A file photo of a mosque in Kazan

By Riad Ahmed, IOL Correspondent

MOSCOW , June 12 (IslamOnline.net) – Thirty six students graduated on Friday, June 11, from Moscow Islamic University, becoming the third batch to graduate.

University President Marat Hazrat Murtazin said the graduates studied Shariah as well as cultural and scientific disciplines, reported IslamOnline.net who attended the graduation ceremony.

Murtazin added that the university staff helped polish the students' interactive skills to be able to solve emerging problems during their tenure in mosques across the Russian federation .

He announced that the imams would serve in six regions in mosques affiliated to the Council of Muftis of Russia.

Murtazin named the regions as Ekaterunburg city, Sibiria, Tver city, west of Moscow , Penza city, southern Russia , Samara, central Russia , Mordovia, central Russia , and Novosibirisk, Sibiria.

Qualified Imams

Chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia, Ravil Gainutdin, asserted that the university demonstrates that Islamic educational institutions in Russia work within the official framework to graduate qualified imams, who can convey the true mage of Islam.

"It is high time for every one to know that Shariah can be taught here in Russia ," he said.

Gainutdin appealed to the new imams to dedicate themselves to the service of Islam and give spiritual guidance to Muslims, who resort to mosques to find solutions to their problems.

"You should help people and not scare them off from mosques," he added.

Deputy Chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia Sheikh Damir Hazret Gimazatullin underlined that the graduates should best serve Islam and Muslims in all forms.

The Islamic University in Moscow was inaugurated in 2001 under the auspices of the Russian education ministry and the Council of Muftis of Russia.

The University includes two departments; one for the study of the Glorious Qur'an and the other for the study of Shariah.

Another Islamic University

In addition to Moscow Islamic University, there is the Russian Islamic University, which is based in Kazan , the capital of Tatarstan.

It was founded in 1998 on the initiative of Tatarstan's official authorities and the Muslim Religious Department of Tatarstan.

Originally, the university was located in an old mosque, but in 2000, with the support of the Tatarstan government and other charitable organizations, the university was moved to a newly repaired four-storey building.

It features five colleges teaching Shariah, the Arabic language, Qur'an sciences, press and media, Islamic economy in addition to a girls' college.

Some 450 students from different parts of the Russian Federation are rolled in the university.

Russia has a Muslim population of 23 million, representing roughly 15 percent of its 145 million population, according to a 2003 census.

Two million Muslims are residing in the capital Moscow .

In April, Muslims set up the first ever rights group that will defend their economic, political and religious rights and clear stereotypes tarnishing their image.