Jadidism and the Reform of Muslim Education in Russia at the Turn of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

The concept of Jadidism - the reform movement among Muslims in the Russian Empire - at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and to the present day has beeen of interest to researchers. Scientists discuss it not only the issues of terminology, but also in regard to determining the exact date of the occurrence of this phenomenon and determining its most important stages. Representatives of this movement have been recorded on the pages of history, and their achievements today are an extremely rich source for analysis, mainly due to the ideas they proclaim, which at the turn of the centuries were courageous, and sometimes innovative. The article aims to present the concept of Jadidism in the context of socio-religious changes among the Muslim (Tatar) community in the Russian Empire at the turn of nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The Ideas of Jadidism in Contemporary Russia

The development of the Muslim religion in the Russian Federation is undoubtedly a very important and, at the same time, interesting element influencing the contemporary socio-political situation in Russia. One of the most important components of religious revival in this country was the change in the Russian Muslims’ attitude to issues related to religiosity. In the conditions of religious pluralism, Muslims in Russia, scientists, thinkers, and publicists often refer to the intellectual output of Russian Muslim socio-political activists whose activity took place at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The article aims to show how the jadidism movement is being received in contemporary Russia. Nowadays, the ideas of jadidism are also the pretext for discussing the nature of Russian Islam and its future.

Islam in the Post-Soviet area – Caucasus

Islam is seen as a homogeneous religion. It is a common belief that the synonymous of Muslim is Arab. Meanwhile, according to statistics of 2013, Muslims constitute over a 28% of the world population. The followers are spread all over the globe and can be found in every country. Thus, speaking about homogeneity and identification of all believers with the Arab world is a serious mistake. Islam in the post-Soviet area, has a characteristic dimension. Caucasian republics, initially conquered by Muslim Empires in the majority submitted to Islamisation. The Soviet reign and atheistic propaganda weakened religion, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Caucasus and Central Asia experienced the revival of Islam. Today Georgia is a Christian country with a Muslim minority, Dagestan is the most Islamized Caucasian republic with Sunni majority while in Azerbaijan Sunnis are a minority compared with Shiites. Therefore, how much similar and how much different is Islam in Azerbaijan, Dagestan and Georgia?