‘Islam with a Good and Peaceful Essence’ is the title of a new book by Russian Islamic scholars and researchers on current issues of Islam. The presentation of the edition published in Russian was held in Kazan and gathered not only representatives of a scientific community, but also followers of the Islamic faith, as well as those who are interested in Islam.
What is ‘traditional Islam’ in contemporary Russia? According to the authors of the collective monograph, this concept is an artificial construct used by the state to denote the post-Soviet model of state-confessional relations. One of its main features is the demonstration of loyalty of religious organizations and believers to the political regime in the country. Those who criticize the state can be classified by authorities and official religious institutions as representatives of so-called ‘non-traditional Islam’. What does such division entail? The book considers not only the history of the term and general theoretical aspects of the concept of traditional Islam, but also, and most importantly, its regional character in Tatarstan, Bashkortostan and the Crimea.
The editor and compiler of the book became orientalist Renat Bekkin. According to Azat Akhunov, the author of one of the articles, an Islamic scholar and employer of the Institute of the Tatar Encyclopedia of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan, the book was originally published in the English language. It was released in 2019 in Sarajevo. The Russian edition, which was presented, is a revised edition, updated. In fact, this is an original new work.
‘The book tells about traditional Islam, which is much talked about, but nobody has given a clear definition of the concept. In the Caucasus, traditional Islam is equated with Sufism. In our article with Leyla Almazova we tried to analyze all the versions of the concept of ‘traditional Islam’. Unfortunately, we also have not managed to give a definition, since there are a lot of different opinions. However, if we refer to the history, we will find out that back in Soviet times our ethnographers suggested such a term as ‘ritualistic, ethnographic Islam’. It was this term that helped preserve the faith during the Soviet period of atheism. The rites preserved the Tatar language, while the language preserved the religion’, Akhunov explained to the audience.
In the expert’s opinion, changes in this direction began to occur only recently, with the emergence of new Mufti of Tatarstan Kamil Samigullin. Akhunov noted that earlier issues regarding Islam were connected with mundane matters (for instance, whether one can leave paint on a cemetery and the like). ‘Issues close to Shariah seldom occurred. Jalil Fazliyev, addressing Muslims, asked: ‘What will you talk about on the Day of Judgment? About paint or namaz?’ Yes, there is a certain order from the authorities for a traditional, peaceful, non-confrontational, native Islam. The clergy also has to adapt some new, previously unknown phenomena (for instance, the Immortal Regiment). Since Kamil Samigullin became Mufti of Tatarstan, significant changes have taken place. He answers questions on Shariah, considers and explains different complicated issues, as well as conducts work in social networks. Islam with his emergence in Tatarstan can be called ‘theological Islam’, as mundane things are receding into the background. The Mufti and his entourage give religious formulations and interpretations of various phenomena related to Shariah’, Azat Akhunov concluded.
Leyla Almazova, a senior researcher at the Marjani Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan, also joined her colleague’s words in the course of the edition presentation. The author of the monograph is convinced that the very notion of ‘traditional Islam’ is not inherent to the Arab-Muslim arena. ‘The closest analogue of the term is taqlid. So what is traditional Islam? Generally speaking, there are three types of terms in relation to ideological philosophical thought: the self-name, the name given by scholars and the term that is given for political reasons. It is fair to say that the idea of traditional Islam did not originate in the area of the Eastern world; it is a purely Western artificial construct (France, Germany, England). This term does not have any roots in the culture itself, but there is a need of society, which is trying to give an answer and formulate a definition themselves’, Almazova stated her position.
One of the blocks of the monograph ‘Islam with a Good and Peaceful Essence’ became Sufism, which was narrated by Rezeda Safiullina-Ibrahimova. She is profoundly convinced that Sufism is cognition of Islam with the heart, and a new book will make it possible to find answers on many questions and will prompt deeper reflections. ‘Sufism in Tatarstan: Revival of Traditions, Export or Expansion’ – this is the title of my article. There are many different myths around Sufism; this is one of the most interesting topics in Islam. I personally found it interesting to study Sufism in its practical representation. As far as Tatarstan is concerned, there are quite a few Sufis in the republic, and different tariqats are represented: the Kadiri, Naqshbandiya (traditional tariqat for the Tatars). There also used to be Yassaviy tariqat, but in the Middle Ages it was replaced by the Naqshbandiya one, which does not preach complete renunciation of active life. The main principle here is that the heart is with Allah, while hands are at work; to live an earthly life, but all the time to improve your spirit, to work on your soul’, Safiullina-Ibrahimova told the audience.
The article says that before the revolutions there were active traditions of Sufism in Tatarstan. This was the main form of spreading Islam in the Volga-Ural region. ‘It became a strong form of preserving one’s faith, identity and spiritual core. Sufi preceptors played an important role for self-preservation of the nation and for self-consciousness. After the October Revolution, the traditions were broken off’, the expert added. To date, Sufism and brotherhood are turning into transnational movements. Somewhere it is even possible to receive initiation via the Internet and joint the tariqat in this way. Among the general public this phenomenon has been called neo-Sufism.
The book focuses particularly on the Grozny International Conference that took place in Chechnya in 2016. This section was prepared by Damir Shagaviyev, a professor at the Bolgarian Islamic Academy. ‘I am talking about a Sunni International Conference, where the meaning of ‘ahlü sunna wa l-jama'a’ (people of Sunna and harmony) was discussed. While the English version of the book chased one purpose, the Russian version was mainly focused on our Turkic, Tatar Islam’, Shagaviyev explained.
The expert highlighted a high level of work on the reviewing and editing of the edition, and the professional approach of editor Bekkin, who managed to provide the authors and all those interested with a good scientific venue.
‘As far as the concept of ‘traditional Islam’ is concerned, more than 10 years ago in the newspaper ‘Ummah’ I also raised this question, discussed what was traditional for us. Traditionally, the Tatars have been Sunni, Hanafi, Maturidi, in the Naqshbandiyya tariqat. This is also stated in works by Murad Ramzi’, Damir Shagaviyev added. He also noted that every year in Jordan a list of 500 influential Muslims of the world was published in English. In the foreword from issue to issue an article by some Islamic scholars from America is repeated, stating that today’s Muslims are divided into 3 main groups: traditional (about 90%), fundamentalists (9%) and modernists (less than 1%).
‘In my article I told about the Conference in Grozny, which brought together in Chechnya the majority of representative of Russian Muftiates, representatives of clergy from former Soviet republics, all over the world, prominent scholars who specialize in this area and have academic degrees. The outcome of the meeting was the publication of a declaration which has been translated into many languages of the world. But Russian Muslims separately issued another document – the Grozny fatwa. The document was different from the international one, which caused many misunderstandings, including in the mass media. This is why I tried to combine the material of a theological nature and described the situation that was discussed on the Internet (how Muslims reacted to that conference). The fact that Muslims gather together and have their conferences, where they discuss pressing issues in an academic way, is a very good thing. This is right, when different points of view are discussed and presented to the court of interested people’, Shagaviyev concluded.
Ilmira Gafiyatullina