CESR
Central Eurasian Studies Review

Publication of the Central Eurasian Studies Society

ISSN 1538-5043 (Print)
ISSN 1543-7817 (Electronic)

Volume 1, Number 1, Winter 2002

Supplement to the on-line editon.

The following is an extended version of the book abstract which appeared in print version of the Central Eurasian Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 1.
 

Book Abstract

S. M. Prozorov, comp. and ed. Islam na territorii byvshei Rossiiskoi imperii. Entsiklopedicheskii slovar', vypusk 1-3 [Islam on the territory of the former Russian Empire: An encyclopedic dictionary, fascicle 1-3]. Moskva: Izdatel'skaia firma "Vostochnaia literatura" RAN, 1998-2001. ISBN: vyp.1: 5020180475; vyp. 2: 5020180476; vyp. 3: 5020180477.

Submitted by: Aleksei A. Khismatulin, St. Petersburg, khismmail.wplus.net (edited and supplemented by Daniel C. Waugh, University of Washington, Seattle, USA, dwaughu.washington.edu)
 

The first step in implementation of the scientific project devoted to Islamic studies on the territory of the former Russian empire has been taken by The Islamic Group, organized in the St. Petersburg Institute for Oriental studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.  The Islamic Group consists of Prof. Stanislav Prozorov, Prof. Anas Khalidov, Prof. Oleg Akimushkin, Dr. Efim Rezvan and Dr. Alexei Khismatulin.  Its task has been to collect and edit materials from different regions of the former Russian empire. These materials, prepared in the form of articles by local scientists from St. Petersburg, Ufa, Kazan, Tashkent, Baku, Moscow, Samarqand, as well as from England, France, Germany and the USA,  were gathered by the editorial board in the first fascicle published in 1998 in Moscow. They were based on a thorough analysis of a wide variety of narrative sources and archival materials in the major languages of Islam. Additionally, extensive use was made of the ethnographic, epigraphic, archaeological evidence and folklore that were collected through field research. Chronologically, this volume covers the period from the introduction of the Muslim religion into what was to become the former Russian/Soviet Empire up to the present day.

The conception of the project as well as the principles of the selection of material to be included in it were determined already in the late 1980s. The editor and his colleagues believe that an objective and accurate study of Islam in the former Russian/Soviet Empire must of necessity be based on a common conceptual framework and methodology. The essence of this methodology is in acknowledgment of the fact that, since there is no universally accepted model of the "ideal" Islam, all manifestations of regional Islam are equally valid; there are no objective grounds for preferring one regional variation within the Islamic religion over another, and one must not speak of "orthodox" as opposed to "heterodox" Islam or juxtapose "authentic" with "inauthentic" Muslims. This general idea has been realized by scholars coming from a broad variety of educational backgrounds and research profiles, who specialize in the study of history and culture of the Muslim peoples of the Russian Federation, Central Asia, and the Caucasus.

The first fascicle (Moscow: Vostochnaia literatura, 1998) contains 87 articles written by 31 scholars on the history and contemporary situation of Islam and of its institutions in the European part of the former Russian Empire, including St. Petersburg, Moscow, Bashkiria, Tatarstan, as well as the Northern Caucasus and Central Asia. Arranged in alphabetic order are contributions on Muslim scholars and statesmen, mosques and madrasas, objects of popular worship and pilgrimage centers, Sufi brotherhoods and Sufi terms as well as religio-political movements, parties, newspapers, the study of al-Qur'an, and al-hajj in Russia.

The second fascicle (Moscow: Vostochnaia literatura, 1999) contains 81 articles written by 28 authors. Most of them are articles devoted to Central Asia, the Caucasus and Tatarstan.

The third fascicle (Moscow: Vostochnaia literatura, 2001) consists of 87 articles written by 33 scholars and contains a large number of colored illustrations. 

Approximately 90-95% of the articles do not appear in the well-known Encyclopaedia of Islam (Leiden, Brill). All of them cover the following main aspects on Islam in the Russian empire:

1. Articles on Muslim regions: Bashkiria, Karachai, Tatarstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Turkistan, the Crimea, the Northern Caucasus, Daghestan, Eastern Europe, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tver, Checheno-Ingushetia (listed in bold print below);

2. Articles on festivals, rituals and terms  Gul-i surkh; Sayil; Tug; Chilla  Dr. B. Babadzhanov (Tashkent); Marsiyya  by Dr. O. Nabieva (Tashkent); Darwishona; Dawra; Ishan; Khatna-tui; Kori; Ok-suyak; Pir; Shahimardan; Tura  by Dr. S. Abashin (Moscow); Otin and Katm-i yazdahum by Dr. Annette Krmer (Bochum, Germany)  here we can find exclusively female rituals which are largely unexplored   and others;

3. On Sufi brotherhoods and sheikhs  al-Ghijduwani  by Prof. Oleg Akimushkin (St. Petersburg); Ghulam-ata; Husayniya; Ibrahim-hazrat; Dukchi-ishan  by Dr. B.Babadzhanov (Tashkent) & Dr. A.Muminov (Tashkent); Gulshaniya by Dr. Nesrin Aleskerova (Baku, Azerbaijan) and many others;

4. On religious dynasties, thinkers and leaders  Madjidi, Salaheddin  by Dr. F.Abdullaeva (St. Petersburg); at-Tirmidhi by Prof. Alexander D. Knysh (Michigan, USA); as-Samaniya  by Prof. S. Prozorov (St. Petersburg); al-Zamakhshari  by Prof. Anas B. Khalidov (St.Petersburg); Khazrat-i Imom; Poraduz, khwadja; Turk-i Jandi  by Dr. B. Kazakov (Bukhara); Abu Muslim  by Dr. V. Bobrovnikov (Moscow); Muhammad Parsa by Prof. Jrgen Paul (Halle-Wittenberg) & Dr. A.Muminov (Tashkent); Waisov by Dr. Michael Kemper (Bochum, Germany) and many others;

5. On cult constructions and symbolic attributes  Chashma-yi Ayyub; Chhar Bakr; Chirag-dan; Dakhma; Khazira; Khazira Chashma-yi Ayyub; Sagana; Tug Dr. E. Nekrasova & Dr. B.Babadzhanov (Tashkent) and many others devoted to different Muslim memorials, madrasas and masjids in various regions;

6. On ethnography: Barbari; Beluji; Jamshedi; Khazara  written by Dr. Lutz Rzehak (Berlin) and others;

7. On thematic aspects such as: Mahkama shariya by Dr. V. Bobrovnikov (Moscow); Muslim clergy by Dr. M. Farkhshatov (Ufa); Muslim coins by Dr. B. Kochnev (Samarqand), which in fact represents a history of the Muslim monetary system, and some others;

8. On political parties and Muslim periodicals  Muslim faction by Dr. L. Yamaeva (Ufa); Islam Majallasy by Dr. A. Yunusova (Ufa) and others.

All articles are written in Russian.  There are nine indexes and tables of context in both Russian and English. Many contributions are co-authored. The fourth fascicle of the lexicon as well as the first volume, which is planned to gather the first three fascicles under one cover, are under preparation. The total volume of all three fascicles is around 2.6 million characters.

Islam na territorii byvshei Rossiiskoi imperii: Entsiklopedicheskii slovar'
(Islam on the Territory of the Former Russian Empire: Encyclopaedic Lexicon)

List of articles of the three fascicles

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