CC BY
6
Map of Ethno-religious Threats. The North Caucasus and Volga Area. NG-Politika. June 4, 2013. http://www.ng.ru//ng.polkitics/2013-06-04/9_map.html See: Aleksei Malashenko. The North Caucasus: foreign subject of the Russian Federation. Moscow Carnegie Center. November 2011. http://carnegie.ru/ 2011/11/18/severny-kavkaz-zarubezhny-sub'ekt-rossiiskoi-federatsii/f13n
"Moscow Carnegie Center. Working Material. Islam: View from the Kremlin," 2013, December, pp. 1-6.
11
Zilya Habibullina,
Ph. D. (Hist.), Institute of Ethnological Research, Ufa Scientific Center, RAS MUSLIM CLERGY IN THE REPUBLIC OF BASHKORTOSTAN: STATUS AND DEVELOPMENT TRENDS
This article is based on the material obtained by the author in the period between 2005 and 2011 within the framework of the study of the Islamic development factor of the polyconfessional society of the Southern Urals, which was carried out in the Republic of Bashkortostan.
There are data about the social categories of the population which join the present-day Muslim clergy of the republic, about their training level, specific features and conditions of their professional activity, as well as public views and social values.
The Muslim clergy is the most active part of the Muslim umma. The Muslim leaders represent the interests of believers, and all people considered traditionally Muslim before the state. They influence the socio-ethical views and convictions of parishioners, their understanding of the basic values of Islam, and play the key role in the interaction of the Muslim umma and the state and other confessions. They also participate in the work of harmonizing the sphere of interethnic
relations and preventing religious strife and propagation of radical ideologies.
The socio-political changes of the past two decades could not but tell on the position of the clergy and the growth of their influence in society. At present they represent a socio-professional group possessing intellectual resources and having a great influence on believers, their position and social processes in the country.
The Republic of Bashkortostan has been chosen as an object of investigation because it is one of the major regions of Islam in Russia. The Central Spiritual Board of Muslims of Russia was set up in Ufa by a decree of Empress Catherine the Great in 1789 as the Orenburg Mohammedan Spiritual Assembly. According to the results of a population census, ethnic Muslims comprise a majority of the republic's population. These are not migrants but the indigenous population. It should be noted that the Muslim umma of Bashkortostan is poly-ethnic, inasmuch as it consists of representatives of more than 130 nationalities. The most numerous groups are Bashkir (1,221,302, or 29.7% of the total population) and Tatar (990,735, or 24.1% of the total population). According to information of the Council on state and inter-confessional relations under the President of Bashkortostan, 67 percent of all believers are Muslims, 22 percent are Orthodox Christians, and about 11 percent - other confessions. (I)
Among the main methods of investigation were those of field ethnography and surveillance (polling and interviewing) of the clergy. The number of respondents was about 500 men from 17 towns and 47 districts of the republic.
Beginning from the 1990s, Islam has become stronger among the Turkic population of the Republic of Bashkortostan. Old mosques have been returned to people, and new mosques built. Madrasahs have been opened, and the number of young people studying theology has been
growing. Everyday life, feasts and rites are regulated by the canons of Islam, besides, many believers go on hajj every year. Both parishioners and clerics take an active part in the revival process of Islam at the all-Russia and republican level.
The formation of the modern Muslim clergy was conditioned by the changes in the sphere of mutual relations between the state and believers at the end of the 20th century, namely, by the adoption of the Law of the U.S.S.R. "On Freedom of conscience and religious organizations" of October 1, 1990, which defined the new legal status of religions organizations and the clergy. In the Republic of Bashkortostan the main sources of its formation were specially trained imams with a secondary or higher religious education; well-respected persons in rural districts elected by their fellow-villagers as community heads, who were former chairmen of village councils, collective farms, school masters, retired army officers; self-taught persons with certain religious experience; migrants from Central Asian republics. (II) The clergy of the republic, just as in neighboring districts of the Urals and the Volga area, has been formed as a social group without any special world outlook and behavioral stereotypes. In the main, this process was going on along turning unofficial and uneducated rural mullahs into officially registered clergy. (III)
An analysis of the composition of the imam body made in 1997 showed that the clergy consisted of more than half of elderly people without special education who studied the canons of Islam by themselves. Only three percent of imams had a higher religious education. And only one-fifth was represented by men between 26 and 40 years of age who had studied at madrasah and had a secular education from a secondary special to higher education. It was they who were most active and promising in reviving Islam in the republic. (IV)
The formation of the modern body of Muslim priests was negatively influenced by the absence of prospects for young graduates from Muslim educational institutions. Many young men wished to receive religious education abroad, but this was not so easy in Soviet time. In the 1990s young men with a good religious education often left the post of imam due to the absence of a constant source of income. The duties of imam were often performed by old men and unemployed people supervising administration and celebration of rites quite frequently.
