This article is timed to the 165th anniversary of the major Muslim theologian of Russia Rizaetdin Fakhretdin (1859–1936) and deals with the examination of his works on the life and activities of Husain Faizkhanov (1823–1866). The article shows that R. Fakhretdin was the author of the first works specially devoted to Kh. Faizkhanov and thus actually became the founder of Faizkhanov Studies. The article analyses the materials of R. Fakhretdinov’s materials published in the biographical work Asār (1908), the journal Shura (1916), and some unpublished works that appeared later are analysed. The article shows that R. Fakhretdin was purposefully engaged in the study of H. Faizkhanov’s activities and also purposefully collected the related materials. The range of sources he used is wide and varied. The main of them was the manuscript work of Shikhabetdin Marjani (1818– 1889) Vafiyyat al-’aslāf va takḥiyyat al-’akḫlāf, supplemented by documentary materials and oral testimonies obtained as a result of R. Fakhretdin’s own research. He details a number of information reported by Sh. Marjani. Some reports and comments of R. Fakhretdin were confirmed as a result of subsequent research.

The article examines the example of ijtihad by Musa Jarullah Bigiev (1875–1949), which consists of a critical analysis and refutation of the Shari‘a provision prescribing the death penalty for apostates who renounced Islam. The material is based on Bigiev’s comments to one of the rules of fiqh, collected and presented by him on the pages of the work “Qawa‘id fiqhiyyah” (Kazan, 1910). Bigiev calls one of Shari‘a goals “protection of life,” i. e. the protection of the rights of both humanity as a species and each individual. At the same time, he considers the “right to freedom” to be an innate and inalienable human right. As an integral part of this right, Bigiev considers the “right to freedom of religion” as a Shari‘a principle, which is designed to prevent reprisals against those who change their faith and, in light of this conclusion, raises the question of whether the practice of the death penalty for apostasy is consistent with Islam. In conclusion, the idea of the existence of two types of Muslim fundamentalism, essentially different from each other, is voiced.

In the context of the ongoing civil war in Syria, the official Muslim clergy of the country, represented by the Ministry of Waqf Affairs, has developed a number of theological and legal resolutions on the most pressing issues, united by the common names Fiqh al-Azma (“crisis theology”). They pay special attention to the issues of criticism of takfirism, non-denominationalism, nationalism, explaining the meaning of jihād, the prohibition of riots and revolutions, the religious legitimacy of the national state, interreligious and interfaith dialogue and collaboration within one country, the differentiation of the concepts of Islamic politics and political Islam. This study analyzes the sources and methodology of constructing this theological concept, which, according to the developers themselves, is an example of a moderate renewal (tajdīd) of Islamic theological discourse, the main purpose of which is to confront Fiqh al-Fitnah “theology of turmoil” preached by various extremist groups. The paper also examines an example of one of the most original studies — on the principles of citizenship (muwāṭana) according to Islam, which largely incorporates the main features of the entire concept of Syrian crisis theology.

In the 19^th century the social composition of the Moscow Muslim community changed in comparison with previous centuries; the driving force of the community were merchants. In the Tatar Sloboda (settlement) of Moscow lived the families of merchants Isakov — natives of town of Kasimov, and Mangushev — natives of the village of Kamkino of the Nizhny Novgorod province. Both families made a significant contribution to the development of the community, in particular, providing their households for the prayer house (until the construction of a stationary stone mosque, now known as the Historical Mosque) and for the residence of Imam S.-M. Askhapov.

The article presents documentary materials from the Russian State Military Historical Archive (Moscow) related to the history of the organization of the visit of the Emir of Bukhara Seyid Abdullahad Khan to Saint Petersburg in 1898. They contain unique information about the details of the preparation and conduct of this visit, about the program of the emir’s stay in Petersburg, about the financial costs of receiving the Bukhara delegation as well. Of great interest are the data on the gifts that were presented to the emir and his retinue during the visit, since some of them could be preserved in museum collections. Archival materials also make it possible to compare the organization and, above all, the financing of the 1898 visit with the previous visits of Emir Abdullahad Khan — 1893 and 1896, demonstrating a gradual reduction in the costs of their conduct. This indirectly testified to the strengthening of Russia’s position in Central Asia, which resulted in a weakening of attention to the personal contacts of the rulers, who in the time of Alexander III played a significant role in regulating relations between the Russian Empire and the Emirate of Bukhara.

The article deals with the development of the Muslim community of the Republic of Tatarstan (RT) in 2023. The author continues a series of books and articles exploring the Muslim community of Tatarstan from the 2000s up to the early 2020s. Special attention is paid to the problems of Islamic finances; contacts between the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church and the secular and Muslim religious leadership of the Republic of Tatarstan as well as with the activities of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan in the new regions of Russia and in support of the Special military operation.

This article is devoted to the intermediate results of the project of the series of encyclopedic dictionaries “Islam in the Russian Federation” (at the stage of publication of all regional volumes, but before the release of the consolidated edition). This project, for the first time in the history of Russian Islamic studies, set the goal of covering the entire territory of the country with the research grid. A number of difficulties and problems arose in achieving this goal. One of them was the lack of works on this subject in a number of regions of the country, and even the absence of researchers who would deal with this issue. Since the previous research and encyclopedic projects did not even aim at universal coverage, they could not describe the “white spots” (spatial and temporal lacunas). In addition, one of the reasons for this project was the involvement of about 600 specialists of different profiles, including historians, archaeologists, sociologists, source specialists, ethnologists, numismatists, local historians and others. This multidisciplinarity and the large number of specialists with different points of view created certain difficulties in the work on the project, but they also made it possible to achieve the goal of creating a holistic picture of the history of Islam in Russia. It is only now that it is possible to define and outline these very “white spots” that have been identified and “mapped” in the course of this project.

This work is devoted to religion and religious institutions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia, being a Muslim state according to the law, turns to religion in order to legitimize its policy. Therefore, due to the increasing role of Saudi Arabia in the region and the world, the study of religion and its place in the state is considered very relevant and important. The first introductory part of the article examines the role of Islam in the history of the formation of Saudi statehood outlines the main provisions of the doctrine of Wahhabism. The main part of the work examines the history, evolution and features, the role and positions of various religious institutions in the country. In conclusion, it is concluded that the authorities of the kingdom are undertaking an increasing securitization of state policy in relation to religious institutions; religion is being «nationalized». The analysis of the role of religious change in the kingdom is based on the approach of dividing reforms into tajdid and islah.