How did art contribute to the spread of Islam? What heritage did Tatar theologians leave to posterity? What kind of dialogue should be established between representatives of different confessions and nationalities in modern world? These questions were at the heart of the III International Forum ‘Theological Heritage of Muslims in Russia’ that was held within the walls of the Bolgarian Islamic Academy.
The forum was organized by the Academy with the support of the Foundation for the Support of Islamic Culture, Science and Education. This year the event is represented by the two conferences – V International Bolgarian Readings ‘Heritage of Muslim Theologians of Russia: Issues of Preservation and Study’ and III International Student Scientific and Practical Conference ‘Formation of Civil Identity of Muslim Youth in Russia and Abroad’.
Forum is a venue for discussion of topical issues
The event was attended by more than 200 people from Russia and neighboring and distant countries. The participants included representatives of state bodies, leading Russian and foreign scholars of theology and Islamic studies, imams, public figures, professors, students, representatives of mass media. According to the organizers, the forum is aimed at uniting efforts of representatives of scientific and expert community, spiritual leaders and heads of higher educational institutions in solution of acute problems, issues of international peace and harmony and development of modern theological school.
In his address to the participants of the forum, which was held both online and offline, Rector of the Bolgarian Islamic Academy Ainur Timerkhanov noted that the forum was a unique venue where unique experience of interaction between representatives of different nations, different social, professional, confessional communities and state authorities was developed.
‘Since 2019, more than 600 people from 40 regions of the Russian Federation and 20 countries have visited the venues of the Forum. It is gratifying that over 300 applications from Russia and foreign countries have been submitted for participation at the current Forum. Thus, the Forum has become a kind of a trademark of the Bolgarian Islamic Academy, a place of attraction for many scholars and specialists’, Timerkhanov noted. The Rector also expressed his belief that the event could become a platform to discuss topical issues of development of religious education, issues of preservation and multiplication of Russian theological heritage that had been formed over centuries and become the basis for spiritual revival of all nations of the country.
‘The Academy pays much attention to revival and development of the national theological heritage – the project ‘Centre of Islamic Heritage’ is being implemented, which is aimed at studying and introduction into science and popularizing the works of prominent national theologians who have made a significant contribution to the development of intellectual thought throughout the Muslim world. In July 2021, the Laboratory for Restoration and Digitalization of Old Manuscripts and Old Printed Publications opened at the Centre. Therefore, we have provided a full cycle of work with manuscripts, beginning with their search, finding, acquisition, restoration, digitization and ending with their introduction into science through preparation and defense of master’s and doctoral theses and independent research projects’, the Rector of the Academy concluded his speech.
‘There has been a lot of talk in recent years about the complexity of the growth of theology in Russia’
As Albert Dirzizov, Head of the Department for Cooperation with Religious Associations of the Department for Domestic Policy of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan, noted in his welcoming speech, the need to discuss the prospects of Muslim thought is not in doubts. ‘In recent years, much has been said about the complexity of the growth of theology in Russia. In many Muslim regions there is a shortage of qualified personnel for Muslim education. Now we realize that a religious ideology should not only be based on religious dogmas and scripture, but also include achievements of secular science. Information technology is of particular importance in this direction. A new edition of the Kazan Quran, prepared by the specialists of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan, is one of the results of combining religion, science and technology. A few days ago, there was a presentation of a specially designed computer font ‘Kazan Basma’. This is a milestone, since reading the Quran awakens in people the desire to know its essence, find answers to topical issues and serves as a source of development of the Muslim thought’, Dirzizov highlighted.
In the speaker’s opinion, in the Republic of Tatarstan special attention is paid to harmonization of ethno-cultural and civil identity. There is an understanding of the importance of combining religious and ethno-national identities, as indicated by the concept ‘Islam and Tatar World’’, Dirzizov concluded.
In his turn, Viktor Demidov, Chief Federal Inspector for the Republic of Tatarstan, stressed the fact that the issues of preserving and developing the traditions of Muslim theology have been in the focus of attention of national and foreign specialists. ‘Theological thought today is called not only to respond to the challenges of modern world, but also to help solve life situations of ordinary believers. Today’s forum is aimed at uniting the efforts of representatives of scientific expert community, spiritual leaders, heads of public associations, solving current problems, consolidating international peace and harmony, as well as preserving and developing modern theological school’, Demidov is convinced.
The federal expert is convinced that one cannot deny the fact that Russian Muslim theologians and thinkers made a significant contribution to the development of world Islamic science, and their works are still popular among a wide range of scholars and believers. ‘Today it is important to jointly preserve and promote this heritage, educate young people on the principles of respect for representatives of different peoples and confessions’, Viktor Demidov admonished the audience.
