This article examines the history of the translation of the Qur’an into Latin. The main attention was paid to the study of the transformation of the approach to the translation of the Qur’an into Latin. During the long historical period (XII–XVII centuries) its basic principles remained unchanged, but the ways of their practical application were significantly changed. The study shows that the combination of polemical and research components forms the basis of the translation approach developed in the translation of Robert of Ketton and Corpus Tholetanum (c. 1143), a collection of works on Islam, created in Toledo under the guidance of Peter the Venerable. These leading components of the translation approach constitute the basis of all other translations of the Qur’an into Latin. However, since Mark of Toledo’s translation (c. 1210) the structural characteristics of these components greatly change. In addition, the correlation between them also changes: while in the twelfth century the polemical component significantly shaped certain translation decisions, by the seventeenth century it was definitively detached from the translation itself. This transformation prepared the ground for the modern scientific approach to the translation of the Qur’an.

The article examines the language of the Qur’ān as an object of interdisciplinary study. Based on the research of the periods of the formation of the text of the Qur’ān and the available approaches to its description, the authors compare history and modernity, determining the prospects for the development of the Qur’ānic studies. As an example of particular areas of scholar research, the paper considers Qur’ān manuscript as an object of separate research. The authors cite both classical methods of codicological research and available solutions for digital processing of Arabographic manuscripts. Attention is also paid to the study of the language of the Qur’ān in a historical perspective through the development of the Arabic linguistic tradition. Another example of the application of an interdisciplinary approach was the study of the possibilities of carrying out linguistic analysis of the text of the Qur’ān using methods of automatic data processing. The effectiveness of methods of sentiment analysis was also considered. The use of Information and Communication Technologies in humanities in general, and the possibilities of processing Arabographic text in particular, have created new methods and perspectives for the development of the Qur’ānic Studies. An analysis of the Qur’ānic corpus, the use of artificial intelligence methods in conducting textual research will make it possible to verify some facts related to the historical development of the Arabic language, to reconstruct certain features of the linguistic situation on the Arabian Peninsula in the pre-Islamic period, as well as in the first centuries of Islam. In this regard, it is necessary to consider the Qur’ānic text in all its diversity using both traditional and innovative research methodologies, including taking into account the latest achievements of the humanities and natural sciences.

This paper is devoted to the source research analysis of the collection works and letters of a famous Dagestani Sheikh Muhammad al-Yaragi, which are written in Arabic and known as ‘Al-Athar’. Despite a keen interest in the personality of the sheikh, practically nothing was known about the content of this book, the only one extant from his written heritage. Meanwhile, the research of these collected works allows us to provide unique insight into the views and beliefs of this famous sheikh. In this regard, the authors examined in detail the structure of ‘Al-Athar’, having determined the genre variety of the manuscript materials included in it. The collection consists of two qasids, texts of several duas and instructions, a biography of the sheikh written by his son, as well as his extensive correspondence with various Dagestani theologians and communities. The collection ends with a small work in poetic form by Jamaluddin al-Gazigumuki, in which he quotes his silsila, i. e. a consistent chain of succession of the sheikhs of the Naqshbandi tariqa. The materials under research provide interesting information about the political and spiritual life of Dagestan society in the first half of the 19th century. At the same time, they provide an insight into the resumption of the interrupted Sufi tradition in the region.

Taha Hussein is one of the greatest thinkers of Egypt, who was provided with high intelligence and extensive knowledge in different areas. Formation of his personality coincided with the dramatic moments in the history of the country associated with the British occupation of Egypt. The author of paper traces the role of T. Hussein in the development and reform of education in Egypt in the early thirties of the 20th century. Moreover, the author analyzes the pedagogical concepts of T. Hussein, i. e. the idea of the democratization of education and overcoming the inertia of public consciousness, which blocked the creative development of the individual. As the Minister of Education of Egypt, T. Hussein was able to implement a number of his ideas on the progress and reform of education, the most important of which was the establishment of free primary education for all segments of the population, regardless of social status and material welfare.

The article deals with the problem of political influence on scholarship. It analyses the existing versions of an ethnographic essay by Oleg Vilchevsky, a prominent Soviet Orientalist. Alongside a published version the ethnographic essay “The Mukri Kurds” — an author’s typescript, “Mukri Kurdistan,” has been found in the Scientific Archive of Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (the Kunstkamera) of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The first materials for this essay were collected by Vilchevsky during his journey to Iran in 1942 as he prepared a military-political description of the Kurdish regions. Before publication, the state-controlled structures removed or made the author remove from the essay a number of important thematic blocks, e. g., on interconfessional relations in Mukri Kurdistan of Iran (focusing on Mahabad), descriptions of various meetings Vilchevsky held with Kurdish activists. The paper analyses the content of this scholarly study and the problems related to the publication of the essay in the context of Vilchevsky’s participation as a Soviet military officer in the implementation of the Soviet Middle Eastern policies in 1942–1954. The author of the essay “The Mukri Kurds” apparently strived to maintain scholarly neutrality yet the facts and argumentation contained in the different variants of this study were consistently reviewed and added or omitted depending on the existing political situation. The paper raises the question about the subjectivity or autonomy of a scholar serving a government — something effectively dismissed and neglected in the work of Edward Said on the relationship between politics and scholarship in the field of Middle Eastern studies.

