Riay Tatary Bakry (19 March 1948 – 6 April 2020) was a Syrian religious leader, chairman of the

Union of Islamic Communities of Spain The Union of Islamic Communities of Spain (UCIDE; ) is a religious organization with seat centered in Madrid. It is supported by Spanish Islamic religious communities. UCIDE is registered in the Registry of Religious Entities at the Spanish Minist ...

. He was imam of the Central Mosque in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, Spain, as well as president of the

Islamic Commission of Spain Islamic Commission of Spain () is the representative organ of Islam and Muslims before the citizenship and the Administration for the representation, negotiation, signature, and follow-up on the Islam - State agreements adopted in Law 26/1992. Th ...

Biography

He was born in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

on 19 March 1948. He settled in Spain in 1970 and studied Medicine at the

University of Oviedo The University of Oviedo (, Asturian: ''Universidá d'Uviéu'') is a public university in Asturias (Spain). It is the only university in the region. It has three campus and research centres, located in Oviedo, Gijón and Mieres. History Th ...

. He took part in the

advisory committee ''Advisory Committee'' is Mirah's second full-length album. It was released on K Records on March 19, 2002, and produced by both Mirah and Phil Elvrum. Production ''Advisory Committee'' was recorded over a one-year period, starting on Septembe ...

for

Freedom of Religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...

of the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, being endowed the ''Encomienda'' of the Order of Civil Merit in 1998. He was interned in March 2020 in the Hospital de la Paz due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

along with his wife; Tatary died weeks later, on 6 April, at the age of 72 during the

COVID-19 pandemic in the Community of Madrid The COVID-19 pandemic in Spain had its first case in the Community of Madrid on 25 February 2020. Timeline The pandemic was first confirmed to have spread to the region on 25 February 2020 with the positive result of a 24-year-old male who h ...

. He was buried at the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

cemetery of

Griñón Griñón () is a municipality of the Community of Madrid The Community of Madrid (; ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities and 50 provinces of Spain, provinces of Spain. It is located at the heart of the Iberian Peninsula and Meseta ...

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tatary, Riay Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain 21st-century Syrian people 20th-century Syrian people Syrian imams Spanish imams 20th-century Spanish clergy Islam in Spain University of Oviedo alumni Religious leaders from Damascus 1948 births 2020 deaths Syrian emigrants to Spain