"I have not seen Muslims turning away from the faith," Imam Hamza Isa

Spiritual life calms people, which is important in times of war. Hamza Isa, Imam of the Islamic Cultural Center of Odesa"Al-Masar", spoke about how Muslims live in Ukraine, react to the war, fight and what problems they face. Watch the full version and read the shortened version on Intent about Donetsk region, opportunities in Odesa, conditions of Muslim burial, and support for the population financially and psychologically.

Let's start with a personal story about you. Tell us how you became an imam and what led you to this role and this ministry?

I am from Jerusalem, from Palestine, and I came here to Ukraine, to the city of Donetsk, in 1992. I came to study to become a doctor, graduated from the university in 1999, and then continued my studies as a neurosurgeon. And while we were studying, we got to know the local population, especially the Tatars, who are Muslims by religion. And we saw that many of them, because of the Soviet era, the communist regime, knew very little or nothing about it. Because of this, we had to somehow support and help local Muslims in Ukraine, to introduce them to the religion more, because we are also carriers of the religion. And from that moment on, I became more interested in this issue. And then, when I met my wife, because her mother is Tatar. And after that, there was a great opportunity to stay in Ukraine for this purpose, and I even had to change my direction: from a doctor of bodies to a doctor of souls, as they say.

I read that you studied in Donetsk and were a deputy police officer in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Do you still have any ties to that region? Do you keep in touch with those people?

Since 2014, when the war started, we felt it. We suffered and continue to suffer even now. And I am no longer in those territories. Ukraine has been trying to return those territories all this time: Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk. And we stayed there: we supported the local population, especially the pro-Ukrainian population, which is waiting for Ukraine. We thought it wouldn't be long, and Ukraine would return anyway. And we did that all this time. And now, unfortunately, since 2022, after the full-scale invasion, it is difficult to keep in touch. We hope for the state level and when Ukraine returns, we will first of all provide assistance, because we are, so to speak, experts on Islamic issues in those regions. From the very beginning, we worked with local organizations and built mosques together in the cities. We did a lot of good, charitable work. But, unfortunately, the war came and destroyed a lot.

How has the attitude towards Islam changed in Ukraine? For example, I know that in 2018 there were inspections by the SBU and other accusations. How has the situation changed now?

Muslims have different spiritual administrations. Our spiritual administration created the chaplaincy before it was officially established in Ukraine. Because we believe that it is a duty that makes religion respect the homeland - to pay the debt. My son is already at war, he serves as a chaplain. We are obliged, in our religion, if a person defends himself when a thief comes, he will die a shaheed if he dies. Shaheed is a high level, a reward from God and proof that he gave his life for the sake of his homeland. If a person protects his family, protects his property, he is a shahid. That is, it is not during the war, in peacetime. And people receive this kind of upbringing.

And even more so, when during the war the enemy is not just a thief who steals land, but steals history. In front of him, if a person has to stand at the top, and if the worst happens, he is a shahid. And a shahid is a hero. Heroes of the homeland are even greater. And people dream of this, of ending their lives as a hero. Muslims, even the chaplains who come to us, cooperate with us, we have very good relations with them, they are proud. We have a lot of Muslims and they are very strong. They show themselves very well at the front, in the army. We are pleased with this. I see that people have started to treat Islam better, even the people. Even because of the problems of Crimea. People didn't see Crimea that way before. Even the state itself now pays more attention to understanding. And the desire for knowledge. And the Crimean Tatars are mostly non-Muslims, and this affected the religion of Islam. And as I say, our spiritual authorities in the very first days took a pro-Ukrainian position. Not just passive, but strong. There are people who can be spiritual leaders, churches that took a neutral position, but we did not, because it is a duty. It is part of religion not to stand aside.

Photo: Natalia Dovbysh, Intent

Tell us about military cemeteries. Is there a separate place in the cemetery where Muslim soldiers are buried? And does this problem exist at all?

We Muslims are buried in a separate cemetery. We bury everyone: men, women, children who were at war. According to their religion, Muslims should be buried with Muslims. We are in a common cemetery, but we have a separate plot. I asked about this. I even suggested to our brothers in Kyiv that we build a monument for those who died: right on the cemetery grounds in a separate place, so that people could come and participate with all faiths and pay their respects. We are already doing this, and they are responding positively. In Dnipro, there are many burials of soldiers from different districts who died in Donetsk and Luhansk.

Tell us about your interaction with other Islamic movements. How do you communicate with them, do you cooperate or is there any conflict?

We are open to everyone. Only, perhaps, because of our pro-Ukrainian position, the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Ukraine does not cooperate with us. Because they have a pro-Russian position. They have declared this themselves. They broke off cooperation with us even before the war. And sometimes they call us terrorists. For them, we are not normal Muslims. And we have 13 mosques in Odesa. We have a council that includes all imams. It was before the war, because now the imams have left, but we all cooperated here. Together we tried to agree on the time of Ramadan. Each mosque is autonomous, but there is a council. We try to coordinate some issues among ourselves, but they are not included. It's okay, we don't touch them.

With this material, Intent continues a series of video conversations with clergymen from southern Ukraine. The goal of this series is to show as broad and complete a picture of religious life as possible.

Ната Чернецька