At the end of last week, Volodymyr Zelensky, together with the head of his office, Andriy Yermak, not only attended an Iftar, but also announced that it would now become a regular tradition. «Today we are establishing such a tradition for Ukraine — an official Iftar together with our heroic warrior-Muslims, together with the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, together with representatives of the entire Muslim community of Ukraine,» said the President of Ukraine. At the same time, he visited the Crimean Tatar Cultural Center, paid tribute to the memory of Ukrainian heroes among its Muslim servicemen, announced that the mosque destroyed by Russian barbarians in Bakhmut will be restored, and awarded honors to Muslims of the country who distinguished themselves in the fight for it. Among the laureates were the former Mufti of Ukraine Said Ismagilov, the founder and commander of the Crimean Tatar battalion «Crimea» Isa Akayev, the head of the Muslim Military Chaplaincy Service (yes, there is one in Ukraine) Murad Putylin, and others.
The questions that arise when familiarizing oneself with all this are obvious and have already been raised by many. The main question is how, given the different attitudes towards them in Russia and Ukraine, people who consider themselves Muslims can fight for the former against the latter, and even call it jihad?
These questions have been asked more than once, but what is interesting here is that during his first term as president, Volodymyr Zelensky already accepts and announces the establishment of a tradition of holding an annual Iftar with Muslims in the country. And yet, no matter how much he was called a clown, a profiteer, a random person in power, and so on. And now we won’t even remind you that in a critical moment he showed himself to be a man, a hero and a patriot, but we will point out his attitude towards such a delicate issue.
And what about the «great national leader,» the «geopolitician,» the «strategist,» the «one who raised Russia from its knees,» the «outstanding world leader,» and the bearer of other pompous epithets? How many iftars did he hold with the Muslims of his country during the 23 years of his power (including, in fact, under Dmitry Medvedev)? Or, for example, with ambassadors of Muslim states and Muslim leaders?
The answer is known — ZERO. But even in the White House, iftars were held under Donald Trump, who came to power on the slogans of Islamophobia. Nevertheless, he accepted and supported this tradition, unlike Putin, who is presented to Muslims as a friend of the Islamic world. Why is there such a difference in behavior and attitude towards sensitive issues for Muslims?
Those who say that the reason lies in the deeply rooted systemic, historical, and ideological Islamophobia of not only Putin but the entire Russian state would be correct. But it must be admitted that this is not the whole truth. The rest, and perhaps the main part of it, is that the Russian state tradition, symbolized by the pompous Kremlin, is inhumane and contemptuous towards living people and different communities — a concept that is important for modern political culture.
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If we compare the attitudes of Zelensky and Putin not only toward iftars and Muslims, but also toward their citizens and servicemen of all faiths, how they interact with foreign ambassadors and their officials — on the front lines and in the working atmosphere on the one hand, and behind huge tables or at the distance of a football field on the other, we can see the difference.
Putin does not hold iftars with Muslims, which shows his arrogant attitude towards them. But in principle he does not interact with citizens in an informal setting, does not share a meal with ordinary people, not even with fellow Orthodox on their holidays — only with various officials at grand receptions.
And this is something that should make those who call themselves Muslims and support the Kremlin and Russia in their war against Ukraine think. Do you really like such pharaonic treatment of yourself, and do you really not want to be governed by politicians who treat you simply as human beings?
And it’s not because Zelensky is more human than Putin (although it’s obvious that he is), but because these politicians should have feedback with the people and the voters, because they will participate in real, fair elections and win them. Even in Turkey, where Erdogan is portrayed as a dictator, we can see that it is true, and precisely because there is a real struggle for voter support. But not in Russia.
Its system is not only Islamophobic and inhumane because of the moral qualities of those who make it up. In essence, it has restored autocratic monarchy, and if real monarchy was embodied at least by those who learned the culture of ruling from an early age, today it is the power of those who rose «from the mud to the nobility» while trampling everyone else in the mud.
Are you really willing to fight and die for this, those who call themselves Muslims? Instead of striving to adopt the humane attitude of rulers towards citizens of neighboring countries, do you really want to impose on them the same abomination that rules over you?