The book ‘The Alphabet of Islam’ of the Tatar thinker M. Bigi. (1875–1949) was published in Berlin in 1923. It criticizes Marxism and reveals liberal-theological views of M. Bigi. ‘The alphabet of Islam’ is his program work on all the pressing problems of his time. He wrote about which should be the policy of the Russian state towards Islam, the need to renew the canons of Islam to improve the ‘deplorable’ situation of both Russian and foreign Muslims. Bigi criticized the Bolshevik regime in Russia and opposed his ideal in the form of a Caliphate, advocating for the preservation of the Ottoman Caliphate, hoping that in this way the Tatar people will be able to survive as a nation.

This article continues to introduce the little-known theological and legal treatise of Musa Jarullah Bigeyev ’Maida’ (‘The Meal’). It examines the features of its structure, content, and raises questions, why it was written, how deep it is studied till the present day and which ideas from this treatise still remain actual in the modern-day reality.

Transl. by Aidar G. Khayrutdinov.

In this article the philosophical and religious heritage of the Zaydi ‘alimof the 13th century, al-Sayyid Humaydan ibn Yahya al-Qasimi, is investigated. For the very first time in the history of philosophical Islamic studies, the theory of knowledge of the thinker is considered: in particular it is proved that gnoseological constructions of as-Sayyid have anti-Mu‘tazilte character and sum up the result of Mutazilite’ philosophy domination in the XI–XIX culture of Yemen. Separately the original Humaydan’s doctrine about prerequisites of reliable speculation, which designating a knowledge limit by borders of a material universe, is described. Besides, the conceptualistic theory belonging to the theologian’s plume is given in this work: according to Humaydan, the subject comprehends the things in its attributes called as ‘truths’ of all created-by-God objects. As for the Mu‘tazilte’ categories, the ‘alimdevotes to it so many interesting passages of his apology, calling it a "blamed innovation", which seems false according to early Muslim thinkers. Also, the anthropology of the outstanding Zaydi philosopher is considered by the author of article: being a consecutive dichotomist, as-Sayyid assigns to soul a number of negative properties (as like as natural tendency to doubt and defect). Contrary to soul the reason, according to the theologian, is a divine virtue and the pure informative ability which is selectively granted by the Creator to the people. The diff erence between people’s reasons truly defines their degree of ‘right duty’.

The article is devoted to Hassan Hanafi(born 1935), a Philosophy professor in Cairo University, an Egyptian intellectual and one of the key members of the renovationist movement in Islam. Considering Hanafi’s life serves to trace his formation as a thinker. The main componentsHanafi ’s philosophical project are underlined, as well as its background and main sources. It is demostrated that this project might be categorised as a kind of liberation theology. Especially the emphasis is given to such concept of this Egyptian intellectual as ‘occidentalism’. The author’s critical analysis of occidentalist program goes to show its weak points and the ambiguity of its basic assumptions. In conclusion the author summarises three primary aspects of Hanafi’s theoretic position which characterize its unique place in the context of Islamic neomodernism.

Revelation is a concept that has historically sparked many discussions due to its relationship with the metaphysic, its perception of its meaning and its truth. So, throughout the history, subject of metaphysics has faced many challenges. There are different views about the truth and the way of revelation. Ibn Arabi believes that revelation is the descent of the immaterial and rational meanings in the sensual forms on the level of the power of imagination. And he also believes that if man is elevated from the level of humanity to the level of spirituality, God himself speaks to him without intermediary. Imam Khomeini (peace be upon him) believes that understanding the essence of revelation is specific to divine special servants; having self-purity, it is necessary to receive the revelation truths.

The work attempted to disclose juridical views of Dhia’ al-Din Kamali, presented in his work ‘Philosophy of Islam’. The urgency of the problem is largely due to the lack of work, revealing the contribution of Dhia’ alDin Kamali in Islamic jurisprudence. The novelty of the research consists in the fact that the work reveals the philosophical and juridical views оf Dhia’ al-Din Kamali, in which he showed the way of reforming and further development of the Muslim legal system.

The article is devoted to the study of the sociocultural phenomenon of the mosque by considering it as a place of prayer and also as a center of social life of the Muslim Ummah. The article describes the historical development of mosques as a sort of political centre for the Islamic community, as well as the transformation of the role of mosques in the life of nowadays Muslims. The authors give a brief description of the largest mosques that are located within the Middle East, the European Union and the Russian Federation, who claim the role of the center of social life of Muslims. On the example of the Volga Federal district and its capital city of Nizhny Novgorod, the authors analyzed the contribution of mosques in social and political life of the Muslim Ummah, and also gave some recommendations to solve the existing problems of mosques that interfere with the normal development and functioning of the Muslim Ummah in the region.

Analysis of the characteristics of the teaching staffof modern Mektebs the Spiritual administration of Muslims of Republic of Bashkortostan, carried out on the basis of processing data the latest certification allows to identify the social role and the degree of compliance with the objectives of the operation as well as to identify the possible prospects of development of this level of the national system of Islamic education.

The article relates to how common international position of Islamic Umma is formulated by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Some problems of the OIC key decision-making bodies functioning are considered. Political contradictions impeding the process of formulating the concerted Umma position are analyzed. Decisions of the Islamic summits and of the OIC Councils of Foreign Ministers are explored. Much attention is paid to the issue of the Russian Federation and OIC cooperation to settle diffi cult international problems.

The article deals with the interaction between the secular nationalist regime of Hafez al-Assad and his Ba‘ath party and various Muslim communities of the country. The main attention is paid to the government’s policy towards the Sunni community, which makes up the majority of the Syrian population. Both measures to combat radical movements and support ‘moderate’ (pro-government and neutral) directions of Syrian Islam are highlighted. The second part of the article examines the policy of the country’s leadership towards the two main Muslim communities in Syria besides the Sunnis, which are the Alawites and Druze. The author argues that the main goal of the government was to reduce the level of separatism and communalism of these communities by combating traditional institutions of self-organization and mindset for faster integration into Syrian society.