At present there are professional people among the Muslim clergy, who have received an Islamic education and have the qualification of imam. They are members of religious organizations and enjoy recognition and respect on the part of other priests and believers. As we have already mentioned, these people include respected residents of rural districts without special qualification and status, but with enough practical knowledge and skill to perform the main functions of the clergy, due to the absence or shortage of sufficiently trained people.
After numerous organizational changes in Russian muftiates (boards of mufti) at the end of the 20th century, the institutionalization of Muslim confession of Bashkortostan was completed by the beginning of the 2000s. By 2012 the Muslim religious organizations of the republic were united in three officially acting spiritual centers situated in Ufa: the Central Spiritual Board of Muslims of Russia, Regional Spiritual Board of Muslims of Bashkortostan, as part of the Central Board, and Spiritual Board of Muslims of the Republic of Bashkortostan. Forty-six percent of parishes are subordinated to the Central Board, 54 percent of parishes are under the Spiritual Board of Muslims of the Republic of Bashkortostan. There are also a certain number of autonomous communities. However, groupings of radical
and extremist nature opposing the traditional Islamic centers emerge ever more often.
There are 1,068 Muslim organizations functioning in the republic, 610 of them are registered, 458 operate without registration. In 2011 there were 679 functioning mosques in special buildings, and 217 mosques housed in ordinary buildings. These included former cinema theaters, clubs, shops, gyms, etc. given over to believers by the state, and also some real estate donated to them by private persons. Forty-six mosques were built and commissioned in Bashkortostan in 2010.
Mosques are built on the money from various sources: charitable donations - 40.4 percent; by sponsor-enterprise - 17.9 percent; 15.7 percent were built at the expense of the local community, 15 percent - local administration, 3.9 percent - the local budget; 1.4 percent - the federal budget. Ten percent of imams have parishes with a number of parishioners up to 10 people; 40.4 percent of imams have parishes of from 10 to 50 parishioners; 16 percent of imams have parishes with from 50 to 100 parishioners, 17 percent of imams have parishes of from 100 to 500 parishioners; 13.3 percent of imams have parishes numbering more than 500 people.
Urban Muslim parishes are several times bigger than rural ones, however, the number of rural parishes and mosques is greater than that of urban. According to observations of Muslim priests, 45.2 percent of believers attend mosques daily, on Friday and religious feasts -51.6 percent. Republican parishes consist of an equal number of men and women, but there are individual parishes where there are more men, or more women. The average age of men-parishioners is up to 40 (15 percent); up to 50 years (27.4 percent); up to 60 years (34.5 percent); over 60 (10.6 percent).
By January 1, 2012, there were the following Muslim educational institutions functioning in the Republic of Bashkortostan: the Islamic University and "Nur al-Islam" madrasah under the Central Spiritual Board of Muslims; "Galiya" madrasah, M. Sultanova madrasah, and "Nur al-Iman" under the Spiritual Board of Muslims of the Republic of Bashkortostan. These institutions train religious figures who are well aware of the age-old traditions of the Ural - Volga Muslims and can organize work in localities within the framework of Islam of the Hanafite mazkhab traditional for Bashkirs and Tatars. The problem of Muslim education and shortage of professional priests and imams has not been solved, although society's requirements for them are quite high. The republic needs the clergy with a high intellectual and cultural potential and the possibility of its realization. The Muslim clergy of Bashkortostan realize full well that they need additional education both religious and secular.
Among the specific features of the present development period of Muslim religious organizations in the Republic of Bashkortostan mention should be made of the tendency toward reorganization of the administrative structure in connection with the requirement of the Muslim clergy for the single leader and spiritual board, the growth in the number of Muslim religious organizations and their clerical members, and incomplete formation processes of a system of Muslim education.
The basic documents of the Central Spiritual Board of Muslims and the Spiritual Board of Muslims of the Republic of Bashkortostan single out a number of categories of Muslim priests who have definite rights and duties. Appointment of imams should be endorsed by the mufti. Among special requirements presented to imam-khatybs (heads of mosques) and imam-muhtasibs (heads of district Muslim communities) is profound knowledge of Islam. In their work they
should be guided by the norms of the Sharia, the existing legislation of the Russian Federation, rules of spiritual boards, local religious organizations, and orders of muftis. The rights and liabilities of the clergy are determined in accordance with the rules and duty regulations. (III)
The demographic data show that most spiritual figures are of Bashkir origin, and, as a rule, have been born in peasant or worker families. About thirty percent continue the family traditions to serve Islam. One of the reasons for their turning to religion is religious traditions of their families or influence of devout Muslims from among relatives, friends and acquaintances. Representatives of the Muslim clergy are usually married and have three or more children. As to their nationality, most of those polled were Tatars. At the same time, the spiritual boards of Bashkortostan are not mononational, about thirty percent of those working there do not belong to the titular nationality: at the Central Spiritual Board of Muslims Tatars form a majority of employees, and at the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Bashkortostan most employees are Bashkirs.
