Official islam in Russia : an analysis of past and present

Abstract

In this thesis, the properties of the official Islamic institutions in Russia are analyzed. Starting from Catherine II, Russia developed a religious-centered approach towards its Muslim subjects. In this direction, Orenburg Spiritual Board brought about the employment of ulama by the state in 1788 and similar institutions have been utilized by the Soviet Union and the Russian Federations. In this manuscript, through evaluation of primary and secondary sources, number of consequences, which was perpetuated by the initial policy change of Catherine II, were detected. The effects of this policy change have been seen through common dynamics in Muslims relations with the state from the foundation of Orenburg Spiritual Board until today. First, as expected and hoped by the state, the inclusion of ulama into the state bureaucracy contributed to the order in Muslim regions. Second, the state has always supported the ulama figures it found close to the governments’ aims and fiercely fought against the ones that prioritize the interests of their community at the expense of central government. Third, the more oppression the state put the more people appealed to unregulated Islamic institutions.