Today in the Bolgar Islamic Academy was held a solemn event dedicated to the Day of Knowledge and the Day of the Freshman. The event was attended by the leadership, staff and students of the Academy, as well as invited guests.

Traditionally, the event began with reading of the Quran by the graduate of the Academy, Imam of the White Mosque Ali Hazrat Taziev.

 Rector of the Bolgar Academy Farkhat Khusnutdinov addressed the students with a welcoming speech.

“The challenging period of entrance examinations is over. There are three years of hard study ahead, three years filled with important events. You are bright representatives of your regions, people look up to you and take an example from you. We sincerely wish to see you in the future as talented teachers, great theologians, scientists who will continue the best traditions of national theology”, – said the rector.

The head of the institution stressed that the leadership of the country has set challenging tasks for the Academy – to ensure a high level of quality and efficiency of educational, scientific, educational and socio-cultural activities of the Academy.

Ilfar Hazrat Khasanov, chairman of the Council of founders of the Bolgar Islamic academy, First Deputy mufti of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan, addressed the masters and doctoral students with warm words of greeting. In his welcoming speech he noted that in the Bolgar Islamic academy teach renowned theologians and scientists of our time, who prepare the intellectual elite of the Russian Ummah.

“We should do everything for the pleasure of Allah Most High, to benefit our religion, our Ummah. Then learning and teaching will become worship. Remember that a person will not belong to the number of possessors of knowledge until he stops envying those who know more, despising those who know more, wanting to get material things with the help of knowledge,” Ilfar Hazrat clarified.

Askar Gatin, chief counsellor of the state and confessional relations division of the department for interaction with religious associations of the department of Rais of the Republic of Tatarstan on internal policy, also spoke about the important role of the academy in the revival of the national theological school. The speaker noted that the Muslim world is important for Russia.

“Russia is an integral part of the Muslim world, we work closely with the organization of Islamic cooperation (OIC), with a number of Arab countries. They look at us as an alternative to the destructive process, which is connected with attempts to revise values and spiritual orientations,” Askar Gatin said.

Badig al-Lahham, a lecturer at the academy, associate professor of the Quran and Hadith department of the shariah faculty of Damascus university, doctor of shariah sciences, in his speech spoke in more detail about the status of a scholar in islam, mentioned a number of hadiths and ayats that speak about the importance of gaining knowledge and the position of a person who has embarked on the path of spiritual perfection and acquisition of theological knowledge before Allah.

On behalf of the faculty, Ayman Al-Zahrawi, a doctor of fiqh and lecturer at the department of religious and humanities, addressed the students.

“Here, within the walls of the academy, all the necessary conditions have been created for obtaining reliable knowledge. Make the right use of this opportunity of being close to the leading Islamic scholars,” said Sheikh Zahrawi.

Akhmad Hazrat Khakimov, a graduate of the master’s programme of the academy, doctoral student at the first year, deputy muhtasib of the Kamchatka region, deputy imam-khatyib of Vladivostok, spiritual administration of Muslims of the Asian part of Russia, made a speech on behalf of the students.

“The messenger of Allah has a famous saying: “whoever does not thank people does not properly show gratitude to Allah Almighty”. Therefore, I would like to express separate words of gratitude to the rector and leadership of the academy for the fact that we are students today. You and I have got an opportunity to acquire invaluable knowledge that came to us from the messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah Almighty be upon him),” the doctoral student said.

At the end of the solemn event, rector of the academy Farkhat Khusnutdinov presented 38 doctoral and master students with student cards. Later, the first-year master’s and doctoral students were given a tour of the academy and an organizational meeting was held.