AUASO “Alraid” Opens Another Islamic Cultural Centre, This Time in Lviv

Lviv Islamic Cultural Centre named after Muhammad Asad will be officially opened at 1 PM on Friday, June 5, at 29a Abraham Lincoln Street. We implemented this project along with RAMU “Umma” and local religious community “En-Nebras”, and we are inviting everyone regardless you religious views to share this moment of joy with us. Everybody is welcome!

We are sure that the Centre is to become not only the heart of spiritual life for the Muslims of Lviv region (who will be able to fulfill their needs for spiritual food and rituals), but become a platform for a fruitful intercultural and interfaith dialogue in the region known for its respectful attitude towards different religions.

Foundation for this dialogue was laid long ago; the Muslims repeatedly accepted invitations of the local authorities and other religious organisations and took part in discussing and solving various problems. Now we can also invite our respected Galychchyna partners to visit us without having to leave for another region — having our local ICC provides us with such an opportunity.

Local authorities, as well are religious and social organisations already declared their consent to arrive at such an important occasion for the local Muslims.

Despite this ICC is the ninth one we opened in Ukraine, it’s the first time we name our Centre after a prominent Muslim figure of global impact who was born and raised in that city.

Muhammad Asad (Name at birth — Leopold Weiss, born in Lviv in 1900) has made a profound input in Islamic upgrowth all over the world. Having decided to mark the tipping point in his live with adopting a new name, the scholar imprinted Prophet Muhammad’s great impact on the young man’s world perception in his first name. As for the last name, he seemed to preserve his origin in it, as “Asad” means “a Lion” in Arabic, and “Lviv” is “the city of Lion” in all local languages.

Muhammad Asad Platz situated at the main entrance to UN Headquarters in Vienna not only was the first Square in Europe named after a Muslim man. From that moment on, since 2008, that name is intimately connected with the organisation where he used to work as Pakistani Embassador, but never felt himself limited to the interests of that particular country and did his best to stand for the interests of all the Muslim world.

Now that name is to be crowned with immortality in this world-famous public figure’s home city — in the name of Lviv Islamic Cultural Centre.