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A. Khabutdinov
MUSLIM EDUCATIONAL TRADITION IN NIZHNI-NOVGOROD REGION
A considerable part of the Muslim population of Russia live in two regions - the North Caucasus, which is included in the Southern Federal District, and in the Volga - Ural region, which is included in the Volga Federal District. There are about two million Muslims living mainly in the republics of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan in the Volga Federal District and forming a little over half of the entire population. The administrative center of the Volga Federal District is the city of Nizhni Novgorod. The situation in the Nizhni Novgorod Muslim community has considerable influence on the public sentiments of all Muslims living in the Volga area.
The Volga Federal District includes the republics of Bashkortostan, Mari El, Mordovia, Tatarstan, Udmurtia and Chuvashia, and also Kirov, Nizhni Novgorod, Orenburg, Penza, Samara, Saratov and Ulyanovsk regions, as well as Perm Territory. The very name of the District shows the significance of the Volga River as the geographical and economic dominant of the region. It holds one of the most important places in the Russian Federation by three key indices: the number of population (including five non-Russian peoples numbering more than one million), the share of industrial output in the country's economy, and the number of Muslims. Its share of industrial production in the economy of Russia comprises 23.9 percent, the highest index (the Central Federal District comes second).
The population of the VFD accounts for 22.1 percent of the total number of the citizens of Russia. There are Russians (more than 70 percent), Tatars, Bashkirs, Chuvash, Udmurts, Mordva, Mari, KomiPermyaks, as well as representatives of other nationalities and ethnic groups.
The majority of the VFD population is Orthodox Christians (from 70 to 75 percent), and more than 20 percent are Muslims. The latter comprise about 40 percent of all Muslims in the Russian Federation. A distinctive feature of VFD is the presence of traditional compact districts of the rural Tatar population in all its parts, as well as urban Muslim (mostly Tatar) communities united in Spiritual boards.
According to the All-Russia population census of 2002, of the two million Tatars and about 19,000 Kryashens (Kryashens, or christened Tatars, are an ethno-confessional group of Volga Tatars believing in Christ) living in the Republic of Tatarstan, two million 14 thousand speak the Tatar language
In all, four million 63,000 ethnic Tatars live in VFD, and four million 355,000 speak Tatar. According to the same census, in Bashkortostan, where 900,000 Tatars live, one million 396,000 people speak Tatar; of one million 221,000 Bashkirs, one million 56,000 speak the Bashkir language. On the whole, one-seventh of the entire VFD population and the absolute majority of Muslims living there speak the Tatar language.
In 1988 the Muslims of Nizhni Novgorod had one jameh mosque and two prayer houses. The present picture is quite different. In 2006 there were 59 mosques per 50,000 Tatar Muslims.
In the revival process of religious education in Nizhni Novgorod and its region great attention has been paid to education at mektebs. At the Sunday school attached to the Nizhni Novgorod jameh mosque children and adults of different nationalities have been studying since 1991. In the early 1990s the number of its pupils reached forty. Inasmuch as there are no Tatar schools in Nizhni Novgorod region, the Sunday schools, where pupils study the native language and religion of their ancestors, function mainly at mosques. Many Tatars born in Nizhni Novgorod region now live in big towns and their children come
to the birthplace of their parents during summer holidays. In view of this, summer schools for children were opened in Rybushkino and Safajai in 1994, catering for 700 pupils.
The opening of new mosques inevitably demanded the training of new imams. The point is that there was only one person, Umar-hazrat Idrisov, chairman of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Nizhni Novgorod region, who had professional Muslim education. This was why the question of training new imams was put on the agenda immediately after the setting up of the Spiritual Board in 1993.
On October 29, 1994, the "Mahinur" madrasah was ceremoniously opened in Nizhni Novgorod, close to the cathedral mosque. The opening ceremony was attended by the Chairman of the Council of muftis of Russia Ravil-hazrat Gainuddin and the Chairman of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Nizhni Novgorod region Umar-hazrat Idrisov.
The "Mahinur" madrasah is a non-governmental professional religious educational institution. It was founded and sponsored by the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Nizhni Novgorod region. Since its opening more than two hundred persons have received education there and become "imam-hatyb" and "teacher of the foundations of Islam." About 140 of them now work as teachers and imams in mektebs and madrasahs, or continue studies at higher Islamic educational institutions in Moscow and Kazan. The "Mahinur" graduates now head Muslim parishes in Nizhni Novgorod and the region, as well as in Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Yaroslavl, Kazan and in the Chechen Republic.
