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PLACE AND ROLE OF ISLAM IN REGIONS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, THE CAUCASSUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
2018.01.006. RUSTAM GIBADULLIN. PROBLEM OF CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL IDENTITY OF TATARSTAN AS A PART OF MUSLIM WORLD: EXPERIENCE OF UNDERSTANDING // "II Bigievski chteniya - 2015. Musulmanskaya mist' v XXI veke: edinstvo traditsii y obnovleniya: Materiali II Mezhdunarodnoi nauchno-obrazovatelnoi konferentsii, Sankt Peterburg, 17-20 May 2015." - Moscow, 2016. - P. 251-259.
Keywords: Tatarstan, cultural and historical identity, Islamic world, Islamic studies.
Rustam Gibadullin,
PhD (Hist.),
Naberezhnye Chelny University
The author notes that Islam role in the past and present of Tatars and also their place in the Islamic world only begin to be deeply comprehended. For a long time ideological obstacles impeded it: at first attitudes of Christianization of the Russian Empire, and then extreme secularism of the Soviet state. The Islamic studies in pre-Soviet and Soviet Russia were not almost engaged in Russian Muslims, focusing mainly on the foreign problems connected with foreign policy order of the state. During the Soviet period in Tatarstan there were closed down scientific institutes, involved in studying of Islam: local school of Russian academic Islamic studies and Tatar centers of Muslim education
and learning. As a result in researches of Soviet period devoted to history, culture and origin of Tatar people there were no consideration not only of problems through a prism of Islamic values, but also adequate beliefs of Islam and even a mention of it.
Especially evident such situation looks in the sphere of a historiography of the medieval Tatar states history. To get at the meaning of Islam beliefs and the Islamic world for understanding of these states history, it should be noted that all civilization achievements appropriate for them being a subject of traditional pride of Tatar cultural public have Islamic origin. First of all it is the defining role of Muslim merchant factories in creation in Eastern Europe of trade and craft infrastructure which allowed to connect local markets to the Great silk way that became for local societies an important condition of their successful development, and for the world of Islam - a factor of its constant and prolonged presence in the region. This circumstance expanding political, economic and cultural horizons of medieval Tatar society provided its inclusion in an orbit of Islamic civilization and assimilation of its achievements. In the state sphere it is a political and legal system based on Sharia and also an organization model of the central power peculiar to feudal monarchies of the Muslim world (the vizier, a sofa, branch-wise offices, etc.). In the sphere of spiritual culture it is a branched two-level system of Muslim education (mekteba, madrasah), formation of local tradition of genre literature under the influence of acquaintance to works of foreign Muslim authors, perception of scientific achievements of the Muslim world, its esthetics, including architectural styles.
However still official Russian publications consider Tatar medieval states out of communication with Islamic world history. In their names terminology of statehood of the Muslim Middle Ages ("emirate," "sultanate") isn't used, it is substituted for the pre-Islamic turco-Mongolian concept "khanate." Meanwhile the Islamic titulary of local ruling dynasties was due to the fact that they were a part of political system Dar al-Islam. The Bulgar's governors (X-XIII centuries) in search of protection of the
Baghdad Caliph initiated an establishment of diplomatic relations with it and voluntarily turned into the status of its vassals which was expressed in emir's rank. Further Djochi dynasties of Sarai, Kazan, Hajji Tar khan, Kasimov, the Crimea, etc. (XIII-XVIII centuries) carried a title of sultans - the monarchs politically independent of Caliph connected with each other by mutual contract solidarity. On the similar principles the Eastern European sultans built up the relationship and with sultans of the Arab East as, for example, it took place at the beginning of the XIV century within the contract between Sarai (Sarai-al-Maqrus) and Mamluk's Egypt.
Perspective of Islam was also absent in Soviet and pre-Soviet official interpretations of so-called colonial period in the history of Tatar people (XVI - beginning of XX). Suppression of Muslim communities which won their State, including religious oppressions caused by this liberation, protest movements, always held under the banner of Islam, and all associated with that tragic and heroic events couldn't get coverage in the official history. Power perceived in them one of the ideological sources of traditional Tatar separatism. However, despite this, pride in that they managed to keep Islamic traditions always played an important role in cultural and historical self-identification of Tatars, especially at the level of popular and epic and mass consciousness. And in the cultivation of the sense of pride religious and ethno-patriotic motives often intertwined.
Some, especially foreign, researchers, giving credit to the confessional reliability of Tatar society in the 14-19 centuries, explaining it as a particular "bordering" type of Tatars' world view, formed on the outskirts of the medieval Islamic world where mobilization of consciousness against opposition to expansion of not Islamic world and active proselytism were an important task. Indeed, how else it's possible to explain islamification of neighboring peoples carried out by Tatars under the colonial status which, according to historians, competed with christianized policy of the Russian Empire. Today, when Islam
positions in Tatar society are significantly undermined, mobilization of Muslims' world outlook on historical success looks for an exit in images of heroics of the past, appealing to pages of history of Muslim resistance during the colonial period. The created picture of permanent fight represents the heroic row connected by continuity: from the last defenders of besieged Kazan which death designated the beginning of a colonial state to those whose efforts and victims during the Russian revolutions of the beginning of the 20th century reached civil equality of Muslims in the Russian Empire and their once lost statehood revived.
In this search of heroics there is often not only defining Islamic, but nationalist motivation. It is eminent on the example of ideological heritage revival of Mirsaid Sultangaliev - the leader of Russian communist Muslims who decided on a political union with the Bolshevik party which won the revolution of 1917. After M. Sultangaliyev's death his name for many years appeared under a ban in Stalin torture chambers. However his concept of a historical mission of Russian Muslims based on geopolitical and social and liberating ideas of modernized Islam this party attracted interest abroad, including from the European scientists and some leaders of the Islamic world. Today the Tatar nationalists, free from the former bans returned a name of M. Sultangaliev on pages of history, but only as a heroic fighter for national statehood of Tatars. And the Islamic component in his ideological heritage continues to remain poorly studied.
