Perhaps it is not necessary to emphasize that the «Voice of Islam» team does not celebrate New Year as a holiday and does not congratulate anyone on it. All these New Year’s orgies and rituals not only contradict the religious worldview of Islam, but also seem doubly absurd on the eve of 2023. A year that promises to be a year of further escalation of war (hopefully not to a global nuclear level), death, loss, destruction and trials. Against this backdrop, those who raise their glasses in a toast and say, «Happy New Year, with new happiness,» will frankly look foolish.
However, Islamic scholars advise reflecting on the past, which can be any period of time. A day, a month, a quarter. And a year — in this sense, it is not against Islamic tradition (urf) to evaluate the past year and make plans for the future. In previous years, we usually highlighted several top events (5 or however many) and analyzed them. This time, on the threshold of the future, we will not allow ourselves to do so.
Despite the fact that «Voice of Islam» tried not to miss any significant event for Muslims, from the FIFA World Cup in Qatar to the protests in Iran and the internal/external political processes in Turkey and its neighborhood, the most important political event for us became and most likely will remain the war in Ukraine and everything related to it. This war has not only directly affected millions of people, including Muslims in Ukraine and Russia, as well as our readers, but has radically changed the entire socio-political landscape of our region.
Since its beginning, it has become clear that administrative intrigues, pseudo-public activities, imitation of political life through elections or some media campaigns — all of this has receded into the background against the backdrop of such a historic and epoch-making event as this war. Its consequences, at least for our region, promise to be no less significant than those of the two world wars of the last century.
Will Putin’s Russia succeed in conquering Ukraine, destroying its statehood and nation, and enslaving its people with the transformation of an expanded Russia into a larger North Korea and the final resolution of the issue of national republics and the Islamic factor? Or will the Ukrainian David manage to defeat the orcish Goliath and expel all the occupying forces from its territory, which will automatically lead to the collapse of Mordor? There is no other alternative, because even the unlikely freezing of the conflict along some compromise line will only be a respite before the next decisive round of a fight to the death. And since neither side is hiding this fact, that round will most likely come without a respite. Already in 2023. And most likely at the very beginning.
And what about us and our readers? If in the past years we tried to maintain the possibility of reaching a mass audience in Russia through various maneuvers and legal battles, with the beginning of these fateful events such a possibility has already disappeared for us, because we simply couldn’t take a different position than we did. Roskomnadzor blocked our website in Russia, and it is already obvious that as long as this regime rules, we will not be unblocked — according to the laws of war, our activities are punishable not only by blocking, but by life imprisonment.
Nevertheless, in the new reality we had to make a radical decision. And we are glad that we not only made this decision ourselves, but also helped many of our readers, and through them, other Muslims — their relatives and acquaintances — to make this decision. This includes standing up not only to the blatant propaganda of the regime, but also to its accomplices among Muslims who cloak themselves in the guise of moderation and objectivity.
After losing a significant portion of its audience in 2022 due to censorship and the fight against VPNs, and a significant portion of its donations due to payment restrictions, «Voice of Islam» once again faced the threat of discontinuing regular broadcasts.
Praise be to Allah who has always sent us people in such situations who have taken the responsibility of supporting us. And at the end of this year, we especially thank these people and ask Allah to strengthen them in the truth, increase their share and bless their homes.
We also thank those who, despite their limited resources, send us at least a few dollars or euros, as well as those who, even if they are unable to do so themselves, spread our messages or simply make dua for us.
In the challenging year ahead, we plan to continue to inform our audience about major events and clarify important and current issues that will shape the agenda of Muslim politics in our region at this crucial time. Therefore, for those who have the desire and ability, but have not yet done so, we offer the opportunity to support us: with a credit card at https://golosislama.com/page.php?id=8 or with Bitcoin: 39CtjA7t29knZUiZSMwyM8pGZvo42xNjiDUSDT (Tron/TRC20) address: TKsaLkQsUUtAzQszu1xYMoPZYbCzezFN7j.