The first hafiz represents Ukraine at the international contest in Egypt after centuries of oblivion of Quran recitation

Mr. Yaser Muhammad Atef Abdel Kader, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt in Ukraine, handed the official invitation and foreign passport with Egyptian visa to Mr. Suleiman Valiyev, a participant of the international contest on learning the Holy Quran by heart, during his friendly visit to the Islamic Cultural Center of Kiev on Friday. Mr. Ambassador wished the young man success and coming back with victory. The contest started on August 6, 2012.

 

  

 

Twenty years old Suleiman is a Muslim and a Crimean Tatar. He is the first person in Ukraine who has learnt the Quran by heart after a century of oblivion of this tradition, repression of religious freedoms of Muslims and ruining of the extensive system for religious education.

 

Mr. Suleiman Valiyev learnt the Koran by heart when he was 17. He is a graduate from the Hafiz school in Crimea, operating under joint auspices of “Alraid” and the Religious Administration of Muslims of Crimea. 

School graduates have participated in many international contests on learning the Koran by heart, hosted by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Croatia and Kazakhstan, where they took prize-winning places, showing thereby the efficiency of training method in the school. These results were rather flatteringly referred to by the International Association on Learning the Koran by Heart.   

 

Suleiman feels great responsibility for being honored to represent Ukrainian Muslim as a whole and Crimean Tatars in particular at a higher level contest like this. He says he feels inner voice of Ukraine and Crimea, bringing Ukrainian Muslims back to their roots, and even participation in such contests is very significant for us, because it means that apart from having revived the tradition of learning the Quran by heart we could attain proficiency in it.

 

reporter.