STANOVNIŠTVO, 2019, 57(1), 97-111 https://doi.org/10.2298/STNV1901097R © by the Demographic Research Centre of the UDK 314.7+2-67(470) Institute of Social Sciences & the Association Research paper of Demographers of Serbia Submitted: 16 May 2019 | First Online: 04 Dec 2019 Migrants and Conflicts within the Local Ummah of the Perm Krai: A Playing Card or a Social Actor? SVETLANA VLADIMIROVNA RIAZANOVA 1 ABSTRACT whether they could change the religious habits of the locals and the status of the This paper aims to demonstrate the role Islamic community in the region. The re- played by newly arriving Muslims in the search is based on two series of semi- life of the local Islamic community in the structured interviews with Islamic leaders, Perm Krai of Russia. This region is char- observing participants during official acterised by the following important fea- events, and expert interviews. The author tures: the Perm Krai is a permanent Is- examines three indicators of the migrants’ lamic community consisting of local eth- growing influence. First, migrant believers nic groups, as well as an Islamic diaspora prevail during religious services in all consisting of various newcomers. There mosques within the Kama River region. are three kinds of migrants here: labour The second indicator is participation in Is- migrants, students, and those who intend lamic social events and projects. The third to apply for citizenship. Permanent con- is the migrants’ attempts to establish a flict takes place between the two Muslim special organisation to communicate with communities that occupy this territory. In the authorities. Today, the migrants play this case, migrants are accused of attempt- no critical role in the Perm Ummah. ing to seize power within the local Islamic community. In this paper, the author in- KEY WORDS tends to explore whether there are genuine causes and foundations for local religious Muslim migrants | Kama River region | di- conflicts, whether migrants could take asporas | religious communities | social over local Islamic communities, and role 1 Perm Federal Research Center of Ural Division of Russian Academy of Sciences, Perm (Russia) | [email protected] 98 S. Riazanova INTRODUCTION of the Nizhniy Syp settlement, June 10, 2011), which includes any new com- This paper aims to demonstrate the role munity members and innovations. played by newly arriving Muslims in The Perm Krai also has an Islamic the life of the local Islamic community diaspora consisting of various new- in the Perm Krai of Russia (the Kama comers. Although 2011 marked a peak River region). This region is character- in internal and external migration, the ised by the following important fea- Perm Krai is still an attractive destina- tures. First, there is a permanent Is- tion for people from other countries. lamic community (Кобищанов 2002). One part of this stream are the so-called It consists of two parts: local ethnic internal migrants from North Cauca- groups (Tatars, Bashkirs, Slavic con- sus, while the others are newcomers verts, etc.) and people born and raised from the post-Soviet republics of Cen- in the North Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Uz- tral Asia and Turkey. bekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Perm Krai also has illegal newcom- Tajikistan. There are 115 local organi- ers who act as a part of the diaspora or sations for Muslims registered in the ummah. Most migrants tend to settle in Perm Krai. All local Muslim organisa- Perm and some regional centres (Kras- tions belong to the Hanafi Madhhab of nokamsk, Kungur, Berezniki, Dobry- Sunni Islam. anka, Usolye) to find a job with a good For local Muslims, faith is actually salary. They are typically involved in only a part of their traditional lifestyle trade, the timber industry, construction, and culture. At the same time, local be- and road making throughout the whole lievers perceive Islam as an important region. However, there are some places part of the Perm Krai’s cultural and his- with mono-ethnic migrant settlements torical heritage. The rulers of the local (for example Chechen villages in the communities are confident that the Karagay and Bolshaya Sosnova dis- Hanafi Madhhab is the best option for tricts; Azerbaijani settlements in the the Ural Muslim population and that villages of Nerdva and Rozh- any spiritual quest in the Ural region destvenskoe). Nowadays, these are leads to the local madhhab and the local compact communities with their own mosque. cultural and religious spaces. It is interesting to note that the local Muslims from other states are usu- imams are very poorly educated. They ally included into their own diaspora, are typically self-taught in religious so there are some certain national com- matters and have graduated only from munities with Islamic elements in the short courses in the Perm Muftiate. Perm Krai. They belong to different They organise their religious activities madhhabs (Shafi’iyah, Khanbali’iyah) on the basis of private