Silk Road Initiatives Discussed at the Opening of the Bolgar Islamic Academy

On September 4th, the grand opening of the Bolgar Islamic Academy was held. The ceremony included President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, State Counsellor of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev, Presidential Envoy to the Volga Federal District Mikhail Babich, and KFU Rector Ilshat Gafurov.

The honorable guests inspected the infrastructure of the Academy, noting that the construction was completed in the shortest possible time - the first stone here was laid in May 2016. The construction took place with the active personal participation of Mintimer Shaimiev and the Revival Foundation. In his congratulatory telegram, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that the creation of the Academy united the spiritual and secular community of the Republic of Tatarstan in order to train specialists with in-depth knowledge of the history and culture of Islam.

The key moment of the ceremony was the handover of the symbolic key from the builders to the management of the educational institution. The event then moved to the assembly hall of the Academy, where its Rector Rafik Mukhametshin told about the educational system of this new school and his plans for further work. So, along with KFU and other universities of Tatarstan, the new educational institution will be involved in the implementation of the Silk Road project aimed at recreating the cultural and historical appearance of this world-famous trade route of the past.

KFU is the Academy’s major partner. At KFU’s Islamica Resource Center, on a secular basis, clergymen are being trained, and retraining programs are being developed for those whose work is in one way or the other tied with religion and, specifically, Islam. The experience of Kazan University in this field is highly appreciated by both the academic community and the Islamic clergy. Historically, it was here that the foundation of Russian Oriental studies was created, including Islamic studies, and these traditions continue at KFU to this day.

In addition, KFU experts take an active part in the development and implementation of cultural and historical projects of the Revival Foundation. One of them, and among the priorities, is the Silk Road initiative – the inclusion of the Russian parts of the historical trade route in the UNESCO Heritage lists. The discussion started in Bolgar and will continue on Tuesday within the framework of the “Silk Road. Creation. Integration” conference.