Rawil Ğaynetdin

Rawil İsməğil ulı Ğaynetdinev (Tatar: Равил Исмәгыйл улы Гайнетдинев, Russian: Рави́ль Исмаги́лович Гайнутди́нов, romanized: Ravil Ismagilovich Gaynutdinov), or Ravil Gaynutdin, is a Moscow-based Mufti, an ethnic Volga Tatar born in the village of Shali of Pestrechinsky District of the Tatar ASSR, Soviet Union on August 25, 1959.

Mufti Rawil Ğaynetdin
Равиль Гайнутдин
Ğaynetdin in 2010
Title	Grand Mufti of Russia
Personal life
Born	(1959-08-25) 25 August 1959 (age 65) Shali, Tatar ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (Present-day Tatarstan, Russia)
Nationality	Russian
Spouse	Zukhra-Khanum Gainutdinova
Religious life
Religion	Islam
Denomination	Sunni
Jurisprudence	Hanafi
Movement	Islamic neo-traditionalism[1][2]
Profession	Scholar
Muslim leader
Period in office	1 July 1996 - Present

Gaynutdin has served as one of the Grand Muftis of Russia and the Chairman of the Russian Council of Muftis since July 1, 1996.^[3] He is one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding. Gaynutdin has been called a key figure in relations between the Kremlin and Russia's Muslim population and one of the most important people in the Islamic World in Russia.^[4]

Gaynutdin has put forward ideas such as the following: "I agree with (Nikolay) Karamzin, the excellent Russian historian of the 19th century, who said that Moscow owes its greatness to the khans of the Golden Horde. However, this also applies to all of Russia, because thanks to the political will of the khans, the gathering of the scattered principalities around Moscow began".^[5]

Honours and awards

President Vladimir Putin and Ravil Gainutdin at the ceremony of presenting state awards and titles in the Kremlin on May 21, 2015.

Honours

National honours

• Russia
  • Russian Imperial Family: Knight Grand Cordon of the Imperial Order of Saint Stanislaus, Special Class^{[6][7][8][9][10]}
  • Russian Imperial Family: Recipient of the 400th Anniversary Medal of the House of Romanov^[6][7]
  • Russia: Order of Merit to the Fatherland
    • Grand Officer - 9 September 2019^{[notes 1][11]}
    • Commander - 23 March 2015^{[notes 1][12][13]}
    • Member - 11 August 2009^{[notes 2][14]}
  • Russia: Member of the Decoration of Honour - 15 January 2004^{[notes 3][15]}
  • Russia: Member of the Decoration of Friendship - 6 October 1997^{[notes 4][16]}

Foreign honours

• Kazakhstan: Recipient of the Commemorative Medal of "10 years of Astana"
• Kazakhstan: Recipient of the Commemorative Medal of 20 Years of Independence^[17]
• Palestine: Commander of the Order of the Star of Jerusalem - 2015^[18][19]

Awards

• Presidential Certificate of Honour - 23 August 1999^{[notes 5]}
• Russian Orthodox Church: Recipient of the gold medal for Peace and Charity - 2011^{[notes 6][20]}