By the time the Russians invaded, Mufti Saeed, 43, ismahilov – one of the Muslim spiritual leaders of Ukraine He had already resolved that he would withdraw from his religious duties to fight for his country.
Late last year, as warnings of an impending attack grew louder, Ismahilov began training with the local regional defense battalion. By then he had worked as a mufti for thirteen years.
Born and raised in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, Ismailov had already fled Russia once in 2014, when his city was captured by Moscow-backed separatists.
he eventually moved out to a quieter suburb Kyiv Butcha called – only eight years later, to find himself at the center of Moscow’s attack on Kyiv and the atrocities that shook the world. It seemed as though the threat of Russian occupation would never end.
“This time I decided I won’t run, I won’t run, but I will fight,” he said in an interview with the Associated Press in Kostiantynivka, a city close to the front line in eastern Ukraine, where the fight for control of the region is ramping up. has been
Ismahilov began working as a military driver for paramedics, evacuating the wounded from the front lines or besieged cities.
Tasked with driving in extreme dangerous conditions as well as emotionally supporting the seriously injured, Ismahilov says he sees his new job as “a continuation of my spiritual duty before God.”
“If you’re not scared and you can do that, that’s very important. prophet Was a warrior himself,” says Ismahilov. “So I follow his example and I won’t even run away, or hide. I will not turn my back on others.”
Ismahilov was one of dozens of Ukrainian Muslims who gathered at Kostiantinivka’s mosque on Saturday to mark Eid al-Adha, an important religious holiday in Islam.
The mosque is now the last remaining operational mosque in Ukrainian-controlled territory. donbass, Ismahilov told the AP that there are about 30 mosques in total in the area, but most are now in Russian hands.
Last week, Russia captured the city of Lisichansk, the last major stronghold of the Ukrainian resistance in the eastern province of Luhansk. The governor of the Luhansk region said on Saturday that Russian forces were now pushing towards the border with the neighboring Donetsk region.
Muslims make up about 1 percent of the population in Ukraine, who are mainly Orthodox Christians. Crimea has a large Muslim population – the home of the Crimean Tatars and was illegally occupied by the Russians in 2014.
There the number rises to 12 percent. There is also a large Muslim community in eastern Ukraine, as the industrialization of the region resulted in waves of economic migration and many Muslims immigrated to the Donbass region to work in the mines and factories.
The conflict in 2014 forced many Muslims from Crimea and Donbass to relocate to other parts of the country, where they joined long-established Tatar communities or created new Islamic centers with Turk, Arab and Ukrainian converts.
But the invasion has forced many to flee once again. The mosque in Kostiantyivka catered to the local Muslim population of several hundred people.
On Saturday, some local residents were present, who had traveled west along with their families. Instead the congregation was made up of soldiers or combat medics from different units: Crimean Tatars and Ukrainian converts from Kharkiv, Kyiv and western Ukraine.
In his sermon after the traditional Eid prayers, Ismahilov told the congregation that this year’s Eid had a symbolic significance in the midst of the war, and asked them to remember the Muslims living in the occupied territories, where many They have lost their homes and many mosques have been destroyed. destroyed by gunfire.
Referring to a series of arrests of Crimean Tartars after the 2014 annexation, Ismahilov said that Muslims do not feel safe in the occupied territories.
“There is a lot of fear. … The war is on and we do not know what is happening in the occupied territories and the condition of the Muslims,” he said.
Ismahilov told the AP that he considers Russian Muslims as “criminals” including the infamous Chechen battalion of Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov invading Ukraine.
Ismahilov says, “They are sinning and … they have come as murderers and occupiers, in a region that is home to Ukrainians and Ukrainian Muslims, without any justification. Allah did not give them that right.” ” “They will answer all this before God.”
Olha Bashi, 45, a lawyer turned paramedic from Kyiv who converted to Islam in 2015, says Russia is trying to “wipe Ukraine off the face of the earth”. Bashi started working as a frontline paramedic in Donbass in 2014. She considers this war her jihad, which in Islam refers to a sacred war or personal conflict.
“This war is my war, and I defend my jihad because I have a nephew, I have a mother and I protect my home. I don’t want my nephew to ever see what I unfortunately saw in this war.” was.”
“Islam also helps me because in Islam, in prayer, you somehow distract yourself from the war because you read the prayer and you belong to the Almighty. For me, Islam is a force that supports me even in battle.” gives.”
As soldiers prepared the customary sacrificial sheep for the Eid feast, a residential area in Kostiantinivka, several kilometers away, came under violent fire. Oncoming artillery shook the ground. Some soldiers ran towards the bunker of the mosque. Others turned it down and continued to drink their tea and eat dates. The shelling started several fires, injuring several residents and burning thatched roofs.
Ismahilov said that they would pray for victory and the liberation of the occupied territories.
“We pray that our Muslim compatriots will be safe, that our families will be reunited, that the slain Muslims will go to heaven, and that all Muslim soldiers who are defending their country will be feted (martyrs) by Allah. will be accepted.”
