CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VII (1, 2) Contemporary-Eurasia-3new | Page 65

LIANA HAYRAPETYAN
school of Sunni Islam. They played an important role in the region and
contributed to the spread of Islam in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Tatar
Muslims are famous modernists or jadids. As a reform movement Jadi-
dism encourages individualism, welcomes all social activities. It calls for
the unifi cation of Islamic values with liberalism and democratic values. It
encouraged Tatar Muslims to learn the Russian language and culture. Due
to Jadidism Tatar Muslims developed a pragmatic variant of Islam, be-
came closer to Europe and established economic ties. Tatar Muslims cre-
ated a special image and their missions are to bridge Russian and Muslim
world and represent Russian Muslims. 13
The growing trend towards radicalism was unexpected to the region.
But the events in the 2010s brought changes in the lives of Tatar Mus-
lims. Radical groups became active, even demonstrations in Tatarstan
were held in support of the Islamists in the Middle East. These changes
are described in the literature as “Caucasization of Tatarstan.” 14
The spread of wahhabism is linked with the training of clergy and
their education, especially with those who studied abroad. 15 After the col-
lapse of the Soviet Union, Tatarstan did not have suffi cient funds for con-
structing educational institutions, also the collapsed economy of Russia
contributed to the establishment of ties with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia
not only gave grants to Tatar students but also fi nanced the constructions
of mosques. DUMRT (Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Repub-
lic of Tatarstan) started to send young Muslims to Arabic states for reli-
gious education. 16
The collapse of the SU also brought Turkish Gulen Movement to
Tatarstan. The movement is considered to pursue radical views and is
banned in several countries including Turkey. Gulen started to open pri-
vate schools and conduct educational activities. Russian authority viewed
these activities as a threat and shut it down in 2008. 17
Today, religious education is becoming more relevant and is gaining
more importance in Tatar Muslim society, it has a growing appeal espe-
13
14
15
16
17
Khakim, “Russia and Tatarstan”; Filatov, “Tatarstan: At the Crossroads”; Nadir Devlet, “The
Tension at Russia’s Center: Radical Islam in Tatarstan,” On Wider Europe, Foreign Policy
and Civil Society Program (2012); Yusupova, “Making Ethnic Boundaries in the Society”.
Malashenko, “The Dynamics of Russian Islam”.
Eduard Ponarin, “The Potential of Radical Islam in Tatarstan,” Central European Univer-
sity (2008); Malashenko, “The Dynamics of Russian Islam,” Carnegie Moscow Centre
(2013);Nadir Devlet, “The Tension at Russia’s Center: Radical Islam in Tatarstan,” On Wider
Europe, Foreign Policy and Civil Society Program (2012).
Azat Akhunov, “Rol' Zarubezhnogo Faktora v Stanovlenii Sistemy Religioznogo Obrazo-
vanija v Postsovetskom Tatarstane: Problemy i Puti Ikh Preodoleniya,” (in Russian), [For-
eign Factor in the Formation the System of Religious Education in Post- Soviet Tatarstan:
Problems and Ways of Overcoming Them]” Islam in the modern world, vol. 12, no. 3
(2015): 179-188.
Devlet, “The Tension at Russia’s Center”.
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