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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Russia-Islam conference condemns US domination |
| 2006-08-31 |
| KAZAN, Russia - Officials and religious figures from Russia and more than a dozen Islamic countries kicked off a conference here Wednesday that organizers said was aimed at deepening their dialogue and defending a “multipolar” world in the face of US power. “Values cannot be imposed by force,” Mintimer Shaimiyev, president of Russia’s mainly Muslim republic of Tatarstan where the three-day conference was being held, said in an opening address to delegates. “The example of Iraq has shown that democracy can only be the result of internal development. Liberal values can’t be exported like cars. A multipolar world without a system of equilibrium leads to tensions and civil war,” Shaimiyev said. Representatives of more than a dozen Islamic countries, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, converged on Kazan for discussions led by former Russian prime minister Yevgeny Primakov, a veteran diplomat and respected Middle East expert. In addition to historically close ties with numerous Islamic countries, Russia has 20 million Muslims among a total population of 142 million. The country also gained observer status in the Organization of the Islamic Conference in 2005, and “should feel that it is part of the Muslim family,” Ravil Gainutdin, president of the Russian Council of Muftis, told AFP. “As a member of the UN Security Council, Russia will be able to actively defend the rights of Muslims and prevent rules being dictated that they oppose,” Gainutdin said. “The Islamic world wants Russia to return to the role the Soviet Union played in the Muslim world,” Gainutdin said. The Soviet Union was a prominent supporter of Islamic countries in conflicts with Israel, including the Arab-Israeli War in 1967 and the October War between Egypt and Israel in 1973. For Ramil Yunussov, imam of the Kul Sharif mosque in Kazan — Europe’s largest — the conference was meant to overcome what he called a lack of understanding between East and West. “It should explain the essence of Islam to Europe in a language Europeans can understand,” Yunussov told AFP. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #12 Which nationality has killed more muslims and conquered more muslim territory than any other? al Andalus X 50. Anyone? Anyone? ... |
| Posted by: ed 2006-08-31 23:29 |
| #11 The Russians are always jockeying for some something. They just never got over the wall being torn down--no sense of humor. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2006-08-31 22:49 |
| #10 ---The country also gained observer status in the Organization of the Islamic Conference in 2005, and “should feel that it is part of the Muslim family,” Ravil Gainutdin, president of the Russian Council of Muftis, told AFP.--- Ball's in your court, Pooty, or do you think the Chicoms will take care of your problem? |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2006-08-31 22:46 |
| #9 “Values cannot be imposed by force,” Yet that's EXACTLY what Islam tries to do - impose values - religious values - by force. The idiot condemns himself, and doesn't even realize it. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2006-08-31 19:59 |
| #8 Ribbentrop-Molotov 2006. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-08-31 19:30 |
| #7 Values cannot be imposed, but nothing stops us from thinning the herd. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2006-08-31 18:51 |
| #6 Values cannot be imposed by force You mean the value on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as long as it doesn't interfere with someone else's life, liberty, or pursuit of hapiness? Must be tough being threatened by such a horrible regime! Idiots. What's the alternative? |
| Posted by: gorb 2006-08-31 17:06 |
| #5 explain the essence of Islam to Europe in a language Europeans can understand,” mmm that should be entertaining. Stooopid Russians. |
| Posted by: J. D. Lux 2006-08-31 13:46 |
| #4 Good to see our friends have our back. |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-08-31 11:25 |
| #3 PIMF “Values cannot be imposed by force,” |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-08-31 10:59 |
| #2 In not winning, Israel lost. The failure to generate respect and fear in its enemies means there will be less time until they strike again. Israel must always strive to utterly destory its enemies. It is fine for her allies to dissuade her from completing the mission, but there should be no uncertainty what the mission is and that it can be achieved. I'll bet that brought a hoot from the Islamic delegates. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-08-31 10:58 |
| #1 All your pathetic conference and fantasies of world power are belong to US!!! |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2006-08-31 10:33 |