Problems and Perspectives of the Revival of Muslim Communities As Seen by the Imams of Tatarstan

Abstract

In the Republic of Tatarstan the revival of Islam is accompanied by the formation of the primary cells of the Muslim communities - makhallya. However, many Islamic researchers and Muslims recognize the fact that these communities do not play any substantial role in the life of believers. The article is based on the results of the sociological study involving the mosque attendants; the study was conducted by the Islamic Studies Centre of the Academy of Sciences of Tatarstan. A total of 300 Imams who took part in two-week courses at the Retraining Centre for Religious Organizations and Teachers (Kazan Islamic University) were polled during the academic years 2011-2012 and 2012-2013; they represented 23 out of 45 mukhtasibats of the Republic. Expert interviews and other documents were also used in the paper. The study reveled the basic problems impeding the proper functioning of the reviving Muslim communities in the region such as financial problems (combating financial problems would give economic independence to makhallya), personnel problem (despite sufficient number of religious educational institutions), lack of library resources including high quality religious literature, lack of unity among all Russian Muslims, and need to overcome ideological discrepancies within the Ummah.