Hotline to help Muslims arouses interest among residents of Northern Caucasus

Since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the All-Russian hotline for Muslims has been rendering psychological, legal, social and spiritual support to those in need, the organizers inform.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that this year, Ramadan began on April 24 and will end on May 23, before the holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

Since the start of Ramadan, the telephone number of the hotline of the Association for Psychological Help to Muslims (APHM) has become part of the All-Russian Muslim Hotline, Natalia Barieva, the coordinator of the hotline and a member of the Association Board, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"The hotline employs psychologists, Imams-psychologists and a lawyer ... We also tried to comply with the Islam canons: not only women work here, but also men, who help men," she said.

The opening of the All-Russian hotline from the early days of Ramadan is due to the fact that this year the fasting takes place in extremely difficult conditions associated with the pandemic, Ms Barieva she explained, adding that they receive calls daily from different regions of Russia, including from the republics of Northern Caucasus.

The practices of psychological help to Muslim men and women are in great demand in the Caucasus, says Ruslan Mashitlev, an adviser to the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) of Adygea and the Krasnodar Territory. "I'd like this programme to be broader and more accessible. Now, it's run as a private initiative from individual Muslim psychologists, but there is a need for such practices to become systematic," he told the "Caucasian Knot".

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 15, 2020 at 05:10 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.