The average age of Muslim clergymen is 52. Gradually, their age bracket is from 40 to 60, but a quarter of all imams is now people under 40. In our day there are more young men who have graduated from various religious educational institutions and then have been appointed to the post of imam by spiritual boards in place of self-taught old or middle-aged men. In view of the gradual juvenation of the clergy, there are now more persons who combine two types of activity -spiritual and secular. About thirty percent of imams are engaged in both of them. There are many former agricultural and industrial workers among clergymen, however, in recent years the growing tendency has been observed of former teachers and students, military officers and employees of law-enforcement agencies becoming Muslim
priests. According to the polls carried out in 2005, there were 13.8 percent former Communist party workers, 6.4 percent former educational workers, 12.8 percent former office employees, 27.1 percent industrial workers, 29.3 percent former agricultural workers, and 2.1 percent former students among clergymen. In 2011 these indices were as follows: 14.7 percent of clergymen were persons who held important secular posts; 4.1 percent were Communist party workers; six percent - educational workers; 23.3 percent - industrial workers; 23.3 percent - agricultural workers; 13.8 percent - office employees; 1.7 percent - army officers; 6.4 percent - students. (IV)
The educational level of the clergymen polled was not very high, which could be explained by an objective reason, namely, the abolition of the system of traditional Muslim education in the years of state atheism. Most imams have only the basic knowledge of Arabic, and there were only 4.8 percent of respondents in the 36-45 years age bracket with fluent Arabic and a good theological background. On the whole, a stable trend of s rising educational level of the Muslim clergy can be observed in the Republic of Bashkortostan, which is a definite result of state support of Islamic education in the country and the implementation of concrete measures to improve the system of work of religious educational institutions themselves.
The Muslim clergy considers their material position as average, and housing conditions as satisfactory. Modern Muslim communities are unable to maintain their spiritual tutors at a proper level, which is shown by the fact that quite a few young madrasah graduates do not work in their profession due to economic reasons. One of the optimal forms of gaining a constant source of income for young imams is an additional secular profession or trade. According to the results of the poll carried out in 2011, 1.7 percent of Muslim clergymen have a primary secular education; 35.7 percent - secondary education;
30.4 percent - secondary special education; 4.3 percent - incomplete higher education, and 21.6 percent - higher education. Secondary and secondary special education was mainly in technical specialties, and several men received legal, medical, pedagogical, culinary, and music specialties. (V)
The Muslim clergy consider their main task, apart from fulfilling all orders of Islam, to carry on enlightenment and charity activity. The absolute majority of the imams polled render assistance to young people in getting secular and religious education, finding jobs, helping large and poor families and orphans; they also take part in fighting negative social phenomena, teaching religious subjects, or collecting financial means to build necessary public and religious premises, etc.
The urban and rural clergy have different material and social status. Rural imams are traditionally connected with the village and practically do not differ from the basic mass of rural inhabitants by their social origin and material status.
The expensive hajj can be performed mainly by urban imams. In general, urban Muslim parishes are several times more numerous than their rural counterparts. Besides, the economic welfare of the clergy depends on the number of parishioners. Most rural clergymen carry on their work at the place of their birth. And there are more imams who have studied and learned the canons of Islam independently. There are many men among young imams in towns and cities, who have received a secondary and even higher religious education. It should be noted that there is no connection between the level of religious education and the prestige of a priest among his village believers. Besides, rural Islam is more immune to radical ideologies - most Wahhabi and "Khizb ut-Tahrir" cells are in towns and cities of the republic.
The activity of the Muslim clergy of Bashkortostan has a weak influence on public and political life of the republic. Most imams never
write in the mass media or speak in public at secular meetings. However, the interest of clerics in the development of the political situation in the country and all over the world is quite high: 42.8 percent of imams constantly follow it, and 20.8 percent show interest sporadically. Representatives of the higher echelons of the clergy lead the most active public life due to their social position and personal initiative. They appear in the mass media and take part in various conferences and meetings with representatives of state power bodies.
All problems of their parish most clergymen try to resolve independently, or through the Spiritual Board. Clergymen do not cooperate with scientific and scholarly public, despite the fact that quite a few people call for the need for such cooperation.