‘Muslims of Russia have left behind outstanding heritage’
Abdulgamid Bulatov, Head of the Department for Monitoring Interethnic and Inter-confessional Relations, Prevention of Extremism and Interaction with religious Associations of the Federal Agency for Nationality Affairs, also welcomed the audience. He noted the growth of the forum and the increased diversity of issues addressed, the importance of decisions made at the event for the further development of Islamic education and the resolution of other issues related to the Russian Ummah. ‘There are many worthy events held within the framework of the development of Islamic education. But this forum occupies a special place, which is determined both by the role of the Bolgarian Islamic Academy as the flagship of Islamic education in Russia, and by the fact that the events held by the Academy are connected with the task set by the President of the Russian Federation – the revival of national schools of Islamic theology. In this respect, the publication of a textbook dedicated to the formation of the Russian Civil Identity of Muslims is of great importance’, Bulatov is convinced.
Alikber Alikberov, Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, also spoke about the importance of studying and further preserving the rich theological heritage of Russian Muslims. According to him, theological heritage of Russian Muslims is a part of the All-Russian and world heritage. ‘Muslims of Russia have left behind outstanding heritage. As far as our work is concerned, I would like to note that at our Institute we are creating new opportunities for research and preservation of the heritage of Muslim peoples in our country. For instance, the Sheikh Zayed Centre of Islamic Manuscripts has been established, and we are actively working on digitalization of manuscript collections. One thing is handwritten collections of universities and museums, which are under reliable protection, and another case is private collections, where manuscripts disappear and deteriorate with time. I invite you to join this work, which is being carried out not only in Russia and Muslim communities in Russia, but also abroad, particularly in Central Asia’, Alikberov addressed the forum participants.
The expert also recalled the video project of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences ‘Islamic Enlighteners of Russia’, which can be viewed on YouTube.
‘Bolgar was destined to become the region from which the starting point of Islam spread in our country begins’
The participants of the International Forum received many greetings and wishes for productive work both online and offline. Thus, Ali Khasanov read out the welcoming speech of Farit Mukhametshin, Deputy Chairman of the Group of Strategic Vision ‘Russia – Islamic World’. ‘It is profoundly symbolic that the event is held in the ancient city of Bolgar. It is Bolgar that was destined to become the region from which the starting point of Islam spread in our country begins. It is important that the forum dedicated to the problem of preserving and developing the Russian Muslim national theological heritage is on the agenda of a major academic and educational centre such as the Bolgarian Islamic Academy. A system of training and retraining specialists in Islam that meets the challenges of our time is a strategic task. The results of such activity, apart from reducing the level of pseudo-religious extremism, should be the formation of an Islamic theological school, increasing the competitiveness of Russian Islamic educational institutions, and the progressive development of educational process. Today, when the study of national theological heritage is more relevant than ever, it is necessary to make efforts to update these works, to translate books from Arabic and old Tatar into modern Tatar and Russian, to publish religious literature with emphasis on the works of representatives of classical Muslim and Tatar theological schools, to create reliable sources about Islam, both for specialists and citizens in a simple and accessible form in view of current trends’, the letter says.
A special role in this activity is played by the Group of Strategic Vision ‘Russia – Islamic World’, whose initiative has started work on compiling a complete bibliographical catalogue on theology from sources stored at the St. Petersburg branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and at the Kazan Federal University. The welcoming text says that this initiative will make it possible to study Tatar theological heritage deeper and will give further impetus to the development of unique Russian Islam.
‘The harmonious combination of Muslim and Christian architecture, preservation of historical sites in Kazan and the Republic and revival of religious centres in Bolgar and Sviyazhsk has earned Tatarstan wide renown. Within the framework of the celebrations dedicated to the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by Volga Bulgaria, we believe it is also necessary to continue preserving monuments of Islamic architecture not only in the Republic of Tatarstan, but also in Russian regions – in Moscow, Kasimov, Crimea, the Caucasus, the Volga region and others, where historical monuments are represented. I am convinced that our joint activity will not only make it possible to bring national Islamic education to a new level by closely linking it with practice, but also will give a new impetus to the study of Islam, its scientific, cultural and spiritual fields’, the greeting says.
