The Holy Quran instructs: “Donэt acquire each other’s property by unjust means, but only through trade by mutual consent”; in the second sura of Al- Baqarah it is said: “Allah has permitted trade, but He has forbidden lucre”. Islam has a special attitude towards entrepreneurial activity. Muslim faith recognizes fair trade in economic activities approved by the Almighty. In Russia, where Islam has closely interacted with other religions and cultures for many centuries, many of its adherents have been successful in implementing commercial initiatives.
Today Russia actively cooperates with the Islamic world in the economic sphere: large-scale trade, joint investments, and the development of Islamic banking. There is a need for specialists who understand how the economy works under Sharia law and what path it has taken within the Russian state in the past. “Entrepreneurship and Islam: Russian Historical Experience” is the first scientific publication prepared by teachers of the Kazan Federal University in 2016. The book tells in detail about the commercial activities of Muslims in the Russian Empire.
The asceticism of entrepreneurs, as the most energetic and dynamic part of society, allowed the Muslim population to develop in tsarist Russia. Reinforcements in the ranks of the guild merchants in the 19th century testify to the extensive activity of Russian Muslims in the business environment. If in 1801 32 Muslim families were included in the guild of merchants in Kazan, then in 1860 there were already 72 names. Dynamic growth was also observed in the Kasimov and Simbirsk provinces. In the latter, by the end of the century, Muslim entrepreneurship acquired the strongest positions, along with the Orenburg, Ufa and Kazan provinces.
Muslim entrepreneurs invested significant capital in the sphere of industrial production. In 1849, the successful merchant Suleiman Akchurin built his first factory in the Simbirsk province. In the 50s of the 19th century, cloth factories were opened in the Saratov province by the industrialists Deberdeevs. Along with traditional Muslim industries (paper weaving, soap making, leather), new industries are being developed: glass, chemical, oil and metal processing, and others.
In the glass industry, great success was achieved by the well-known in business circles merchant Akhmetdzhan Saidashev, in oil refining success was achieved by Rakhmatullin and Subaev. The Rameev brothers achieve success in industrial gold mining. Muslim traders and industrialists actively used advertising, placing laudatory advertisements about their companies in newspapers, magazines and specialized publications. At the same time, there are no facts indicating the participation of Russian Muslims in types of commercial and industrial activities disapproved by religion.
At the end of the 19th century, representatives of the Muslim bourgeoisie of Russia established joint-stock companies. Among them: “Partnership of the Staro-Timoshkinsky Cloth Manufactory of the Akchurins” (established in December 1891); “A. Saidashev and his sons” (year of establishment: 1894, goal: development of glass production and tea trade in Kazan and other cities of the empire); “T. Akchurin Trade and Industrial Partnership” (established in 1895 in the Simbirsk province). Since 1912, the “Partnership of the Teplovskaya Cloth Manufactory of A. Agishev” launched active industrial activities in the Simbirsk province.
During this period, one of the problems in the development of Muslim entrepreneurship in Russia was the lack of its own banks. In accordance with Sharia law, charging interest on loans was prohibited in the Muslim world. The Holy Quran says: “Allah destroys growth and grows alms. Verily, Allah doesn’t love every unfaithful sinner!”; “Those who devour growth will rise only in the same way as the one whom Satan overthrows with his touch will rise”. The problem of banks was discussed on the pages of the Tatar economic press. It should be noted that from 1908 to 1913, the first economic magazine for Russian Muslims, “ Iqtisad ” (“Economics”), was published.
Muslim entrepreneurs of pre-revolutionary Russia, in addition to business, took an active part in charity. For centuries, the most significant institution of Muslim philanthropy was the voluntary donation of property in the form of a foundation - “waqf”.
In Russia, such funds began to be established by large Muslim entrepreneurs in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In Kazan, the most famous waqf institution was the orphanage opened by the Yunusov merchant family in February 1845. The orphanage pupils were provided with food and clothing. Children also received medical care and primary education.
The Muslim shelter operated on the principles of autonomy and financed itself. The source of its existence was a house with stone benches - the Yunusovs donated the building to a charitable institution so that even after their death the shelter would continue to operate. Renting out retail space allowed the institution not to close due to lack of funds.
The history of entrepreneurial activity of Muslims in Russia shows that adherents of Islam on this path, like any business community in general, were characterized by the desire for enrichment and greater profits, as well as practicality, prudence, the desire to save money and business acumen. But in accordance with the principles of Sharia, Muslims from the business community put at the forefront of their activities not only the increase of personal capital, but also the interests of the revival of the entire Muslim society.
Many representatives of the Muslim business world, having achieved commercial success, changed the vector of their aspirations towards other areas of public life: the political struggle for the rights of fellow believers and educational activities in its various forms, including literature and poetry. The last generation of Muslim entrepreneurs (before the 1917 revolution) showed a high degree of social responsibility, acting as carriers of progressive ideas and popularizers of education and science among Muslim peoples.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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