Debates

On the Benefits of Discussions and Metanarratives: Ten Theses

This article is a response to Vladimir Bobrovnikov’s critical review of the issue of the journal State, Religion and Church in Russia and Worldwide devoted to the Islamic reformation. Discussion with the reviewer concentrates on two different issues. First is the organization of interdisciplinary dialogue, its goals, rules and conditions of success.

Paradoxes in the Study of Contemporary Islam in Russia

This paper is the critical comment of a Russian Islamicist on the recent issue of the journal State, Religion and Church in Russia and Worldwide devoted to the interdisciplinary study of contemporary Islam in Russia and abroad. Based on his rich experience of archival and fieldwork among the Muslims in Russia’s North Caucasus, the author discusses the strengths and weaknesses of contemporary scholarship on Islamic reformation.