At the beginning teachers from secular educational institutions of Nizhni Novgorod and also instructors from foreign countries worked at the "Mahinpur" madrasah. Inasmuch as Muslim educational traditions among the Tatars were broken in the late 1920s, it was necessary to invite non-Russian citizens to teaching at the madrasah during the
initial period, which involved certain dangers. The point is that the active use of foreign teachers could lead to the establishment of control over the madrasah on the part of foreign foundations. Besides, some teachers had quite radical ideas. The popularization of these ideas among students has led to closing down a number of Muslim educational institutions, including the "Yoldyz" madrasah in Naberezhniye Chelny (Tatarstan) and "Furkan" in Buguruslan (Orenburg region). Another important aspect should be mentioned. In the 1980s-1990s a number of madrasahs were opened in the Soviet Central Asian republics, whose students and teachers could not find a common language with the authorities of the newly-independent states. In those years a civil war flared up in Tajikistan and there were bloody clashes in the Ferghana Valley. Some of the fighters who took part in the hostilities and suffered defeat moved to Russia later, where they tried to get teaching jobs at madrasahs. In the 1990s the Chairman of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Nizhni Novgorod region Umar-hazrat Idrisov, in contrast to many muftis in other regions, refused to give work as teachers at the "Mahinur" madrasah to emigrants from Central Asian countries and transfer control over it to foreign foundations.
The leading role in the revival of Muslim education in the Volga region belongs to Nurullah Ismailov, who graduated from the Tashkent Islamic Imam al-Buhari Institute in 1987. He was one of the best Koran readers and preachers. There were several people from Turkey who made a valuable contribution to the revival of Muslim education at mektebs and madrasahs and fulfilled the duty of imams and muezzins.
Thirty percent of teachers at Islamic educational institutions are people up to 30 years of age, 50 percent - from 30 to 50, and 20 percent - from 50 to 60. Twenty-five percent of all teachers have a higher
religious education, another quarter - a secondary religious education, and a half has a higher special secular education.
The following subjects are taught at the "Mahinur" madrasah: Islamic upbringing and education, Islamic faith, interpretation of the Koran, foundations of sermon, life of Prophet Mohammed, history of prophets, history of Islam, history of caliphate, Russian language, Tatar language, English language, world literature, psychology, foundations of economics, records management and accounting, political science, informatics, and physical culture and sport.
The "Mahinur" madrasah trains professional imams and teachers for old and new mosques, madrasahs and mektebs. Its teachers travel to rural districts of the region where they arrange courses for upgrading imams.
Among the pupils of this madrasah are not only Tatars from Nizhni Novgorod and the region, but also Tajiks, Uzbeks, Chechens and representatives of other peoples. The madrasah has become popular and gained respect in many regions of Russia, and its graduates now work as imams in many places of the country.
The branch of the "Mahinur" madrasah opened in the village of Medyany in 2001. It was named "Medina" and had special courses for upgrading imams and teachers of Sunday and general schools. One of the tasks of the courses was to prepare instructors for secondary schools teaching the subject of "Religions of Russia" and having knowledge of the history of world religions.
The opening of the madrasah in Nizhni Novgorod was preceded by painstaking work for the construction of an Islamic complex and preparations for the teaching process. The basic means for building the complex came from private donations of Nizhni Novgorod Muslims. Noticeable assistance was also given by the city and regional administration. This complex is an example to follow for Russian
Muslims. Apart from the madrasah and mosque, it includes a museum, club, polyclinic, and other objects. In other words, the village of Medyany is now a new model of Tatar Muslim rural settlement, being a combination of religious educational center and objects of the social infrastructure and agricultural production. In 2005 the "Medina" madrasah was transformed into an independent self-sufficient educational establishment.
The Spiritual Board of Muslims of Nizhni Novgorod region pays much attention to the quality of training religious personnel and raising their "competitiveness." Its imams, including graduates from the "Mahinur" madrasah, continue education at secular institutions of higher learning of Russia: the Institute of Asian and African Countries at Moscow State University, at Moscow State Linguistic University (studying the Arab language), at Nizhni Novgorod State University, and at the Volga-Vyatka Academy of State Service.
Since 1999 the "Mahinur" madrasah, jointly with the Nizhni Novgorod State University, has been working on the "Islamic Studies" program, within whose framework about 500 people do research in this field. Hundreds of students have received additional education and have been given special certificates. Students of the Nizhni Novgorod State University receive annual stipends from the Foundation of Support of Islamic Culture, Science and Education.
