The Muslim community of Ukraine, institutionalization and development PREFACE Yurij Kochubey The Muslim community of Ukraine, institutionalization and development Muslims in Ukraine are known from ancient times. International trade route "from the Vikings to the Greeks" was an important site for acquainting population of the Dnieper region with representatives of the peoples of the Middle East and their religion. Archaeologists sometimes find the treasures of dirhams and other eastern coins in what is now Ukraine. Small groups of Muslims who lived in commercial centers, did not become the victims of violence, though between Ukrainian Cossacks and Muslim Turks on land and at sea in the Middle Ages were frequent skirmishes that had usually material background, not religious. Quite revealing that highly revered Saint Theodosius of Kiev in his "Poucheniyi" says that we should help also "Saracens" who got into trouble. The struggle of Ukrainian people for their freedom associated with friendly and even allied relations of the Cossacks with Muslims Crimean Tatars and the Ottoman Empire. Sufficient is to recall the agreements and treaties of Dmytro Vishnevetsky, Ivan Vyhovsky, Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Petro Doroshenko, Ivan Mazepa or Orlyk. We see that Otherness of religion does not prevent with neighbors from finding common ground if necessary. It should be noted that in the Crimea a prominent scholar Ismail Bey Gasprinsky (1851-1914), who defended the right of Muslim inhabitants to education, creating school, developed his new progressive system of training and tried to distribute it in all the countries of the Muslim world. He was the initiator and one of the active organizers of the World Muslim Congress, which would have taken place in Cairo. I. Gasprinsky in 1908 he began to publish in Arabic in Cairo newspaper "An-Nahda" ("Revival"). October events in Petrograd stirred the passions of the peoples of the former empire, including those living in the Crimea, but no hatred of Muslims in Ukraine was reported. This is because Islam in Ukraine was not aggressive. The deportation of the Muslim peoples of the North Caucasus and the Crimean Tatars in 1944 was accompanied by a false official propaganda against these nations, in which clearly sounded anti-Islamic motives. The full of false insinuations was published in 1952 theses by the famous archaeologist, then Academician B.A. Rybakov (1908-2001). Only Ukraine's independence created conditions for the revival of the Muslim religion. In Kiev in 1992 was created by Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of Ukraine and in 1994 in Donetsk was founded the Spiritual Center of Muslims of Ukraine. There existed at one time the Party of Muslims of Ukraine (1997-2005), worked Ukrainian Islamic University (1999-2001). The invasion occupation forces has led to changes in the religious life of the followers of Islam. An important role in the religious life of Muslims in Ukraine plays created in 1997 Ukrainian Association of Social Organizations "Al Raid." The political conditions of democracy and religious freedom in Ukraine contribute to the creation of different communities and structures. Currently, the main Muslim centers are Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, Odesa, many Muslims live in the Donbass. Ukrainian Muslims have notable achievements, in our country were made several translations of the meanings of the Holy Koran. Translation by M.M. Jakubowicz took the Award of the King of Saudi Arabia Fahd. The war in the East pushed the development of cooperation between our country with Muslim countries. The Ukrainian Muslims as citizens of the country can be an important link in establishing mutually beneficial cooperation of their country with the Muslim world in the spirit of tolerance and mutual understanding. Denys Brylov The story of Islam in Ukraine This chapter deals with the history of Islam in the territory of modern Ukraine. Review shows Islam appears for the first time in the days of the Old Russian state. At the same time, Islam acted as a competitive Christianity, a religion considered by old Russian rulers as a possible state religion. Author describes the presence of Islam on the territory of Ukraine in the Golden Horde period, as well as during the existence of the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire. The chapter ponts features aof the existence of the Islamic community in the period of the Russian Empire, as well as in Soviet times. SPIRITUAL CENTER OF MUSLIMS OF UKRAINE Denys Brylov All-Ukrainian Spiritual Administration of the Muslims “Unity” This chapter reviews All-Ukrainian Spiritual Administration of the Muslims “Unity” registered in 2012. Description is based on formation history of the spiritual organization and its connection to the Central Spiritual