MUSLIM Institute in collaboration with the Embassy of , Islamabad and Institute of Oriental Studies by A. Krymsky, Academy of Sciences, Ukraine organized a Webinar titled “Ukraine’s Early Harbinger of Multiculturalism: Sesquicentenary of Ahatanhel Krymsky.” Researchers, students, academics, representatives of think tanks, journalists, and people from different walks of life participated in the webinar. Remarks by Speakers Summary of the views shared by the Speakers is as following:

Ahatanhel Yukhymovych Krymsky was Krymsky played the role of a bridge born one hundred and fifty years ago on builder between civilizations and cultures the 15th of January 1871 and died on especially between the native Ukrainian 25th January 1942. He was a prolific and the people of East like Arabs, Turks, Ukrainian scholar and observer with a Persians and people of Indo-Pak remarkable spectrum of history and subcontinent. Krymsky determined his linguistics. He made valuable own destiny and no doubt he is a great example of multiculturalism and interfaith contributions to the foundation of modern harmony from Ukraine. Importantly, Ukrainian culture. He was brought up in a Krymsky's appetite for other cultures mixed family of Crimean Tatar as didn't compromise his Ukrainian identity. reflected in his last name Krymsky. He On the contrary, his multicultural dedicated his life to open a new horizon experiences shaped and enriched his for his compatriots. He spoke 56 to 60 perspective of Ukrainian culture and he languages. As Krymsky records in a made his contributions to it. Today, memoir that, as a child, he could speak Ukraine is a multi-cultural state and is German, French, Polish and English very much important for European fluently and as a young man, he was politics. The land of Ukraine was already fluent in Greek, Turkish, Italian inhabited by Christian as well as Islamic and Sanskrit. Seventy years old Krymsky civilization. confessed to his friends that he spoke several dozens of languages and then he Historically and culturally, the people and land of Ukraine are more closely aligned began to study Abyssinian, Ethiopian and with the people of Pakistan and Badalonian languages. From these especially to the Muslim culture. Among words, we understand that Krymsky, Ukrainian people and , even in his declining years, didn’t lose his there is a significant influence of Turkish interest in learning languages. He was an culture and language and also the extremely intelligent person and he was influence of Arabic and Persian known as one of the most prominent language. Krymsky contributed to both researchers of oriental knowledge. He his identities as Crimean Tatars by the had a wide range of scientific interests; origin and as a Ukrainian due to he is also known as a polyglot. geography.

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Krumsky founded and developed a series Krymsky was the most remarkable figure of Institutions of Oriental Studies in of Academia. The number of articles Ukraine. The main institution was the published by him is 1275. He also wrote Chair (of Department) of the Oriental fiction and poetry in oriental languages, Languages, Literatures and Cultures of most of which was dedicated to the the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences cultures of Muslim Iranian and Turkish, (1918-1934), led by A. Krymsky. At the bringing them closer to rather beginning of 1930, the Chair provided contemporary Ukraine of his time. He academic researchers a variety of also wrote on history and literature of oriental disciplines: Arabic and Iranian these languages. He wrote the first Studies, Indian Studies, , history of Turkey in the Ukrainian Studies of the Central Asia Soviet language. In 1890s, he traveled to Republics, and Soviet Caucasus region, Ottoman Empire and visited Syria and as well as the study of the eastern Lebanon to study Arabic and Persian. He peoples at the territory of Ukraine. The had written the history of Arabic Chair made investigations in the literature. He had worked on Northern archives, libraries, museums of Ukraine Arabic Literature. He wrote about the for searching the oriental manuscripts, literature of Ethiopians, Turkish, Persian, documents and old books with the Kazaks and others. Unfortunately, most perspective of their cataloging, studying of his writings are unpublished. and publication.

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Krysmky published several historical and Krymsky’s work in Turkology is of great cultural articles in the "Encyclopedic significance. The study of Turkology had Dictionary" and the "New Encyclopedic always been a subject of Russian and Dictionary" of Brockhaus and Efron and European orientalists because Turkish the Granat Encyclopedic Dictionary. political and cultural heritage played a These articles include Kadin, Karagöz, very important role in the history and Kilij Arslan I, Kilij Arslan II, Mehmed I, culture of Russia, Ukraine and other Namık Kemal Bey, "Necati" (1897), "Hoca modern Turkish states. We can classify Sadeddin Efendi, Seljuqs and Tughril Krymsky’s Turkology studies as follows: Bey. He wrote more than two hundred  Encyclopedia articles articles for the Russian encyclopedia, of  Textbooks and Course Materials which about seventy were devoted to  Work on history of Turkey or Turkish studies. Institute of Oriental Ottoman Empire Study by Krymsky published his  Turkish people and their language Turkology studies in 5 volumes from 2007  Work on Ukrainian Tatars to 2010 and the second and third volumes  General Turkology studies like were devoted to Turkish Studies. There history of , history and is also a vast collection of Lebanese culture of Azerbaijan colloquial proverbs that Krymsky had  Translations compiled in the late 1890s.

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Among the efforts of Krymsky, we should also note his contribution towards the study of Tatars. He maintained a relationship with Ismail and other scholars like Osman Khanzaday, Abdullah Latifzaday and Yaqub Kemai. He published his works on Tatars in the history of Crimea in five parts. Krymsky wrote his Turkology studies in both Russian and Ukrainian languages and some of his works were written in the .

A. Krymsky also worked on Islamic also translated the poetry of some studies and Sufi literature. He wrote in European poets. Russian primary textbook history of Krymsky will never be forgotten. He will and delivered lectures on the Holy Quran. be remembered as a beacon and an Since he had an excellent command on inspiration for modern Ukraine. By the classical Arabic language, he tried to embracing the diversity of different comprehend the Holy Quran deeply. cultures and languages, we can lay the Publications of A.Y. Krymsky include foundation of multiculturalism, peace and literary translations of the famous poetic harmony. Krymsky’s work nurtured works from Turkish, Persian and Arab fruitful diversity of cultures. Krymsky’s literature into Ukrainian language. He scholarly contributions will be also translated literary works of Hafiz remembered as a harbinger of peace, Sherazi and . He love and co-existence. Bilateral ties introduced Sufi teachings and the works between Pakistan and Ukraine carry of Mevlana Rūmī to Ukrainian and immense scope. Moreover, the History of Russian societies. According to A. Muslims in Ukraine made it more Krymsky, "Mevlana Rūmī (1207–1263) conducive for both nations to strengthen was the greatest mystical (Sufi) poet of mutual relationship and enhance Persia and the entire Muslim world”. He academic cooperation in the current era.

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