In September 2005 the "Comprehensive program of supporting the sphere of religious education for 2005-2015" began to be implemented. In accordance with this program, the Council of Muftis of Russia, nine Nizhni Novgorod residents have been enrolled in the best universities of Russia: two in the St. Petersburg State University, two in the Moscow State Linguistic University and five in the Nizhni Novgorod State University. In 2005 the Nizhni Novgorod State University introduced a special program to study Russian regions by
students sent to the university by Muslim spiritual boards of Russia. Instructors at the "Mahinur" madrasah teach religious disciplines within the framework of this program.
In 2002 the first group of students taught to become qualified imams was formed at the Institute of Asian and African Countries of Moscow University. Ildar Nurimanov, a representative of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Nizhni Novgorod region graduated from it with flying colors and continued studies at the master courses.
In 2005 the Nizhni Novgorod Islamic Institute named after Husain Faizkhanov received a license for work. This non-governmental educational institution of higher professional learning combines religious and secular education. Among its founders are the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Nizhni Novgorod region and the Regional National-cultural Autonomy of Nizhni Novgorod Tatars. The Nizhni Novgorod Islamic Institute works in close contact with the Nizhni Novgorod State University. A resolution of the third "Faizkhanov Readings" in 2007 envisaged the creation of a system of continuous Muslim education and an infrastructure at the Nizhni Novgorod Islamic Institute and its turning into a full-fledged center of a higher education for Muslims of the Volga Federal District. At present the Nizhni Novgorod Islamic Institute named after Husain Faizkhanov functions as a research center. Its associates have prepared and published books and study aids about the role of Islam in the modern world, Tatar philosophical thought, the history of Islam in the Volga-Ural area, Sufism, etc. In 2009 a reference book and dictionary entitled "Islam in the Volga Federal District" was published, dealing with the history of the development and the present situation of the Muslim communities in the region.
Islamic educational institutions in the region receive quite a few study aids. A considerable part of them has been compiled and issued
by the "Medina" Publishers. Among them are "The Holy Koran," "Canons of Religious Practice," "Family and Marriage Relations," "Funeral Rite in Islam," etc.
In 1999 Damir-hazrat Mukhetdinov became the head of the "Mahinur" madrasah. He was a graduate of the Institute of the Arab language at the "Umm al-Kura" University in Mecca. One of his first initiatives was the creation of a library at the madrasah, which today boasts about 20,000 books. The library collection includes reprinted publications of the 19th century, books in the Arab, Farsi and Tatar languages, literature on philosophy, history, political science, art history, audio and visual aids, and feature films. The library is open to all.
In the past decade a "nucleus" of working imams has taken shape in Nizhni Novgorod. It includes Damir-hazrat Mukhetdinov, first deputy chairman of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Nizhni Novgorod region and rector of the Nizhni Novgorod Islamic Institute named after Husain Faizhanov, Abdulbari-hazrat Muslimov, director of the "Mahinur" madrasah, and Ahmet-hazrat Abdullin, imam of the cathedral mosque and teacher at the "Ikhsan" mekteb. These imams read sermons at the city mosques every Friday. And Friday sermons at the cathedral mosque and at the "Tauba" mosque are read by the chairman of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Nizhni Novgorod region Gayaz-hazrat Zakirov.
In the past decade Nizhni Novgorod and the region served as an example of the well-thought-out combination of religious and secular education. According to the data of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Tatarstan, more than two thousand school pupils of Nizhni Novgorod region study their native Tatar language at thirty rural schools. Tuition in junior forms is conducted in the Tatar language and in senior forms it is studied as an independent subject. Eighty-two
percent of Tatars living in Nizhni Novgorod region speak Tatar fluently.
At the same time it should be admitted that the numerical strength of the Tatar population in the region continues to dwindle, which is an exceptional case in the Volga Federal District. On the whole, Nizhni Novgorod region is living through a demographic crisis. In 1989-2002 its population decreased from three million 719,000 to three million 524,000, which is typical of most regions with the Russian population. According to the data of the Federal Statistical Service in Nizhni Novgorod region, mortality rate exceeded birth rate by 2.3 times, including in urban settlements by 2.1 times and in rural districts by three times in the first six months of 2006. The absolute losses in the numerical strength of the region's population in just one period between January and June 2006 comprised 17,130. At the same time the number of people in the Muslim republics of the Russian Federation constantly grows. In the Republic of Tatarstan it increased from three million 641,000 in 1989 to three million 779,000 in 2002, with the growing Tatar community by 250,000 people.
The ethnic composition of the Muslim population of Nizhni Novgorod and the region has considerably changed in the past several years. For example, there are now about 15,000 Azerbaijanis (according to official figures), but by experts' estimates their number reaches 30-40,000. According to the data of the migration service, during the first six months of 2005 about 25,000 migrants arrived in the region, 70 percent of whom are Azerbaijanis. By experts' estimates, in 2010 the number of Muslims in the region (Tatars, Uzbeks, Azerbaijanis, Tajiks, and others) reaches 300,000 to 500,000. As to the number of the Russian and Tatar population of the region, it steadily decreases.
