MOSCOW – Russia will continue to support Islamic education, which plays akey role in tackling the destructive ideas spread among Muslim youths inthe country, President Vladimir Putin said.
The Russian authorities will *“definitely support”* Islamic educationthrough *“major state universities”* and other means, the president saidduring a meeting with the country’s top Muslim clergy in Kazan on Wednesday.
The role of Muslim education among young people is paramount, as there aremany problems and harmful ideas in this field, Putin said. Radical groupslike Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) have been working to spread theirideology and recruit new members among young people in the Muslim regionsof Russia.
*“These ideas, even destructive ones, can only be tackled in one way –through other ideas. Those, which are being promoted and taught to thepeople in the Theological Academy, which was created here [in Kazan] and inother academies and educational institutions… in Moscow, Ufa and theCaucasus,”* he said.
During the meeting, Putin stressed that *“traditional Islam is an importantpart of Russia’s cultural code and that the Muslim community is,undoubtedly, a very important part of the Russian multinationalpopulation.”* According to the 2002 census, there were 14.5 million Muslimsin Russia, which accounted for around 10 percent of the population.
Putin also praised the Russian Muslim organizations for their work on theinternational level. *“I think it’s a very interesting area of activity anda very rightful one. It’s no surprise that you’re being addressed for helpand support,”* he said.
Among other things, the Russian Muslim organizations stage the annualInternational Muslim Forum, which brings together Muslim leaders fromEurope and elsewhere. *“They hear us; they see how we develop; how good therelations of the Russian Muslims with the country’s authorities are and howwe are being supported by our president,”* Russian Grand Mufti RavilGainutdin said.
According to Gainutdin, Russian Muslims are *“a sort of a ‘soft power’ inpromoting our model of development of civil society… I recently acceptedthe US ambassador, then his counterpart from Spain. We’re not politiciansand diplomats, but we have our own people’s diplomacy – we talk to them,turning them to our side.” – RT *