‘Studying and preserving the theological heritage plays a special role’
As Kamil Samigullin, Mufti of the Republic of Tatarstan, noted in his greeting to the conference participants, nowadays studying and preserving the theological heritage plays a special role. ‘Today our publishing house ‘Khuzur’ publishes about 300 titles of works. The majority of them is our theological heritage, which is of great importance. Books by Shigabutdin Marjani have been published. But the most important thing I would like to stress is work on the Quran. For seven years we have been preparing tafsir in the Russian and Tatar languages. In 2016, we prepared a new edition of the Quran on the computer and presented it to the Uzbek side, where it has been printed twice. Our Kazan Quran has also been printed in Belarus and Turkey. And a year ago, a historic event took place within these walls – it was decided to recreate the ancient Kazan font. In the meantime, we have managed to scan each letter of the old Quran edition and attach it to the font. Today we can write in the old font in Word’, the Mufti highlighted.
Kamil Hazrat is convinced that holding of such conferences and forums is of great significance, because Muslim peoples of Russia have rich theological heritage that requires detailed study and wide dissemination. ‘We have a lot to share. There are a lot of books in the Caucasus and in Kazan that can and should be studied. The first Quran prepared by Muslims was printed in Kazan in 1803 in 2 volumes’, Kamil Samigullin explained.
Islam and Orthodoxy go side by side in Tatarstan
In his turn, in his welcoming speech from Metropolitan Kirill of Kazan and Tatarstan, Rector of Kazan Theological Seminary, Archpriest Vladimir Samoilenko mentioned the ties that have long united Islam and Orthodoxy in Russia. As an example from history, he cited the publication of a translation of the Quran by Professor Gordiy Sablukov of the Kazan Theological Seminary. ‘Once it was the only book through which Russian readers could get acquainted with the texts of the Quran. In his turn, a prominent scholar, writer and enlightener of the Tatar people Kayum Nasyri taught at the Kazan Theological Seminary. Cooperation between Muslim and Orthodox schools continues today. Nowadays the Kazan Theological Seminary and the Bolgarian Islamic Academy cooperate in research, fundamental and applied works and joint projects’, Samoilenko explained.
The forum participants were also warmly welcomed by the Chief Rabbi of Kazan and the Republic of Tatarstan, Itzhak Gorelik, Rector of the Russian Islamic University at the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia, Artur Suleimanov, Director of the Institute of International Relations of the Kazan Federal University, Ramil Khairutdinov, Consul General of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Erlan Iskhakov, Rector of the Islamic University of Kyrgyzstan, Abdishukur Narmatov and others.
‘Understanding and respecting another religion is a dialogue’
‘To understand and respect another religion, even if you do not share its position, honesty and openness towards the others is a dialogue, sustainable religious tolerance, which has become a positive reality’, this thought was expressed by Rector of the Russian Islamic Institute, Chairman of the Council for Islamic Education Rafik Mukhametshin. In his talk ‘Inter-Confessional Dialogue in Russia: Historical Aspect’ he noted that an inter-confessional dialogue cannot be based on convincing others of their truth.
In his turn, Director of the Imam Bukhari International Research Centre, PhD in History, Associate Professor Shovosil Ziyedov, speaking to the participants with his report ‘On the Qadi Library in Sebzar District of Tashkent during the Russian Colonization Period’, emphasized the importance of studying the archive collections of qadi courts, which are sources for studying social history.
Al-Butyi Muhammad Tawfiq Ramadan, Chairman of the Levant Union of Scholars, Professor at the Faculty of Shariah Sciences at Damascus University, Doctor of Shariah Sciences, told about the unpleasant idea of radicalism and extremism. ‘Islam is the way to coexistence, stability and rejection of extremism ideas’, the Syrian scholar is convinced. During his speech, he also noted that he maintained close ties with Tatarstan and was familiar with the international and interreligious situation in the Republic, which is now at the highest level.
Doctor of Shariah Sciences, Associate Professor Al-Laham Badig Al-Said in his speech dwelled in more detail on how the works of Dagestani scholars were widely spread in Damascus and Levant. It is known that one of the first resettlers from Dagestan to Syria was scholar Musal Muhammad, who went to the East in 1716 in order to live in a country with a strong position of Islam. ‘Later there were subsequent relocations, including the Mufti of Sheki, Sheikh Muhammed Chelebi. Thus, we can see that Dagestani scholars left behind rich theological written heritage in Syria, which is studied now by scholars’, the speaker concluded.
The forum participants were particularly interested in the presentation by Vyacheslav Akhmadullin, Senior Researcher at the Bolgarian Islamic Academy, Doctor of History. The expert told the audience about what role written heritage played in the construction of the unified historic past of the peoples of the post-Soviet states. ‘As a source of research I have chosen video and photo documents and frontline letters from the times of the Great Patriotic War. By studying them I managed to find out that ethnic Muslims of the USSR, despite the war and atheisation of the country, continued to maintain their traditional Islamic and national values’ Akhmadullin shared his results. He also addressed the audience with the request to search their archives for letters from or to the frontline, which included an Islamic factor. Even if just one letter per 10 000 residents is found, it will already be a remarkable event, capable of advancing the work in the field of assessing the role of Muslims in the Great Patriotic War.