In 2005 a migration center was set up at the Regional national-cultural autonomy of Tatars living in Nizhni Novgorod region and the Spiritual Board of Muslims. Among its tasks is assistance to Muslims arriving in Nizhni Novgorod and the region from other places, as well as the protection of local Muslims from undesirable influence from abroad. In view of the exacerbation of the situation in the North Caucasus and in some Central Asian countries, as well as the growing influence of radical Muslim groupings, it was necessary to step up preventive work among the newly-arrived migrants.
Since the 1990s Nizhni Novgorod has been turned into a center of Russian Islamic studies. The encyclopedic dictionary "Islam in the European East" notes that during the 1980s - 1990s Islamic research was successfully developing in academic and university centers of Kazan, Ufa, Makhachkala and Nizhni Novgorod, along with Moscow and St. Petersburg.
In 1995 a permanent methodological seminar on the history of Islamic civilization began to function at "Mahinur" madrasah. A great role in turning Nizhni Novgorod into one of the centers of Russian Islamic studies was played by Sergei Senyutkin. He was engaged in thorough research of problems of intercivilization dialogue, the history of the Tatar population in Nizhni Novgorod and the region, and the history of rural Tatar settlements there. After his death his colleagues continued his work embracing the entire Volgo-Ural region, European Russia, and West Siberia.
In 2005 the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Nizhni Novgorod and the region, jointly with the Nizhni Novgorod State University began to publish the quarterly almanac "Islam in the Modern World: Interstate and International Political Aspects." It pays special attention to the situation in the Volga region, the North Caucasus, Central Asia and the
Middle East, that is, the regions where active interethnic and inter-confessional contacts are taking place.
The "Medina" Publishing House is an important center of this kind in Nizhni Novgorod, which has become the first all-Russia Muslim media holding. It prints eleven periodicals:
"Medina al-Islam" - a monthly newspaper of Russian Muslims.
"Minaret" - a quarterly on Islamic problems.
"Mavlid an-Nabii" - annual culturological almanac.
"Ramazanovskiye Readings" - annual theological collection.
"Islam in Nizhni Novgorod and the Region" - annual educational journal devoted to the history of Muslims in the region.
"Islam in the Modern World: Interstate and International Political Aspects" - a quarterly almanac.
"Forums of Russian Muslims" - annual academic analytical bulletin.
"Hajj of Russian Muslims" - a quarterly almanac.
"Faizkhanov Readings" - collection of material of annual conference.
"Modern Problems and Development Prospects of Islamic and Turkic Studies" - collection of material of annual conference of young scholars of Islam and the Orient.
"Islam in the Russian Federation" - encyclopedic dictionary of 12 volumes; so far three volumes have come off the press devoted to Nizhni Novgorod and the region, Moscow and St.-Petersburg. Another volume is about to be ready - "Islam in the Urals."
In conclusion, it should be said that Muslim educational tradition in Nizhni Novgorod and the region existed in the 18th-21st century, demonstrating continuity and stability. During the past decade Nizhni Novgorod has become one of the most rapidly developing centers of
Russian Muslim community in the spheres of book publishing, science and education.
"Izucheniye prepodavaniya Islama v Evrazii", Moscow, 2010, pp. 124-161.
F. Kuliyev,
Cand. Sc. (Hist.) (the North Caucasian Academy of State Service, Pyatigorsk) ON RELIGIOUS IDENTITY OF THE PEOPLES OF THE NORTH CAUCASUS UNDER CONDITIONS OF GLOBALIZATION
The contemporary geopolitical situation in the world made of identity's formation the problem of today, which endures rather big changes and acquires many shades. Depending on the object's identification it is possible to define different types of identity: ethic, religious, confessional and national (state). The formation of identity represents in the Russian Federation an urgent problem, since the Russian identity is extremely differentiated and unsteady. Comprehending and suffering their adherence to the crossing multitude of them, individuals, social groups and societies become the carriers of a complicated plural identity. The problem of the crisis or "the loss" of identity is subject to discussion more often.
The sphere of contemporary contradictions and problems connected with the North Caucasus is rooted directly in the outcome of social-cultural transformations endured by the region for the XX century. Identity is formed and changed under the influence of social conditions as a result of group's mutual action. The individual may perceive himself as a member of many groups immediately, may change his identity and the preference in hierarchy of identities
