Muftiates and the State in Modern Russia the State in Modern Muftiates and loyalty… People of reliable This dissertation presents a full-fledged portrait of the muftiate (spiritual administration of Muslims) in modern Russia. Designed initially for the purpose PEOPLE OF RELIABLE LOYALTY… of controlling religious activity, over time the institution of the muftiate was appropriated by Muslims and became a key factor in preserving national identity Muftiates and the State in Modern Russia for different ethnic groups of Tatars. In modern Russia numerous muftiates play the controversial role of administrative bodies responsible for the enforcement RENAT BEKKIN of some aspects of domestic and foreign policy on behalf of the state. Bekkin’s research focuses on muftiates in the European part of Russia, examining both their historical development and their functioning in the modern context. The analysis draws on academic literature, written and oral texts produced by the ministers of the Islamic religion, and archival sources, as well as numerous interviews with current and former muftis and other Islamic bureaucrats. Basing himself in the theory of the economics of religion, the author treats Russian muftiates as firms competing in the Islamic segment of the religious market. He applies economic principles in analyzing how the muftiates interact with each other, with other religious organizations in Russia, and with the Russian state. The author provides his own classification of muftiates in Russia, depending on the role they play in the religious market. Renat Bekkin is a religious studies scholar at Södertörn University. He holds two Russian degrees: Doctor of Sciences in Economics, and Candidate of Sciences in Law. In 2015 he was awarded the title of Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences. His research interests encompass confessional policy in Russia, history of Muslim communities in the USSR, theory and practice of Islamic economy and finance, modern Islamic law. RENAT BEKKIN RENAT Study of Religions, Historical Studies, School of Historical and Contemporary Studies, Södertörn University. ISBN 978-91-89109-09-4 (print) / 978-91-89109-10-0 (digital) | Södertörn University | [email protected] SÖDERTÖRN DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS SDD 174 PEOPLE OF RELIABLE LOYALTY… Muftiates and the State in Modern Russia RENAT BEKKIN Södertörns högskola Subject: The Study of Religions Research Area: Historical Studies School of Historical and Contemporary Studies Södertörns högskola (Södertörn University) Biblioteket SE-141 89 Huddinge www.sh.se/publications © Renat Bekkin Cover photography: Mufti Shakir Khiyaletdinov and other muftis and minis- ters of the Islamic religion at Conference in defence of peace of all churches and religious associations in the USSR (Zagorsk, Moscow region, May 1952). Source: State Archive of the Russian Federation, f. R-6991, op. 4, d. 457, l. 26. Courtesy State Archive of the Russian Federation. Cover layout: Jonathan Robson Graphic form: Per Lindblom & Jonathan Robson Printed by Elanders, Stockholm 2020 Södertörn Doctoral Dissertations 174 ISSN 1652–7399 ISBN 978-91-89109-09-4 (print) ISBN 978-91-89109-10-0 (digital) Abstract This dissertation presents a full-fledged portrait of the muftiate (spiritual administration of Muslims) in modern Russia. Designed initially for the purpose of controlling religious activity, over time the institution of the muftiate was appropriated by Muslims and became a key factor in preser- ving national identity for different ethnic groups of Tatars. In modern Rus- sia numerous muftiates play the controversial role of administrative bodies responsible for the enforcement of some aspects of domestic and foreign policy on behalf of the state. Bekkin’s research focuses on muftiates in the European part of Russia, examining both their historical development and their functioning in the modern context. The analysis draws on academic literature, written and oral texts produced by the ministers of the Islamic religion, and archival sources, as well as numerous interviews with current and former muftis and other Islamic bureaucrats. Following Douglass North’s theory of insti- tutions, the author distinguishes between the muftiate as an institution and the muftiate as a religious organization. In the first case the muftiate en- compasses a set of rules (restrictions) that are both formal (reflected in the laws, charters of spiritual administrations of Muslims) and informal (not reflected in the legislation). Individual Islamic religious organizations (muftiates in a narrow sense) function according to these rules. By ana- lyzing both the formal and informal precepts which regulate the status and the activity of spiritual administrations of Muslims in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, and continue to do so in modern Russia, the author makes an attempt to explain the viability of the institution of the muftiate. Basing himself in the theory of the economics of religion, the author treats Russian muftiates as firms competing in the Islamic segment of the religious market. He applies economic principles in analyzing how the muftiates interact with each other, with other religious organizations in Russia, and with the Russian state. The author provides his own classifi- cation of muftiates in Russia, depending on the role they play in the reli- gious market. Keywords: Muftiate, spiritual administration of Muslims, mufti, the econo- mics of religion, the institution of the muftiate, Islam in Russia, Islam in the USSR. Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... 11 List of Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER I Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 19 The Muftiate as an Institution ...................................................................................... 19 Research Questions ........................................................................................................ 24 Research Framework ..................................................................................................... 26 Primary and Secondary Sources................................................................................... 28 Previous Research .......................................................................................................... 32 Methodological Considerations ................................................................................... 43 Theoretical Considerations ........................................................................................... 46 Economic Concepts and Theoretical Approaches Applied by the Economics of Religion to the Study of Religion ............................................................................. 48 The Religious Market in Russia .................................................................................... 51 The Issue of State Intervention in the Religious Market .......................................... 61 Douglass North’s Theory of Institutions .................................................................... 66 A Question of Language ................................................................................................ 67 CHAPTER II The Muftiate as an Institution in the Russian Empire (1788–1917) .......................... 71 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 71 Muslim Clergy: The Term and Its Interpretations .................................................... 73 Peter the Great’s Religious Reforms ............................................................................ 84 Catherine the Great’s Religious Reforms .................................................................... 88 Establishment of the Ufa Spiritual Mohammedan Law Assembly ......................... 93 Criticism of OMDSs by Synodal Bureaucrats, Orthodox Clergy and Missionaries ..................................................................................................................104 Criticism of OMDS by Muslim Political Figures and Reform Proposals ............110 OMDS Reform Proposals in 1905–1917 ...................................................................117 New Principles of Religious Tolerance After 1905 ..................................................121 Narratives on the Origin of the Muftiate Among the Volga-Ural Tatars ............128 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................135 CHAPTER III The Institution of the Muftiate in Soviet Russia (1917–1991) ................................. 147 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 147 The 1917 All-Russian Muslim Congress in Moscow and the Election of Mufti ... 150 Diniya Nazaraty: The Muftiate as a Ministry of Religion ...................................... 154 “Tolerated Islam” (1917–1929) ................................................................................. 159 The Policy of Repression. Diminution of TsDUM (1929–1943) .......................... 165 New System of Muftiates (1943–1953): A Religious “Thaw” in the mid-1940s ... 169 Khrushchev’s Anti-Religious Campaign (1954–1964) ..........................................