Bolgarian Academy: classical madrasah with a Greek amphitheatre
The project of the building of Bolgarian Academy was presented to journalists on 24 May. Even its interior design was showed. It turned out the building with a capacity of 12,000 square metres will house an antique amphitheatre, library and a small sports hall. The Academy is to welcome its first students in September 2017. This is why educational programmes and search of professors are being held together with the construction. A correspondent of Realnoe Vremya visited the press conference and found out getting education in the institution might be free.
'The building will remain a building until the educational establishment creates its structure'
Deputy PM of Tatarstan Vasil Shaikhraziev, who was in a good mood, focused on the technical side of the project and told about the period of the construction of Bolgarian Islamic Academy. He reminded Tatinvestgrazhdanproyekt was the developer and GISU became the client. Gran company, which is building Kul Gali hotel in Bolgar, was designated as a contractor general.
According to Shaikhraziev, 29 April 2016 can be meant to be the official start of the construction – on that day the President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov presented the project to the heads of large enterprises of Tatarstan. By the way, they are the people who will participate in the construction of the Academy. As Shaikhraziev stressed, no ruble will be taken from the budget of Tatarstan. And, undoubtedly, all people of the republic will be able to make their donations.
A symbolic time capsule was laid almost one month later, on 21 May. But as Vasil Shaikhraziev pointed out, the construction of the building is half of the battle.
'The building will be ready on time, and it will be quality. At the same time the building will remain a buildin, until the educational establishment, which will be situated there in the beginning, creates its structure, invites worthy teachers, have students and starts working,' he told. Later he told educational programmes and search of professors were being held together with the construction.
'Our goal for the 2017 is not only to finish the construction of Bolgarian Islamic Academy but also launch everything. We will have a landmark at the same time: we will open the hotel with spa in the summer 2017. So, comfortable conditions have being created for tourists and pilgrims (Editor's Note: Kul Gali hotel),' Shaikhraziev noted.
Antique hall at Islamic university
The journalists had a chance to see the exterior and interior design of Bolgarian Islamic Academy at the presentation prepared by Adel Khusnutdinov, head of Tatinvestgrazhdanproyekt. He told the Academy was situated on a territory of 1,7 ha and at a distance of 300 m of White Mosque. Total capacity of the complex is about 12,000 square metres. It is planned to make the building of white stone, which is to symbolically stress that the students will study the Islamic science.
'The architectural aspect of the Academy formed as a generalised image of madrasahs and includes all key elements of the buildings with a similar type. Almost all the fabric repeats a classical madrasah with a rectangular plan and interior rectangular yard and rooms within the area,' Khusnutdinov commented the next slide.
As he says, the amphitheatre is to become the centre and conceptual core of the building. Such a form of accommodation of a big number of people has been optimal since antiquity, according to the developer. The amphitheatre will be able to host from 350 to 750 people – there will be held events, meeting and press conferences. The space under the amphitheatre is supposed to be occupied by a library, which will house up to 80,000 books. The windows of the library will lead out onto a patio with a capacity of about 1,000 square metres. This room will be used to prayer, students will also be able to communicate at leisure. Festive Friday prayers will be held at a closely situated White Mosque.
Classrooms, which includes five departments, will be located on both sides of the amphitheatre. What is more, there will be bedsits for students, a refectory and small sports hall. A campus will be formed in the southern part of the complex – apartments for teachers and student rooms will be here. Glass covered walkways will join the campus and the main building of the Academy. The project of the campus presupposes a construction of six buildings.
'Education will maybe free in the beginning'
'There was a task to not only create the next Islamic university – Russia has such universities in principle,' Rafik Mukhametshin stated. According to his data, nowadays there are over ten Islamic universities in Ufa, Moscow, Kazan and the Caucasus.
'Bolgarian Islamic Academy is necessary for us to prepare Masters and Doctors of Islamic Sciences. Naturally, it is not an ordinary educational institution. It is necessary to make Bolgarian Islamic Academy join the Russian system of Islamic education. There are nine madrasahs in Tatarstan, we also have universities. The preparation of Masters and Doctors in Bolgarian Islamic Academy finishes the preparation,' Mukhametshin explained.
He emphasized there was no point in preparing specialists who would not be competitive. This is why programmes of the largest Islamic universities are studied when the programme is written. In particular, it is planned to study classical Islamic directions – Islamic law, Quranic and hadith studies. Nevertheless, the programme will be adapted to the Russian reality: there will be a Department of the Tatars Language and National Culture, Management Department and Department of Islamic Economy.
Famous theologians from overseas countries, including Egypt, Morocco, Syria, will be attracted for the work in Bolgarian Islamic Academy. Several agreements have already been signed. For instance, Bolgarian Academy will cooperate with the University of Damascus, the largest educational establishment of the East where about 200,000 students get education.
As Mukhametshin tells, about 15 Masters and 10 Doctors will graduate every year, 75 people will always study. Moreover, conferences and refresher courses for the teaches of the Muslim Spiritual Directorate of Tatarstan will take place in the Academy. Taking into account this fact, they plan to have 75-100 students in the future. Attendance mode is full-time and part-time. And Mukhametshin told a bit about the form of payment.
'It is no secret Bolgarian Islamic Academy is to be boosted to be attractive. In the beginning, it might be difficult to gather Masters and Doctors offering big sums. Education is maybe free in the beginning. It has not been decided yet.
It is planned to start working in September 2017. However, they will possibly be speaking about preparatory courses for applicants and courses of Arabic because foreign specialists will speak this language.