One of the key events in the latest history of Islam in Russia, which had broad repercussions in public and religious circles, has been a split of the Muslim umma into a multitude of independent muftiates. Most imams of Bashkortostan assess this split as a negative phenomenon, detrimental to the development of the Russian umma, and believe that it would be better to set up a uniform spiritual board of Muslims in the country. True, part of rural imams does not know anything about the split or does not recognize it. (VI)
Public views of the Muslim clergy of Bashkortostan, by the results of various polls and interviews, show that there are traditionalists, modernists, conservatives, etc. among them. So-called old manS Islam also exists in the republic, which is confined to observing the necessary rites at birth, marriage and death ceremonies. Most imams in the Republic of Bashkortostan adhere to intermediate position between conservative traditionalism and modernism and avoid extremes. The ideological component of this group is attitude to Islam as a sum total of habitual ethnic-confessional traditions which do not
always coincide with its classical canons. In the past decade radically-minded imams came to the fore, which were able to unite young believers, but did not have enough authority among parishioners of the older generation.
In connection with the radical change of the political system the official Muslim clergy is loyal to power. Imams maintain that the state should maximally support the Muslim community. A greater part of the religious figures of Bashkortostan note that the Law "on freedom of conscience and religious associations" is not fully observed at the federal and republican level. The policy of state power bodies of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Bashkortostan toward Muslims is regarded as tolerant, and any discrimination of Islam on the part of state power on the territory of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Bashkortostan does not exist at all.
The Muslim clergy of Bashkortostan demonstrate a high level of tolerance toward representatives of other religions in the spheres of business and personal contacts and readiness to cooperate with them. Judging by the social position and feelings of clergymen, the question of the status of traditional confessions in the republic should not exacerbate in the future. Imams recognize the activation of radical currents and are ready to explain to the population the difference between the teaching of Islam and its radical interpretation. Representatives of the clergy connect the growth of extremism in Russia with social problems (29.1 percent), general alarming situation in the world (28.3 percent), and enemy schemes (25.1 percent). According to the data of the poll conducted in 2005, 18.8 percent of imams observed the radicalization of religious views among young people; 30.2 percent of imams did not come across this phenomenon; 30.7 percent of imams understood this as the desire of young people to learn the foundations of Islam better. Thus, more than 60 percent of
imam did not admit the growing radicalization of religious views among young people. In 2011, 35.2 percent of imams noted the growth of radical religious views of young people, most of them were urban imams; 35.2 percent have not noticed anything in this respect.
The modern Muslim clergy is distinguished by striving for such values as high culture, broad knowledge and the desire to serve people.
Thus, the body of Muslim clergy in the Republic of Bashkortostan is not too big and not closely united. It is only individual leaders who have socio-political prestige and influence. In order to reach higher competitiveness and recognition of the elitist role of the Bashkir clergy, the republican imams who have graduated from Muslim educational institutions should constantly raise the level of their religious and secular education and learn and master more ideological trends. Taking into account the long period of the absence of religious education during many years, the improvement of the educational level of Muslim clergy will take quite a few years, although some positive trends in this respect are noticeable already now, as against the end of the 20th century. At present more than half of all imams in Bashkortostan have a higher or secondary education.
Notes Sources
I Naseleniye Respubliki Bashkortostan [Population of the Republic of Bashkortostan]. Data of the All-Russia population census of 2002. Statistical collection - Ufa, 2006, 225 pp.
II Informatsiya Soveta po gosudarstvenno-mezhkonfessionalnym otnosheniyam pri Presidente RB za 2010 - 2011 gg. [Information of the Council on State-interconfessional relations under the President of Bashkortostan] // Archives of the Council on State interconfessional relations under the President of Bashkortostan.
III Ustav Dukhovnogo upravleniya musulman Respubliki Bashkortostan obraztsa 1999 [Rules of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of the Republic of Bashkortostan] (Archives of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Bashkortostan).
IV Ustav mecheti "Ikhlas" Dukhovnogo upravleniya musulman Bashkortostana obraztsa 1999 g. [Rules of "Ikhlas" Mosque of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Bashkortostan, 1999] // Archives of SBMB.
V Ustav musulmanskoi religioznoi organizatsii Dukhovnogo negosudarstvennogo obrazovatelnogo uchrezhdeniya srednego professionalnogo obrazovaniya "Islamsky kolledzh im. M. Sulktanovoi Dukhovnogo upravleniya musulman Bashkortostana " [Rules of the Muslim Religious Organization of the Spiritual nongovernmental educational institution "Islamic College named after M. Sultanova of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Bashkortostan"]. 2011 // Archives of SBMB.
VI Ustav Tsentralnogo Dukhovnogo upravleniya musulman Rossii obraztsa 1999 [Rules of the Central Spiritual Board of Muslims of Russia, 1999] // Archives of the Central Spiritual Board of Muslims of Russia.
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