During his speech at the 5th International Conference “Spiritual Silk Road” held in Kazan, Egyptian Minister of Awqaf Osama Al-Azhar noted that Russia and Egypt have very close and long-standing contacts. Many Russian scientists came to Egypt for education, and Egyptian scientists, in turn, traveled to Russia for knowledge. As a striking example, the Minister cited the life story of Muhammad ibn Sa'd ibn Sulayman ' Ayyad al-Tantawi. A significant scientist in the history of Russian science, known in the Russian tradition as "Sheikh Tantawi", played an important role in the dialogue of cultures of the peoples of Russia, Europe and the Muslim East in the New Age.
Due to his wide fame in Egypt and Europe, al-Tantawi was invited to Russia in 1839 on the recommendation of Professor Christian Fren, where he began teaching a course in Arabic at the Educational Department of the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At that time, the St. Petersburg Vedomosti published an article by archaeologist Pavel Savelyev, in which he described Sheikh Tantawi: “…a handsome man in an oriental costume, in a white turban, with a jet-black beard, with lively eyes full of fire… walking with a proud gait along the slabs of the bright side of Nevsky Prospect…”. Later, the sheikh began teaching at the Department of Arabic at St. Petersburg University.
According to official documents, since 1855, Professor al-Tantawi had been fighting a difficult battle with the disease. The scholar, who made a significant contribution to the founding of the Faculty of Oriental Languages at St. Petersburg University, was already very ill in the first years of the new academic department. Sheikh Tantawi died in October 1861. “This life flashed by in old Russia like an exotic flower…”, as the Russian and Soviet Arabist Ignatius Krachkovsky would later note in his book “Above Arabic Manuscripts”, published in 1945. The Russian academician was the first to conduct a thorough study of the life and work of Sheikh Tantawi .
"A gift for the smart ones with messages about the country Russia by Muhammad ' Ayyad al-Tantawi" or "Description of Russia", according to Academician Krachkovsky, is the best work of the sheikh, which reflects the observation and responsiveness, keen vision, subtle and good-natured humor of the Egyptian scholar. The work contains general information on the geography and history of Russia, as well as personal cultural observations and notes of the author concerning everyday life, religion, customs and morals of Russians in the middle of the 19th century.
Al-Tantawi wrote a detailed description of his journey from Cairo to St. Petersburg. The first city on this route was Odessa, where the sheikh arrived from Istanbul in 1840. Odessa was destined to become the place where he met a foreign and distant culture. The Egyptian traveler noted the diversity of life in this city, which was subject to various influences due to its status as the "southern gate of the empire". The scholar also visited Kiev, Mogilev, Vitebsk, and some smaller cities of the Russian Empire. Al-Tantawi repeatedly admitted that he consulted the works of Russian historians while writing his manuscript.
The sheikh begins the third chapter, “On the customs of the Russians, their morals, holidays, religions, happiness and achievements in science and art”, with the following story: “It is known that the tradition and character of the Russians are expressed in the generosity, pride and sociability of people, especially since they began to develop in the field of culture and science…”. It is noteworthy that al-Tantawi connects the development of the best qualities of the Russian people with the education of the nation in the era of Peter the Great, that is, with the influence of the West. Al-Tantawi demonstrates a certain breadth and impartiality, emphasizing the activities of the tsar-reformer. He devotes much attention to retelling Russian history, where almost all the facts are associated only with Peter I.
The history of the Russian Empire in the 1840s, when the sheikh was writing his work on Russia, was marked by the reign of Nicholas I. The emperor sought to prevent possible revolutionary upheavals and took measures aimed at solving acute social problems in the field of education and technical progress. In his work, al-Tantawi avoided mentioning any political, military or economic aspects. The author spoke favorably of the emperor himself and compared him to the sultan, before whom he knelt.
In the Sheikh's observations and conclusions about religion, the general meaning of his remarks is of interest: the common people and merchants remain adherents of Orthodox traditions, while the upper class has moved away from everyday religious culture. Describing the customs, traditions and life of Russia, al-Tantawi sometimes refers to analogies in the Islamic world. But researchers (M.V. Vintz , "Sheikh Tantawi on the Russian Orthodox Tradition") also note the presence of unspoken parallels, implied by the author. The Sheikh wrote for Muslims in general and his compatriots in particular, who will understand all the accents without unnecessary words. In these moments, the special view of an Eastern man is revealed.
Russian researchers also studied the scientist’s observations about Russian women (M.V. Eremina, “Russian Women of the 19th Century in Al-Tantawi’s Description of Russia”). The Sheikh was amazed by their freedom in communicating with men and their behavior. For example, the scientist wrote the following about his stay in the city of Mogilev: “…then I saw several more women who played instruments and danced, and no one criticized them for it. And this is quite common for this country. And sometimes women dance in pairs with men, since a man dancing with an unknown woman is not something reprehensible here, if no feelings are shown. Here it is considered a norm of politeness and decency. Thus, time passes in joy and happiness”.
Al-Tantawi in his work not only admired the beauty of Russian women, but also spoke with interest about their openness and freedom. The attraction to beauty could not help but influence the scholar's notes. The poetic descriptions of girls in the sheikh's work form a unique background for calm prose expositions. However, al-Tantawi's respectful admiration for Russian women is largely determined by his native Muslim culture.
Sheikh Tantawi's work "A Gift for the Smart with Messages about the Country of Russia" - the perception of the Nicholas era by an Egyptian traveler and representative of Arab scholarship is interesting and important, because it provides an opportunity to look at the history and culture of Russia from an interesting perspective. The life and professional path of Muhammad ' Ayyad al-Tantawi are studied in detail, as evidenced by the rich diversity of materials following the Conference for the 200th anniversary of the professor of the Oriental Faculty of St. Petersburg University. However, Sheikh Tantawi's "Description of Russia" has still not been published in Russian for the general reader. Perhaps the reminder of the scholar's merits, voiced at the international level by Minister Al-Azhar, and the general interest in the person of the sheikh will change the position of the manuscript.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Public Domain