ZN. UA spoke with Mufti of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (SUM ARC) Aider Rustemov about Muslims in the context of a new wave of war, the life of the Crimean Tatars in the ninth year of the occupation of the peninsula and the future of the SAM ARC.

— Has the role of warriors — followers of Islam — changed after Russia openly attacked Ukraine in February How many Muslims are now in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine?

- Of course it has changed.. When there is a full-scale invasion all over Ukraine, when soldiers break into your house and rape children and women, people start to rethink everything.. There are no exact statistics, but now many more Crimean Muslims are participating in the war. Firstly, we have a special unit " In addition, there is a battalion consisting of former fighters of the Noman Chelebidzhikhan unit.. If I'm not mistaken, they are now undergoing training in central Ukraine. I do not name the number and names of commanders on purpose, so as not to expose people to additional danger..

Let me summarize: since February 24, the degree of involvement of the Crimean Tatars in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other defense forces has increased significantly.

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Is there a religious factor in this war at all

- He is, but definitely does not dominate. The religious dimension is important for individual believers who are fighting. But they are a minority. If we talk about the Crimean Tatars, then the issue of religion and war is extremely important for them.. Because people left the peninsula who did not accept the status quo, left their property and relatives there to fight the occupation.

peninsula now.

- In 2016, it was estimated that from the moment of occupation of the peninsula, for one reason or another, from 9 to 20 thousand Crimean Tatar migrants left. Do you have more recent data?

- Definitely more than 50 thousand. Now this number is growing due to Russian mobilization. Almost all of these Muslims are part of our " In general, today we have 22 communities in different regions of Ukraine. Unfortunately, several of them are now in the temporarily occupied Kherson and Zaporozhye regions..

— In what conditions do Crimean Tatars live now

- People live and live. In eight years, they managed to adapt. Received passports because they had to do it (although they put it off until the last minute). No passport - no pension. I’m not saying that without a passport, every time you need to draw up documents for temporary residence, enter and leave every three months. In addition, at some point, many people became disillusioned and unbelieving that Ukraine would return.. Eight years is a long time.

— As follows from your public statements, the topic of forced mobilization of Muslims in Crimea is very important for you. You stated that the Crimean Tatar, who voluntarily joined the Russian army or on a contract, is a traitor to his people. Also, since February 24, you advised the Crimean Tatars to hide or leave the peninsula, because the Russians deliberately mobilize the Crimean Tatars (according to the WSJ, 90% of those mobilized belong to this people). Is there any data on how many Crimean Tatars were forcibly mobilized? How many left?

Unfortunately, there are no such statistics.. But from individual personal appeals to us, we know that the mass subpoenas on the first day of the announcement of partial mobilization came precisely to the Crimean Tatars. They were taken from the villages in groups. Therefore, about five thousand Crimean Tatars left Crimea. Unfortunately, most of them suffered on the road due to lack of documents.. Perhaps even half returned to the peninsula. They left, the threat of mobilization subsided a little, and they returned.

I am also sure that the Crimean Tatars who remained on the peninsula are our potential to resist the Russians in a guerrilla war. Therefore, I urged them to be ready for a new wave of mobilization and partisan actions.. These are the forces of resistance on which the Ukrainian state can rely.. It is hard to imagine Ukrainian Crimea without Crimean Tatars. I hope everyone understands this. This war began with the occupation of Crimea, and, by the will of Allah, it will end with his liberation.

— How do you see the relationship between Crimea and the “mainland” after the mandatory de-occupation? Will you insist on Crimean Tatar autonomy?

- I always insisted on it. It is obvious that the Crimean Tatars, as the indigenous people of Ukraine, have the right to self-determination. It is impossible to imagine Crimea as Ukrainian without Crimean Tatars. The first step has already been taken by President Volodymyr Zelensky - he defined the Crimean Tatars as an indigenous people. The next two are ahead: the adoption of a separate law on the status of the Crimean Tatar people, and then amendments to the Constitution.

Turn the ARC into the \? We are a people with our roots. Our language is on the brink of extinction. All this does not suit us, because it threatens with intra-Ukrainian unrest. Why is this for all of us? It's not wise, it's wrong.

