Up!

If you want to find out if any organisation is effective, you need both the results it achieved for a certain period of time and its evolution. Only when you track the evolution, you can see whether the organisation and its team improve their work, whether they try to discover new horizons and expand their spheres of operation in the fields they work. Mr. Bassil Mareei, head of the AUASO ”Alraid” eagerly presents the results the Association achieved under his command in 2013.

“I’d like to stress one important thing first of all. Many people think that the association is strictly some charity fund, which is not quite correct. The charity, of course, is one of the most important spheres of our work; we ourselves, however, do the stake on the cultural and educational events. We see ourselves as an organisation representing Islam as it is, with no extremities and stereotypes, calling Muslims for self-development and active position in Ukrainian society,” — Mr. Mareei said.

The Association’s achievements for the past year are best seen in separate directions of our work.

Scientific Events

We facilitated and held three international conferences in 2013:

— “Tendencies And Perspectives Of Modern Geopolitical And Religious Processes: Theory and Practice” (Simferopol, May 14-15, 2013)

—  Research and practice conference “Muhammad Asad’s Scientific and Intellectual Legacy” (Kyiv, May 16, 2013)

— III International Research and Practice Conference “Al-Wasatiyyah Principle In Islam” (Donets’k, September 19, 2013).

Besides, we facilitated V Annual All-Ukrainian Research and Practice Conference “Personal Estetic Development As A Source Of Forming  Spirituality And Morals Among Pupils And Youth In Modern Society ” for Crimean preschool, school and University teachers (March 27, 2013).

Education

2500 student attend Sunday Schools at the ICCs, more than half of them are non-Muslims. Ability to learn Arabic and get to know the culture of Muslim nations attract people who wish to broaden their horizons. Such schools settle a strong basis of interethnic and interfaith peace and understanding.

Numerous seminars and trainings for our activists along with roundtables for teenagers and youth were traditionally held at out ICCs. The Association facilitated regular seminars along with both local and All-Ukrainian Qur’an Reciting Contest.

The High Madrasah of Hafidh graduee Mr. Suleiman Veliev was among the first five best reciters at a prestigious Hafidh Contest in Tripoli (Libya) in December, and also received a Certificate that his reciting fulfills the requirements of one of the qir’ats.

It bears reminding that Suleiman completed learning the Holy book by heart at the age of 17. He then won an AUASO “Alraid” grant to study Theology abroad (in Yemen), where he received a bachelor's degree. he continued his exercising upon arrival home, and became one of the 10 best reciters at a prestigious international contest in Cairo.

Charity

Five mosques were either fully reconstructed or built under the auspices of AUASO in Crimea. We built 30 greenhouses for poor families, initiated and completed the “Warm a Family Project” for providing poor families with warm blankets. Besides, we take care of 2.300 orphans already (we could help only 50 of them each year when we launched the project).

Perspectives For The First Quarter Of 2014

— Full reconstruction of another 5 schools with the Crimean Tatar language of tutoring;

— Completing reconstruction of Kyiv Islamic Cultural Centre and holding an opening ceremony;

— Completing construction of an educational centre in Crimea and holding an opening ceremony

— Publishing three books ready for print;

— Searching sponsorship for another 100 orphans.