relations and the and sometimes to a different branch of principle of spiritual prestige. An Islam – Shiite Islam (Кобищанов imam’s personal skills have a great ef- 2002). Very often some of them have fect on the religious life of each local enough money to support the local um- community (interview with the imam mah and to change some aspects of https://doi.org/10.2298/STNV1901097R Migrants and Conflicts within the Local Ummah of the Perm Krai 99 religious life. As a rule, Muslim new- Perm Krai (who have obtained citizen- comers have a higher level of religious ship), but also by those who have come education than Perm Muslims. It is in- for a short period. This causes frequent teresting to note that the level of mi- change among religious leaders, who grants’ Islamic education is a sticking are identified by family circumstances, point for local religious workers. Most individual plans, and the laws of the of them are confident that newcomers’ Russian Federation. Obviously that re- religious knowledge is not better than ligious affiliation to newcomers is very that of the local Muslims. However, the contextual and can be changed depend- locals seem to harbour a kind of jeal- ing on the situation. More often than ousy towards the migrants. Foreign be- not, they choose the most-comfortable lievers are more active in religious life, conditions for religious life and near- they take part in a number of sacral hol- religious communication. Imams and idays, and they are more likely to make other religious leaders organise reli- donations to mosques and support edu- gious education for children in Uzbek cational projects. and Tajik diasporas, showing them the It appears that the imam of Kuyeda ropes of Islam and teaching them to settlement and the now-deceased mufti read the Koran. of the Cathedral Mosque are more hon- Rural migrant communities don’t est in recognising that newcomers from use special organisational structures Uzbekistan and Tajikistan read the Ko- with legal registration, but always have ran very well during their religious ser- a religious leader for Sabbatical vices (interview with the imam of the “Namaz” prayers and family rites. Kueda settlement, June 9, 2011; inter- They meet for these purposes in one of view with the mufti of the Cathedral the local farmhouses and rent big Mosque, July 07, 2011). It becomes es- houses for important holidays. One of pecially clear when a newcomer starts the members of the collective takes on to play the role of organising routine re- the role of the spiritual leader and leads ligious activities. There’s also evidence prayers during weekdays. of migrant Muslim communities proac- Sometimes, the most-influential tively organising themselves. All leaders are not official migrant imams workplaces where migrants are in- but Sufi teachers, who have a status volved have special houses or rooms within the mosques that’s on par with for praying. These prayer spots are religious leaders. This is due to the in- open to all believers, but actually most fluence of North Caucasus Islam con- of the visitors are Tajiks and Uzbeks nected with a huge network of Sufi or- who elect religious workers (imams) ders, which are more powerful in this from their community. The leaders of region. Sufi teachers play the role of these communities are literate Tajiks the power behind the throne in the local who have received Islamic education at Muslim community; they determine home. where money goes and oversee Mus- Imams are elected not only from lims’ participation in social events. Mi- among permanent inhabitants of the grant religious leaders and Sufi 2019, 57(1), 97-111 100 S. Riazanova teachers influence a range of Islamic religious workers and without a well- organisations and the Perm Ummah in educated laity. For Perm muftis and general. imams, TZDUM was only a formal Second, there is a permanent conflict leader. That’s why subgroups within between two Muslim communities the Islamic community made moves to within this territory. This is related to a enhance local religious practices and situation in the ummah of the Russian consolidate the number of believers. Federation. There are some central or- In 1992, a new community was cre- ganisations that lead Muslims in the ated in the Cathedral Mosque. This new European part of Russia: the Central organisation wasn’t subordinate to the Spiritual Administration of Muslims traditional Perm Muftiate. Ravshan (TZDUM), which has existed since So- Akhmedov became its head in 1995. viet times; the Spiritual Administration He was very effective in organising the of Muslims of the European Part of mosque’s reconstruction and ensuring Russia (DUMER), created after the de- that regular religious services took cline of the Soviet Union, and; the Rus- place. Mukhametgaly Khuzin was ap- sian Association of Muslim Agreement pointed the leader of Perm Muftiate by (RAIS), a contextual organisation cre- the head of TZDUM – Talgat Tajuddin ated as an alternative to other religious – in 1997.