Last weekend a meeting of the Fatwa Council of the Eurasian Islamic Union took place in Istanbul. The event was attended by the Moscow mufti Ildar Alyautdinov, Deputy Chairman of the Religious Board of Muslims of the Russian Federation.

Representatives of different European and Asian countries, including Belarus, Poland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Bosnia, Georgia and others discussed the current issues of the modern Islamic world. Apart from the delegates of the Religious Board of Muslims of Russia, the Russian delegation also included representatives of the Crimea, Tatarstan and Udmurtia.

The Fatwa Council of the Eurasian Islamic Union was established on the basis of the decision taken at the session of the 9th Eurasian Islamic Union last October. Its main objective is to develop joint decisions regarding relevant religious and legal (fiqh) issues of Muslims living in Eurasian countries.

Ahmet Yaman (Turkey), member of the Supreme Committee for Religious Affairs, emphasized the responsibility borne by those who issue fatwas. There are both issues already examined that need to be resolved in accordance with current realities, as well as new problems requiring a profound analysis. These decisions must be made based on the Qur'an and Sunnah, the rich heritage of theological scholars, as well as current technological progress.

Mufti of Sarajevo (Bosnia) Enes Levakovich cited fatwas similar to the fatwas issued by the Ulema Council of the Russian Federation, and mentioned the problems also faced by our Muslim ummah.

The participants paid special attention to the associations operating in Russia Russia. In particular, they highlighted activities of the Council of Ulemas and the Religious Board of Muslims of Russia. Unfortunately, some  religious boards and  and councils of ulema operate only formally. Despite all the efforts, there is still no consolidation and unity between Muslims scholars.

In his speech Ildar hazrat noted that the fatwas issued by Muslim scholars in Eurasian countries can be even more useful if they are collected in one database and translated into English and Arabic. That would be beneficial for representatives of other states and communities.

The participants of the meeting shared their impressions and agreed that such events were important for the modern Muslim ummah. They expressed the hope that these meetings would be held on a regular basis.