The article, based on open sources, examines the Programme for the deradicalization of Islamists, which has been operating in Somalia since 2013. The program, along with other local projects, is an example of ‘soft measures’ when interacting with Islamists. The article notes that the Program includes five main stages, or phases: outreach, reception, screening, rehabilitation and reintegration. The biggest problem is caused by the screening stage, when ex-fighters must be classified into two groups ‘high-risk persons’ and ‘low-risk persons’. People with low risk are voluntarily sent to one of 9 rehabilitation centers. The author points out that the Serendi Center in Mogadishu provides the residents of the programme with opportunities for school education, vocational training, and psychological assistance. Sessions with imams are held in Serendi as part of the religious deradicalization programme. Center residents have the opportunity to keep in touch with their family through regular visits and weekend vacations. An important stage of the Program is the reintegration phase. The position of the leaders of the communities has a decisive influence on the success of the Programme. The author notes that the key problem in the implementation of the deradicalization programme is the problem of safety for all involved actors: programme participants, their families and employees of the rehabilitation center.

The ongoing armed conflict in Yemen between the forces of ousted President M. Hadi, supported by the coalition units of the Gulf monarchies led by Saudi Arabia and the Houthi group Ansar Allah, has a destabilizing effect on the entire Arabian Peninsula as a whole. In this regard, the creation of a deradicalization program and its implementation will help to solve several main tasks. First, to change the worldview of members of Islamist groups and movements from radical to moderate. Secondly, it will significantly reduce the level of instability in the Middle East region, where the majority of armed conflicts is conducted under religious slogans. The main focus of this study is on measures to counter radical Islamism, which were taken by the Yemeni authorities before and after the events of the Arab Spring. At the initial stage, the Yemeni administration’s use of the de-radicalization program showed impressive results. However, the ongoing fighting, as well as the reluctance of the Yemeni elite to Fund the deradicalization programme, led to its closure. The subsequent events of the Arab Spring brought additional instability to the domestic political situation in Yemen. Attempts to revive the program of deradicalization by the new Yemeni administration have failed. In general, the work done by the Yemeni authorities to deradicalize Islamism has demonstrated the ability to use non-violent methods of struggle, but their use is associated with serious financial investments, which the Yemeni state is not yet able to make due to the difficult financial situation caused by the prolonged armed conflict.

This article is devoted to the development of the Muslim community of the Republic of Tatarstan (RT) in 2020. By this paper the author continues the series of publications that explore the Muslim community of Tatarstan in the 2000s and 2010s. The article concludes that stability in the religious sphere is generally maintained in the Republic of Tatarstan. Muslim spiritual boards of different regions of Russia do not coordinate their activity in general, therefore, their points of view become closer to those of local authorities. The same could be said about the Muslim Spiritual Administration of the Republic of Tatarstan. In the Republic of Tatarstan, as well as in other republics within the Russian Federation, the role of Islam in spiritual, educational and cultural aspects has to grow due to the loss of status of national values in secondary education. However, the number of students in the native language courses at the Muslim Spiritual Administration of the Republic of Tatarstan at the beginning of the 2020 academic year is approximately equal to the number of students of only one secondary school.

The authorities of the Republic of Tatarstan continue to find out activities of extremist organizations prohibited by the Russian law. Law enforcement agencies are actively fighting them; it leads to the elimination of their groups in the Republic of Tatarstan, arrests, and sentencing to imprisonment.

The paper is devoted to the study of practices of Islamic education in right-wing observant Muslim families, namely of their homeschooling. The paper focuses on (1) how Muslims and their children cope with difficulties in observing Islamic precepts and performing the ritual side of religion in public schools, (2) what aspects of standard secular education and school environment prevent children from adopting Islamic worldview, (3) what educational practices are used by parents for religious education of children. As observant respondents affirm, homeschooling provides opportunities for maximum immersion of a child in the environment of a religious community. An informal approach to educational process and an individual schedule frees up some time for learning the basics of Islam as well as allows children to spend more time with parents and the external religious environment. According to advocates of homeschooling, this ensures a smooth and non-violent adoption of religious values and better acquisition of moral norms. However, the paper concentrates also on the opinion of Muslims, who do not support homeschooling. Namely these respondents argue for desirable control over religious homeschooling, which should be provided by state institutions as well as by registered religious organizations.

This paper argues for the thesis, the systematic interaction between state and society in the sphere of Islamic education is extremely useful. The modern trends of Russian educational system in Russia as well as worldwide tendencies prove that religious education deserves to play an important role in social life. The article focuses on the specifics of the functioning of Islamic educational organizations within the social and legal framework of a secular state and on the need to take into account current trends in the development of the state and public management system when building a modern system of continuous religious education in Russia.