The campaign is attracting many curious Ukrainians.

CAIRO — Ukraine's largest Muslim group has launched a nationwide campaign to introduce Islam and Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to the intelligentsia through a series of seminars and lectures running until the end of this year.

"Poor knowledge of Islam among the Ukrainian elite, who get their information from unauthentic sources, and the ferocious anti-Islam media campaigns are the main motives of this campaign," the Federation of Social Organizations in Ukraine (Arraid) said in a statement, a copy of which was obtained by IslamOnline.net.

The campaign targets intellectuals, politicians, orienatalists, journalists, professors and sociologists.

The eastern city of Lugansk hosts Monday, June 12, a two-day seminar on the merits of the Prophet and the tolerant message of Islam.

Established in 1997 in the capital Kiev, Arraid is a confederation of nine organizations across Ukraine.

It is a non-profit organization involved in cultural, educative and charitable activities, providing aid for Ukrainian citizens irrespective of their religion, confession or race.=

Arraid has been hosting a weekly program on the Ukrainian radio called "Peace Be Upon You" since 1999.

Appealing

The first know-Islam seminar, held last week in Donestk, east of Kiev, attracted a large audience, who came with many unanswered questions about the Muslim faith.

Said Ismailov, President of Al-Amal University in Donestk, delivered two lectures on the tenets of Islam.

A third lecture by Ola Rostamova, the representative of Arraid's affiliate Marriam organization, dealt with women's rights in Islam.

Islam Emadudin, Arraid's Media Officer, talked to the curious audience on the second day of the seminar about the character of Prophet Muhammad.

The true meaning of Jihad in Islam and the principles of Islamic jurisprudence were also the focal point of two more lectures.

Reacting to the Danish cartoon crisis, Arraid championed earlier this year a nationwide know-prophet campaign that saw the distribution of more than 200,000 leaflets.

Ukraine is home to some two million Muslims making up 4% of the overall 48-million population.

There are up to 200 mosques and 20 Islamic centers in the country which remained under the Soviet Communist grip until the collapse of the Soviet Union, after which it won independence in August 1991.