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Mufti Said Ismagilov, one of the most important Muslim figures in Ukraine, is well versed in conflict.
The Donetsk native was forced to flee his home town when Russian-backed separatists occupied eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region in 2014 after receiving word they were out to capture him for becoming an outspoken activist against the takeover.
Later, when driving in a nearby area, someone shot a rifle round through his car window. His life was only spared thanks to a bulletproof vest.
Mufti Ismagilov then moved to Kyiv, but now, as rockets fall around him, he fears for Ukrainians in general and the country’s Muslim population in particular.
He said Russia's actions in Crimea after Moscow annexed the Ukrainian province did not bode well for the Ukrainian Muslim and Tatar communities.
Most Crimean Tatars, a Muslim people indigenous to the Black Sea region, opposed Russia’s seizure of the territory from Ukraine in March 2014.
Community members said they faced discrimination and hardship as they came under pressure to align themselves with the Russia-backed authorities.
The Tatar representative assembly, called the Mejlis, was banned, while a Tatar-language television channel was closed down.
There are roughly 250,000 Crimean Tatars in Crimea — about 12 per cent of its population.
Crimean Muslims deemed to be members of the Hizb ut-Tahrir organisation — an Islamist group banned in Russia but not in Ukraine — have been sentenced to up to 20 years in prison on terrorism charges.
If Russia takes over the rest of Ukraine, Mufti Ismagilov told The National he worries that Muslims in Ukraine could face repression.
In Ukraine, Muslims have enjoyed relatively normal lives in recent years.
The Tatars were officially recognised by the government as an indigenous group in 2014, and increasing numbers of Muslim Russians have been immigrating to Ukraine from the restive northern Caucasus.
Until recently, Friday afternoons on the street in western Kyiv that is home to the city’s Islamic Cultural Centre was a carnival-like atmosphere following prayers.
Students from Turkey, Egypt and Central Asia snacked and drank tea, locals hawked trinkets and halal goods, friends chatted.
But that is all now in the past.
On Tuesday, Russia shelled the city’s television tower and nearby Holocaust memorial — one kilometre to the north of the Islamic Cultural Centre — killing five people.
“It is dangerous in Kyiv every day, starting from the first day of the war,” Mufti Ismagilov told The National in a phone interview.
The fears of some community members are built on historical instances of repression.
During the Second World War, thousands of Tatars living in Crimea were removed to the plains of present-day Uzbekistan and points further east in cattle trains on the orders of Josef Stalin. Many died on the journey.
“In Soviet times, Crimean Tatar anti-Soviet dissidents and human rights defenders were often supported by their Ukrainian colleagues,” said Konrad Zasztowt of the University of Warsaw’s department of European Islam.
“The Crimean Tatars, due to their historical experience with the Stalinist regime, which forcefully deported them from their homeland in 1944 to Central Asia, were always anti-Soviet.”
Thousands have fled Crimea for Ukraine as a result.
For Mufti Ismagilov, himself a Tatar, the difficult question is what to do if his adopted city becomes overrun by Russian forces.
“I can say for sure that I will not remain a mufti, and will either leave the city and fight against the occupiers in the free territory of Ukraine or I will remain in Kyiv.”
The five types of long-term residential visas
Obed Suhail of ServiceMarket, an online home services marketplace, outlines the five types of long-term residential visas:
Investors:
A 10-year residency visa can be obtained by investors who invest Dh10 million, out of which 60 per cent should not be in real estate. It can be a public investment through a deposit or in a business. Those who invest Dh5 million or more in property are eligible for a five-year residency visa. The invested amount should be completely owned by the investors, not loaned, and retained for at least three years.
Entrepreneurs:
A five-year multiple entry visa is available to entrepreneurs with a previous project worth Dh0.5m or those with the approval of an accredited business incubator in the UAE.
Specialists
Expats with specialised talents, including doctors, specialists, scientists, inventors, and creative individuals working in the field of culture and art are eligible for a 10-year visa, given that they have a valid employment contract in one of these fields in the country.
Outstanding students:
A five-year visa will be granted to outstanding students who have a grade of 95 per cent or higher in a secondary school, or those who graduate with a GPA of 3.75 from a university.
Retirees:
Expats who are at least 55 years old can obtain a five-year retirement visa if they invest Dh2m in property, have savings of Dh1m or more, or have a monthly income of at least Dh20,000.
Premier Futsal 2017 Finals
Al Wasl Football Club; six teams, five-a-side
Delhi Dragons: Ronaldinho
Bengaluru Royals: Paul Scholes
Mumbai Warriors: Ryan Giggs
Chennai Ginghams: Hernan Crespo
Telugu Tigers: Deco
Kerala Cobras: Michel Salgado
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Brief scoreline:
Crystal Palace 2
Milivojevic 76' (pen), Van Aanholt 88'
Huddersfield Town 0
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Martin Sabbagh profile
Job: CEO JCDecaux Middle East
In the role: Since January 2015
Lives: In the UAE
Background: M&A, investment banking
Studied: Corporate finance
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TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
FA CUP FINAL
Manchester City 6
(D Silva 26', Sterling 38', 81', 87', De Bruyne 61', Jesus 68')
Watford 0
Man of the match: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
The biog
Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
Favourite book: anything by Stephen King, although he said the films rarely match the quality of the books
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption stands out as his favourite movie, a classic King novella
Favourite music: “I have a wide and varied music taste, so it would be unfair to pick a single song from blues to rock as a favourite"
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