Late last year, as warnings of an impending attack grew louder, Ismahilov began training with the local regional defense battalion. By then he had worked as a mufti for thirteen years.
Born and raised in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, Ismailov had already fled Russia once in 2014, when his city was captured by Moscow-backed separatists.
he eventually moved out to a quieter suburb Kyiv Butcha called – only eight years later, to find himself at the center of Moscow’s attack on Kyiv and the atrocities that shook the world. It seemed as though the threat of Russian occupation would never end.
“This time I decided I won’t run, I won’t run, but I will fight,” he said in an interview with the Associated Press in Kostiantynivka, a city close to the front line in eastern Ukraine, where the fight for control of the region is ramping up. has been
Ismahilov began working as a military driver for paramedics, evacuating the wounded from the front lines or besieged cities.
Tasked with driving in extreme dangerous conditions as well as emotionally supporting the seriously injured, Ismahilov says he sees his new job as “a continuation of my spiritual duty before God.”
“If you’re not scared and you can do that, that’s very important. prophet Was a warrior himself,” says Ismahilov. “So I follow his example and I won’t even run away, or hide. I will not turn my back on others.”
Ismahilov was one of dozens of Ukrainian Muslims who gathered at Kostiantinivka’s mosque on Saturday to mark Eid al-Adha, an important religious holiday in Islam.
The mosque is now the last remaining operational mosque in Ukrainian-controlled territory. donbass, Ismahilov told the AP that there are about 30 mosques in total in the area, but most are now in Russian hands.
Last week, Russia captured the city of Lisichansk, the last major stronghold of the Ukrainian resistance in the eastern province of Luhansk. The governor of the Luhansk region said on Saturday that Russian forces were now pushing towards the border with the neighboring Donetsk region.
Muslims make up about 1 percent of the population in Ukraine, who are mainly Orthodox Christians. Crimea has a large Muslim population – the home of the Crimean Tatars and was illegally occupied by the Russians in 2014.
There the number rises to 12 percent. There is also a large Muslim community in eastern Ukraine, as the industrialization of the region resulted in waves of economic migration and many Muslims immigrated to the Donbass region to work in the mines and factories.
The conflict in 2014 forced many Muslims from Crimea and Donbass to relocate to other parts of the country, where they joined long-established Tatar communities or created new Islamic centers with Turk, Arab and Ukrainian converts.
But the invasion has forced many to flee once again. The mosque in Kostiantyivka catered to the local Muslim population of several hundred people.
On Saturday, some local residents were present, who had traveled west along with their families. Instead the congregation was made up of soldiers or combat medics from different units: Crimean Tatars and Ukrainian converts from Kharkiv, Kyiv and western Ukraine.
In his sermon after the traditional Eid prayers, Ismahilov told the congregation that this year’s Eid had a symbolic significance in the midst of the war, and asked them to remember the Muslims living in the occupied territories, where many They have lost their homes and many mosques have been destroyed. destroyed by gunfire.
Referring to a series of arrests of Crimean Tartars after the 2014 annexation, Ismahilov said that Muslims do not feel safe in the occupied territories.
“There is a lot of fear. … The war is on and we do not know what is happening in the occupied territories and the condition of the Muslims,” he said.
Ismahilov told the AP that he considers Russian Muslims as “criminals” including the infamous Chechen battalion of Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov invading Ukraine.
Ismahilov says, “They are sinning and … they have come as murderers and occupiers, in a region that is home to Ukrainians and Ukrainian Muslims, without any justification. Allah did not give them that right.” ” “They will answer all this before God.”
Olha Bashi, 45, a lawyer turned paramedic from Kyiv who converted to Islam in 2015, says Russia is trying to “wipe Ukraine off the face of the earth”. Bashi started working as a frontline paramedic in Donbass in 2014. She considers this war her jihad, which in Islam refers to a sacred war or personal conflict.
“This war is my war, and I defend my jihad because I have a nephew, I have a mother and I protect my home. I don’t want my nephew to ever see what I unfortunately saw in this war.” was.”
“Islam also helps me because in Islam, in prayer, you somehow distract yourself from the war because you read the prayer and you belong to the Almighty. For me, Islam is a force that supports me even in battle.” gives.”
As soldiers prepared the customary sacrificial sheep for the Eid feast, a residential area in Kostiantinivka, several kilometers away, came under violent fire. Oncoming artillery shook the ground. Some soldiers ran towards the bunker of the mosque. Others turned it down and continued to drink their tea and eat dates. The shelling started several fires, injuring several residents and burning thatched roofs.
Ismahilov said that they would pray for victory and the liberation of the occupied territories.
“We pray that our Muslim compatriots will be safe, that our families will be reunited, that the slain Muslims will go to heaven, and that all Muslim soldiers who are defending their country will be feted (martyrs) by Allah. will be accepted.”