Extraordinary session of the Presidium of the Interreligious Council of Russia

On 20 December 2005 an extraordinary session of the Presidium of the Interreligious Council of Russia (ICR) was held in the Pilgrims Centre of the Moscow Patriarchate. Taking part in the session were Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad; Chief Rabbi of Russia A.S.Shaevich (Congress of Jewish Religious Organizations and Associations); Marat-hazrat Murtazin, deputy chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia; Mufti Ramil Alyautdinov, deputy chairman of the Central Spiritual Directorate of Muslims; Mufti Tagir Samatov, deputy chairman of the Central Spiritual Directorate of Muslims; A.M.Boroda, executive vice president of the Federation of Jewish Religious Communities of Russia; Sanjei-lama, representative of the Buddhist traditional Sangha of Russia; Rabbi Z.L.Kogan, chairman of the Congress of Jewish Religious Organizations and Associations in Russia).

The participants approved plans for the World Summit of religious leaders to be held in Moscow on 4-5 July 2006, and supported a proposal of the Council of Muftis of Russia to invite young representatives of different religions to take part in the Muslim youth conference to be held in Moscow on 25-26 May 2006. The participants resolved to support an idea of holding an interethnic festival ‘Children of the North Caucasus for Peace and Unity among the Peoples of Russia.’ The session adopted a statement of the Interreligious Council of Russia issued in connection with R.Silantyev’s book ‘Modern History of the Islamic Community of Russia.’