Board of Muslims of Russia, headed by Mufti Talgat Tadzhuddin. Author provides with narration on organization's transformation after the occurrence of so-called Donetsk People's Republic. Denys Brylov Central Spiritual Administration - Tauride muftiat This chapter reviews Central Spiritual Administration (Tauride muftiat) registered in 2014 in Crimea and its structure, authorities, area of activities. Research marks its pro-Russian character and pro-Sufi position. The chapter shows that the emergence of the spiritual administration caused by the split in the Spiritual Center of Muslims of Crimea. Denys Brylov Council of Representatives of Spiritual Administrations and Centers of Muslims of Ukraine This chapter describes the Council of Representatives of Spiritual Administrations and Centers of Muslims of Ukraine. Author shows that the organization occured as the result of the conflict within the Muslim community in Ukraine, as one of the parties to the conflict. One of the main reasons for the creation of this organization was the need for the allocation of quotas to Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). By combining a part of Muslim Organizations of Ukraine, the Council was not viable, having existed for only a few years. Oleg Yarosh Missionary movements “Tablighi Jama'at” and “Hizmet” Transnational missionary movements are aimed at the revival of Islam in Muslim countries through the religious and moral improvement of the Muslims, as well as the spread of the Islamic message (tabligh) and call (da'wa) to Islam in all of the world. The most numerous and widespread Muslim missionary organizations in the world are “Tablighi Jama'at” and “Hizmet” of Fethullah Gülen. In Ukraine, the Tablighi Jama’at movement has been present mainly in the Crimea, at least until its annexation by the Russian Federation. Other regions, first of all, Kiev and Odessa, were visited by the delegations of Tablighi Jama'at, whose representatives delivered lectures in the local Muslim communities, however, their activities in these regions were not systematic. Tablighi Jama’at activities were observed in Simferopol, Belogorsk and Bakhchisaray districts. Its centre (markaz) has been located at the autonomous Muslim community in the Trudovoye village in the Simferopol district. Tablighi Jama'at was also active in the Plotinnoye, Doroznoye of Bakhchisaray district. Amir of Tablighi Jama'at lived in Simferopol. Members of the movement used to perform a regular three-day long mission trips in the Crimea, inviting Muslims to gather in a local mosque and delivering sermons and lectures there. Roughly estimated total number of its active members is 50 - 60 people. Movement “Hizmet”of Fethullah Gülen originated in Izmir in the 60s of the last century, where Gülen began to develop dershane network. In the 70 – 90th in Turkey with the financial support of his businessmen followers Gülen established a nationwide network of schools, colleges and other educational institutions. Gülen is an ideologist of “conservative modernization” as an alternative to Kemalism, which includes the construction of a new state, through the raising of the educational level and spiritual progress of the Muslim nations. Since the early 90th “Hizmet” gained a foothold in Western Europe, mainly among the Turkish diasporas in Germany, the Muslim regions of Central Asia and other countries, including Ukraine and Belarus. In Ukraine there are schools in Kiev and Odessa, and, until recently, in the Crimea. Denys Brylov Religious Administration of Independent Islamic Communities "Kiev Muftiat" This chapter reviews Religious Adminisration of Independent Islamic Communities "Kiev Muftiat" registered in 2007 and its structure, authorities, area of activities. Research shows Kiev Muftiat to have ethnical nature and unite Volga Tatars. Oleg Yarosh Shi'a communities The local Shi'a community in Ukraine is represented primarily by the following ethnic groups: Azeri, Iranian nationals (Persians and Iranian Azeri), Arabs (mainly Lebanese), Hazars from Afghanistan. We can assume that the current number of Shi’a Muslims in Ukraine is about 10% of the total number of Ukrainian Muslims in general, that corresponds with global trends. Ukrainian Shi’a believers in religious matters follow Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Sayed Ali Sistani, Ayatollah Mukarram Shirazi and other Muslim scholars-mujtahids. Shi’a communities in Ukraine are located in Kharkov, Kiev, Vinnitsa, Donetsk and Lugansk. They are mostly registered as non-profit organizations, not as religious communities. As well in Ukraine one of the Shi’a Sufi communities is present, namely Nimatulahiyya, which belongs to the branch of Dhul Riyasatayan or Munavvar Ali Shah. This branch became widespread in the Western countries at the beginning of the 80th of the last century.