PR activity of Muslim organizations of Ukraine (on the example of the RAMU “Ummah”)

Abstract

The content and main directions of Public Relations (PR) activities of Muslim religious organizations of Ukraine were analyzed using the example of the Religious Administration of Muslims of Ukraine (RAMU) “Ummah.”1 It was determined that the PR is characterized by the use of many resources and modern media technologies. PR activity has a multi-channel nature: through print and electronic media, as well as radio and television, although Internet resources, including social networks, prevail. A universal model of PR activities of Muslim organizations is the posting of general information on the basics of Islamic belief and features of religious practice, as well as digitized thematic literature, on electronic resources. The RAMU “Ummah” in its PR activities also uses streaming technologies, i.e. continuous broadcasting of events in real time, mainly to cover charitable, cultural, and educational PR actions conducted by the organization. An important direction of these PR activities is the coverage of the participation of their leadership in state events, as well as the adoption of declarations of their interaction with the authorities and the public. The signing of the Charter of Muslims of Ukraine and the Social Concept of Muslims of Ukraine is significant. PR activity in the field of science is implemented, firstly, through the support of scientific and educational projects, and, secondly, through the coverage of scientific events, especially in the field of history, on the organization's media platforms. Likewise in two aspects of the field of culture as patronage and as intercultural mass communication. Substantial adjustments to the PR activity of the RAMU “Ummah” were made under the influence of the events of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The leitmotif of PR activity was the affirmation in the media space of the ideas of peace, support of their co-religionists, the Crimean Tatars, and the military through participation in the chaplaincy movement. And after the 2022 large-scale invasion they provided humanitarian aid to the victims (regardless of religious affiliation) and updated their need to identify Ukrainian Islam.