It is also telling the fate of the ideas of another outstanding Tatar thinker - Moussa Bigiev whose approaches to understanding of Islamic dogma focused on revelation of as much as possible social and converting and civilization potential for creation of such society in which along with the political and economic rights of Muslims there would be provided their "moral revolution." In Soviet Russia from where M. Bigiev, after arrest and prison, had to emigrate, his ideas were "thoroughly forgotten" while in the Muslim abroad they continued to attract interest. Considerably exactly thanks to it in Post-Soviet time return of ideological
heritage of M. Bigiev home became possible that was a certain indicator of Islam condition and Islamic studies in Russia.
The Post-Soviet period revealed new problems and new opportunities in studying of history and current state of Islam in Tatarstan. It was caused by increase in value of an Islamic factor in domestic policy of the Russian state and also the fact that processes of liberalization favorably affected position of Muslims, and a condition of science. On the one hand, researches of many, including foreign, scientific began to be encouraged, at the same time a choice of scope of Islamic studies research, methodological attitudes and approaches to understanding of problems weren't regulated any more by the state as it was earlier. On this positive wave Tatar scientific community had an opportunity to begin to restore their positions in the field of Islamic studies. On the other hand, in general also conditions of development of Muslims changed favorably: the political and legal and financial position of their communities and official structures was strengthened, the level of awareness and activity of the Muslim public grew.
During the Post-Soviet period also certain shift was planed in overcoming of Muslims Tatarstan feeling of provincial abandonment in the world of Islam. As community, they always experienced difficulty in considering themselves a full-fledged part of the world of Islam as in traditional understanding by this world of its identity there is no concept of Muslim community existing beyond its limits in non-Muslim country. It is no coincidence that such situation isn't even provided in the classical Islamic right. In former times the problem was aggravated by that contacts of Tatarstan with countries of the Muslim world were artificially minimized and limited to purely production ties which didn't have social meaning. The capital of Tatarstan -Kazan was almost suspended from the cities allowed for visit and long stay of Muslim foreigners including diplomats, scientists, students, actors, public and religious figures. Today it is observed a progress in development of such direct contacts by Tatarstan as the attitude towards them from the Russian Foreign Ministries
became considerably more liberal. Essentially new situation is characterized in addition that in Kazan consulates of Iran and Turkey function - the fact symbolizing in the opinion of Muslim public of Tatarstan historical break of its long political isolation from countries of the Islamic world. Strengthening of participation feeling of Russian Muslims to the world of Islam was promoted also by granting Russia in 2005 the status of the observer in the Islamic Conference organization.
Against the background of these positive changes nevertheless obstacles for an objective impartial research of a modern perspective of Islam remain. First of all, it is that public atmosphere of suspiciousness around Muslims and Islam in general which developed today not only in Russia in connection with aggravation of extremism and terrorism danger. By recognition of authoritative Russian specialists in Islamic studies, in mass consciousness, media quite often cultivate negative, excessively politicized image of Islam. Though today such tendentiousness doesn't any more look so hopelessly invincible like it was in Soviet period. There is a wish to hope, the researcher writes that through collision and reconsideration of the ambiguous and unsettled discursive practices, controversial problems and doubtful decisions in Russia there is a search of the new approaches to studying of Islam capable to realize its creative potential. It is necessary the innovative look which would show possibilities of strengthening of a creative role of religious factor in transformation and modern society development. In this regard it is important to understand and estimate Islam role in the past and present of peoples of Russia, including in the history of Tatarstan and Tatar people. It will promote also understanding by the world of Islam of the original cultural and civilization borders. Today all of them are defined by valuable criteria more - presence at regional Muslim communities of aspiration to participate in realization of high and noble purposes following from a creative and historical mission of Islam.
Author of the abstract - Elena Dmitrieva
2018.01.007. GAIDULLA GILYAZOV, ROSA NURULLINA. PROFESSIONAL RETRAINING AND UPGRADING OF IMAMS IN TATARSTAN: SOCIAL PRACTICE, ASSESSMENTS AND VIEWS // "Islamovedeniye," Makhachkala, 2017, Vol. 8, № 1, P. 29-36.
Keywords: religious education, upgrading, educational programs, polling of imams.
Gaidulla Gilyazov,
Head of the Center of Upgrading Priests and Teachers, Muslim Educational Institutions of the Russian Islamic Institute; Rosa Nurullina,
PhD (Sociology), Leading Research Associate, Center of Islamic Studies, Academy of Sciences The Republic of Tatarstan, Kazan
Despite the presence of a great number of religious educational institutions in Tatarstan, its mosques and other public organization are still short of high-skill specialists at various levels, especially in religious education, including in retraining and upgrading the imams.
There are ten professional educational institutions in Tatarstan subordinated to the regional Spiritual Board of Muslims. In the republican capital Kazan the Islamic University, eight madrasahs and an Islamic college are functioning. A special place in the system of Islamic education of Tatarstan is taken by the Russian Islamic Institute (RII), one of the first professional establishments of Islamic higher education founded in 1998. Its main aim is not only to train imam-khatybs serving in mosques, but also upbring and educate modern Muslim intellectuals and highly educated specialists in Islamic theology, history, law, the language and economics who will make a worthy contribution to the progress of the Muslim ummah of Russia. A decision was adopted at the government level in 2015 to open the Islamic Academy in the town of Bulgar, which is to combine the potential of authoritative Russian and foreign Islamic scholars and become a real alternative to Islamic education in other countries.
