Islam in Russia

Piety, Authority and “Popular Ijtihad” in the Online Space of Russian Muslims during the Pandemic

This article examines the first reactions of the Russian Muslim com‑ munity in the social networks to the spread of the coronavirus (mostly February‑May 2020). We turn to the concepts of authority and legitimacy; the ideas of Brian Turner on the performative role of in‑ formation technology for the institution of religious authority; Gary Bunt’s discussion of the democratization of Islamic knowledge in the online environment; Olivier Roy’s concept of individualization of Islam; and Peter Mandaville’s idea of decentralization of power in the Islamic tradition.

The Concept of “New Muslim” between the Two Revolutions on the Pages of “Shura” Journal (1908–1917)

The periodical press of the Tatar Muslims of the Volga‑Urals region of the Russian Empire, which was published between the two Revolutions of 1905 and 1917, was a public platform that allowed geographically dispersed communities of Muslims in Russia to lead open discussions of various urgent social issues. The “Shura” journal became one such platform that responded to challenges coming from large‑ scale social changes in Russia and in other key regions of the Islamic world (Al‑Nahda in Egypt, the decline and collapse of the Ottoman Empire).

Jadidist Economics: Early 20th Century Tatar Religious Reformers on Usury and Banks

The article deals with three main approaches of Tatar religious re‑ formers of the early 20th century to the problem of the Quranic usury ban. They all believed of the traditional scholastic Muslim doctrines as being outdated and hampering the economic development of the com‑ munity. They offered their own modern interpretations on the basis of various methods of reading the sacred texts.

Protecting “Traditional Islam” from “Radical Islam”: Discourse of Islamophobia in the Russian Media

A number of papers on the sociology of Islam are based on an assumption about the domination of a negative, or at least “problematic” nature of Islam. Many authors connect such image with terrorism, violence and migration. A securitization of Islam occurs not only in the media, but even in academic research through reproducing the Orientalist approach. Despite the fact that the narrative of Islamophobia is firmly entrenched in many types of discourse about Islam, the simple question remains unanswered: how is this happening?