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—On what principles do you generally see the restoration of the Ukrainian Crimea

- If you look at it through the prism of religion, then justice should reign. Russians are invaders, colonizers. By the way, in classical Islamic literature such a moment is prescribed: even the prayer of the one who seized someone else's territory, Allah does not accept. As well as for 40 days does not accept the prayer of the one who drank vodka. So the Russians should leave the peninsula. Crimea must be decolonized from the " From the point of view of Ukrainian legislation, all property rights of Russians are invalid. I also think that Emirali Ablaev and his colleagues should be treated the same as with any other collaborator. People who deliberately publicly defended the correctness of the Russian Federation (online or offline) should be punished as severely as possible.. People who distanced themselves from Russian politics and at the same time just did their job, continued to work in schools, hospitals and the like, are not responsible.

Crimean Tatars in southern Ukraine.

— It is known that the communities of the SAM of the ARC were active primarily in the south of the Kherson region, near the peninsula. How the occupation affected the life of Muslims in the already liberated territories and affects in the regions temporarily controlled by Russia? Are there cases of torture? As Rustem Asanov, the imam of the Birlik community, testified, religious activity has been completely stopped in the occupied territories of southern Ukraine.. This is true?

- It's like that. Rustem Asanov was tortured. When they did this, they asked about another imam, Usein Tohlu from Novoalekseevka. He left on time and took out the widows and orphans, who, almost before the Russian invasion, were bought houses there and settled. After Asanov's flight, the imam of Genichesk, Edem Basnaev, left, who, fortunately, did not have time to be tortured. Dilshod Rakhimov, the head of the Strelkov community, was also tortured, but he did not leave, he was greatly intimidated, and, probably, he signed the papers that were demanded of him, like Asanov. No contact with him. He stays at home and doesn't go anywhere.. Melitopol community does not get in touch. Its leader, Seit-Asan Ablaev, only responds to my greetings.. It is clear that he is afraid and does not want to communicate with me.. Novokahovsky imam Eskender Mustafayev left with his family after the Russians occupied the region. We lived in the basement for about a week and went under shelling. Barely left for real. There is a connection with them, and they are waiting for when it will be possible to return.. Community leaders who left the occupied territory mostly settled in Kyiv and are trying to do something, to help. Rustem Asanov and his family in the capital. Some went to Europe. Those Muslims who remained were simply intimidated.

Religion and politics.

— What world Islam knows about the war in Ukraine? How does he know about her? How does she evaluate?

– World Islam is a huge front of religious diplomacy. In the Muslim world, the war in Ukraine is perceived from a completely different angle.. They look at it as an example of confrontation between the West and the Russian Federation.

In addition, in some parts of the Muslim world one can see sympathy for Russia, because it opposes the West.. Here we are not even talking about its “decay” or “liberalism”, but about the Palestinian issue and the memory of Iraq and Afghanistan. " And Russia is at war with the West. Accordingly, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.. To explain this to clergy, you need to go to those countries, sit down, drink coffee and tea and talk a lot.. To say that the war unleashed by Russia is wild, and it is not a war, in the international sense, when humanitarian law is respected.

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Why foreign Muslim religious leaders avoid condemning Russian aggression or even military violence?

— Because the participation of Ukrainian Muslims in the war is almost not on the media agenda. Since no one hears about us, Russia influences the position of Muslim countries. In addition, what Russian messages are being broadcast? Mosques and Islamic schools are being built in the country (but the destruction of dissent is hushed up). Foreign Muslims are shown that Islam in Russia is developing freely and that Russian Muslims can be helped.

Of course, it works, because there are two million Muslims in Ukraine, and 20 million in Russia..

Since Crimea is occupied, we have lost most of the mosques. We don't have many on the mainland.. Everything we do is started after the occupation, from scratch. Nobody helps us. But we don't complain. We are happy with our country and happy to live in our native land. But if we are talking about political confrontation, then government support is very, very important.. Nothing without her.

Read more articles by Alexei Gordeev at the link.