwas) and is attended by delegates fr om 80 countries (muftis, imams, scholars). The conference was opened by Shawki Allam, the mufti of Egypt. The muftis of Nigeria, Palestine, the former mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmad Tayeb delivered their speeches.

The participants said it was important to issue fatwas answering the purpose of the real life and taking into account the events happening in the world. Some of them mentioned that there were people who had superficial knowledge about the subject, but issued radical fatwas and other canonical provisions allowing to encroach on dignity, property and life of other people. Thus, the mufti of Nigeria noted that many people in his country became victims to those who accused Muslims of apostasy. Sheikh Ahmad Tayeb called for active cooperation of religious scholars adhering to traditional understanding of Islam, as radicalism supporters infiltrate into the society and propagate their views without losing any time. The participants discussed the notion of “Muslim minority” and according to sheikh Ahmad Tayeb, it contained a negative touch of inferiority of the believers living outside of Muslim countries. Therefore, it was suggested to use a different term, because the Muslims constituting a minority are full-fledged citizens if the countries wh ere they live.

Sheikh Ahmad Tayeb drew the participants’ attention on other relevant issues, for instance, related to family, such as polygamy, divorce, and especially upbringing of children.

Besides, the conference dealt with the problems of minorities. It was noted that the many members of radical groups come from the countries with minor Muslim population. That urges the scholars to be more active, to understand their responsibility, to feel the changes of the society and to issue correct fatwas taking into account the society’s needs.