Danis Shakirov: ‘Those who recite adhan with Tatar maqam can be counted on the fingers of one hand’

“In the Tatar world, this is the only meeting that unites religious figures from all regions, representatives of different muftiates, muftis," said Danis Shakirov, the head of the Executive Committee of the World Congress of Tatars, saying that 1,000 people from 77 regions of the country are going to come to the forum this year.

As Mars Tukaev, the head of the committee for work with Tatar public organisations in the regions of Russia, separately pointed out, representatives of all regions are coming even from the Far East: “There are no one only from Chukotka.” Representatives of Zaporizhzhia and Kabardino-Balkaria are coming for the first time. Traditionally, the largest delegation is from Bashkortostan — 112 people.

“We started the forum in 2010, before the imams had doubts about why they were gathering us. It was hard to make lists. Now, over the past time, everything has changed — they are really looking forward to this forum," Tukaev said.

In 2024, the forum works during the Russia — Islamic World: KazanSummit international economic summit, so on the first day, delegates visited the Russia Halal Expo 2024 exhibition.

About Chihab khazrat, Sufism, and Tatar adhan

On the second day, after the plenary session with the participation of the rais of the republic, Rustam Minnikhanov, religious figures are dispersing to three discussion platforms.

“We are making discussion platforms not only on religious sciences, but we want to show religious figures as leaders of a separate social institution," Shakirov stated.

The Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan are hosting readings named after Shigabutdin Marjani. Ravil khazrat Gainutdin, the chairman of the Muslim Spiritual Board of Russia, proposed to hold a scientific event dedicated to the imam of the First Cathedral Mosque.

The second and third platforms are operating in the Riviera hotel and entertainment complex. “The revival of the traditional Tatar-Muslim spiritual heritage: history and modernity” is a topic that is being moderated by the head of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia, Albir khazrat Krganov. Sufism, in particular, will be discussed there.

The third platform is “Religion, faith, moñ, maqam. Worship and folk art in the Tatar spiritual heritage”.

“We need to widely promote the concept such as the Tatar maqam," said Shakirov, referring to the musical mood. “Marsel Akhmadullin, Marsel Vagizov, shakirds of the madrasah named after the 1000th anniversary of the adoption of Islam — those who recite the adhan with the Tatar maqam can be counted on one hand.”

It is with the specialists of this madrasah, as well as Russian Islamic Institute and Russian Islamic University(in particular, Associate Professor of the Department of Islamic Theology of the institute, organiser of the contest of performers of works of spiritual heritage Ilahi moñ, Rezeda Safiullina) that discussions are going to take place.

On the same day, the delegates are going to the halal exhibition in the Kazan agro-industrial park. On May 19, they are going to the Izge Bolgar Zhyeni, where this year the main event is a collective prayer of repentance. It has been held in Bolgar before, but this year it is going to be incredibly representative, the organisers say.

Besides, three Hajj vouchers is going to be raffled off among couples at the festival, and a Lada Granta car — at the koresh.

As for the language of the event, Shakirov assured that it would be Tatar both at the plenary and at the venues: “All our imams make speaches and speak to each other in Tatar.” At the same time, he recalled that the only madrasah that teaches only in Tatar remains the madrasah named after the 1000th anniversary of the adoption of Islam.

“Mukhammadiya is now solving this problem and is gradually switching to the Tatar language," Shakirov noted.