The visit of Islam Zaripov, imam-hatyb of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque, to Finland, where he spent the second half of the month of Ramadhan, has come to an end.
During the visit Islam hazrat met the local community and its leader, Atik Ali, led Friday and night prayers in Helsinki and Järvenpää, participated in iftars.
In every speech Islam hazrat conveyed sincere greetings from the Russian Muslims and their religious leader, mufti sheikh Ravil Gaynutdin.
The Muslims of Finland had an opportunity to know more about the modern state of Islam in Russia and Muslims communities. They expressed a particular interest in the Russian scholars’ achievements related to studying the Tatar theological legacy.

The guests visited the library of the Helsinki university, one of the biggest and oldest academic institutions of the country, where they could see an extensive collection of Arab and Tatar books.

On 20 June the guests visited the Evangelical Lutheran community of Järvenpää, where they were introduced to the church’s activity and a church educational centre.

It should be noted that during more than 100 years big Russian and Tatar communities have been peacefully coexisting with the Finns in this small Finnish town, having their own places of worship. Islam hazrat led the Eid prayer in the mosque built in 1943 by local Tatars, which is still the only mosque with a minaret in this country. Due to an increased number of worshippers, a tent has been place for the first time near the mosque, where over a dozen of Muslims could perform their Eid prayer together with their fellow believers praying in the mosque hall.

Islam hazrat thanked the Tatar Muslim community of Finland, its leader Atik Ali and imam-khatyb Ramil Belyaev for the invitation and organization of this visit.