Ibrahim Marash, Professor at the Faculty of Theology, Management, Philosophy and Religious Studies, Specialist in the field of History of Islam and Muslim Theology, told about Abdurahman Umerov, a Tatar enlightener and scholar, who was one of the latest students of Shigabutdin Marjani, a prominent scholar and historian. He studied Arabic philology, philosophy, fiqh, logic and history for 8 years under his guidance. Abdurahman Umerov described and developed Muslim personal and family law in detail.
Another presentation introduced the famous Tatar poet Sufi Allahiyar, who lived in the territory of Central Asia in the XVIII century. Niyaz Sabirov spoke about him. ‘His work (‘The Support of the Doomed’) introduces us to the rules of adab in relation to the teacher, Muslims, what rules one must observe in order to be awarded the mercy and satisfaction of Allah. Topics that have to do with moral principles are relevant in all times, even today’, the speaker is convinced.
Presentation of a monograph ijtihad in the Islamic tradition
‘Ijtihad in the Islamic Legal Tradition and Heritage of Tatar Theologians of the Late XVIII – Early XX Centuries’ – this is the title of a scientific monograph, published by Abdullah Adygamov, Head of the Department of Humanities and Arabic at the Kazan Islamic University, a professor at the Bolgarian Islamic Academy. The presentation of the edition took place within the framework of the III International Forum ‘Theological Heritage of Russian Muslims’, which is held these days within the walls of the Bolgarian Islamic Academy.
The scientific monograph consists of three sections, each of which is devoted to a certain issue. Thus, for instance, in the first part of the work the author provides opinions regarding the periodization of the formation and development of Islamic law, accompanying each stage with a scholarly analysis. A brief but informative essay on socio-political structure of the Arabian Peninsula contributes to understanding of the genesis of the Islamic legal system. The second section of the monograph provides a detailed analysis of the concept of ijtihad in theological and Islamic traditions. The author gives the linguistic and terminological meaning of the term ijtihad, the history of its emergence and transformation of understanding of ijtihad.
Separately, Adygamov raises the issue of the supposed closure of gates of ijtihad in his work.
Adygamov devoted a special place in the monograph to the analysis of ijtihad in the heritage of Tatar theologians, consistently examining the views of Marjani, Kursavi, Barudi, Fakhretdin and other outstanding Tatar scholars. The third and final section of the monograph considers ideas of collective ijtihad, revealing three spheres of its application.
What is the place of ijtihad in the Islamic legal system? What was the attitude of Tatar thinkers towards such a tool of law-making? What is ijtihad? These are the questions Abdullah Adygamov answers in his monograph. ‘ijtihad is actively discussed in our environment, because ijtihad has actually shaped Islamic law as we know it. And even now it is still a tool that makes it possible to deal with these or those new events and phenomena arising in the world. This applies in particular to the COVID-19 pandemic, when Friday prayer was cancelled for a time and the way in which it is performed has changed (for instance, whereas Muslims used to try to stand closer to each other, now they are obliged to keep a certain distance). We are witnessing the emergence of new fatwas’, Abdulla Adygamov noted.
According to Adygamov, in some research one can notice that ijtihad is presented as an independent judgment or a rationalistic approach to the assessment of social phenomena or theological attitudes. ‘Such definitions cause problems, since traditional ijtihad is not committed to those issues that are already sanctified in the Quran or Sunnah, but only touches upon new events and phenomena. At the same time, we should remember that ijtihad can be carried out only by specialists. Apparently, for this reason, in the Middle Ages, after the fall of Baghdad, when Islamic law begins to stagnate, one can read in this or that literature the idea that theologians have spoken out regarding the closure of the gates of ijtihad’, Abdullah Adygamov explained.
There were seven criteria for defining mujtahid. What kind of person can be called a mujtahid? According to Imam Gazali, this person must know 500 ayats in Islamic law; know the chain of transmission of hadiths; have knowledge of cases of ijmaa; understand the methodology of theological argumentation characteristic of fiqh; be fluent in the Arabic language; know cases of cancellation of specific ayats; as well as have an opportunity to check the authenticity of hadiths.
In his monograph, Adygamov examines ijtihad from the time of the Prophet and righteous caliphs, during the formation of madhhabs in the Umayyad and Abbasid periods and up to the present day. ‘Without understanding the history of the formation of ijtihad, we cannot come to reliable conclusions regarding its essence’, the author of the work concludes.
Ilmira Gafiyatullina