The article is devoted to one of the most important achievements of European Oriental Studies in the 17th century — the first published complete translation of the Qur’ān into the living spoken language, made directly from the original Arabic text. It refers to the Alkoran of Mohammed by the French scholar and statesman André du Ryer (c. 1580–1660), published in Paris in 1647. The work by A. du Ryer had a great influence on the reception of Islam in Europe and Russia, as well as on the establishment of translation traditions of the Qur’ān not only into French, but also into English, Dutch, German, and Russian. In particular, A. du Ryer’s translation of the Qur’ān is the basis for the first three translations of the Qur’ān into Russian, made in the 18th century. The article examines the scientist’s biography, the history of his work, key features of the translation, as well as the history of editions and translations into European languages. The study relies on the analysis of the translated text, archival materials, and extensive foreign historiography. A. du Ryer’s work represents a transition from the medieval polemical tradition to the secular scientific approach in European Qur’ānic studies. The purpose of this article is to lay the foundation for studying this work in the context of Russian- language science.

The subject of this study is a unique Arabic- script manuscript of a translation of the Qur’ān created in Minsk by Imam Uryash ibn Ismā‘īl Shlemovich in 1686. The aim of the work is to introduce complete data about this artifact into scientific circulation, prove its authorship and protographic nature, and determine its place in the history of Islamic thought in Europe. A comprehensive approach was applied in the study, including codicological, paleographic, and comparative textual analysis of the Arabic, Ottoman, and Old Belarusian texts. The results are as follows: first, the author, Mullah Uryash Shlemovich, was identified based on archival sources (the Magistrate books of Minsk, 1679); second, a Turkic protograph from the 1580s was discovered, which explains the manuscript’s bilingualism; third, the translation’s affiliation with the Māturīdī school of kalām was established through textual comparison with Tabṣirat al- Adillah by al- Nasafī); and finally, a scribal error (homoioteleuton) was detected, marking subsequent manuscripts as copies of this manuscript. The scientific novelty of the research lies in qualifying the Minsk translation for the first time as an independent tafsīr that integrates classical Islamic exegesis into a European linguistic context. This finding confirms the existence of an autochthonous Muslim tradition of Qur’ān translation into a European language beyond polemics. The significance of the study consists in introducing a source that revises preconceived notions about the boundaries of Islamic scholasticism and makes it possible to determine the place of the Polish- Lithuanian Commonwealth in the history of Qur’ānic hermeneutics.

The article is devoted to the historical analysis of the early stage of the formation of the Ḥanafī School of ‘aqīda on the territory of Russia (10th–15th centuries). Based on the analysis of fragmentary sources, the works of Muslim historians (Sh. Marjani, Kh. Faizkhanov, M. Ramzi and R. Fakhreddin), and modern studies, the authors reconstruct the key stages of the Ḥanafī tradition’s development in the Khazar Khaganate, Volga Bulgaria, and the Golden Horde. The article identifies the main periods in the formation of the doctrinal school and determines the possible intellectual centers of influence and the regions of its development (Khorezm, Maverannahr, Bukhara, Saray, and Crimea). It analyzes the personalities of Bulgar and Golden Horde theologians. Special attention is given to the process of institutionalization of the Ḥanafī-Māturīdī tradition during the Golden Horde era. In conclusion, the authors outline the prospects for further research related to the introduction of new sources and the study of the Khorezmian theological heritage.

This article examines the methodological shift in the work of the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR), a body for collective ijtihād for Muslims in Europe. Drawing on a corpus of resolutions and policy documents from the early period (1997–2010), as well as the set of resolutions from the Council’s 34th Ordinary Session (Istanbul, 2023), the article describes the transition from the predominantly reactive paradigm of “Fiqh of Muslim Minorities” (fiqh al-aqalliyyāt), focused on the adaptation through relaxations in Sharia (rukhaṣ), the principle of necessity (ḍarūra), and the regulated facilitation (taysīr), to the integrative concept of “Fiqh of Presence” (fiqh al-ḥuḍūr), aimed at naturalization and civil integration and constructive participation while preserving religious identity. The methodology of the study includes textual analysis of the ECFR’s regulations, content analysis of the key terminology, and a comparison of the set of resolutions 1/34–7/34 and recommendations with the documents of early period. It shows that elements of the “Fiqh of Citizenship” (fiqh al-muwāṭana) are already formed in early materials through the concept of social contract, public good (maṣlaḥa), and civic participation. The analysis of the regulations of the 34th Session reveals a systematic methodological framework, namely, the focus of ijtihād on the objectives of Sharia and taking into account the consequences (ma’ālāt), a limited application of the principle of facilitation, rejection of fanatical commitment to any single madhhab and the institutionalization of fatwā revision (murāja‘at). It also includes the development of predictive fiqh (fiqh al-istishrāf), as well as the legitimation of selective ijtihād and an ordered selection of opinions within the tradition. The article concludes that the “Fiqh of Presence” of the ECFR constitutes a coherent regulatory and methodological model for Muslims’ sustainable and law-abiding presence as part of European society within the modern European legal order.

The article is devoted to the activities of Muslim religious organizations in the Republic of Tatarstan amid the special military operation (SMO) from 2022 to early 2026. It continues a series of studies dedicated to the Muslim community of Tatarstan, covering the period from the 2000s to the early 2020s. Based on the analysis of official websites, media materials, and unstructured interviews, the author examines the role of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan in supporting SMO participants, including the delivery of humanitarian assistance, the construction of mobile and makeshift mosques located in military dugouts, the revival of the institution of regimental imams, and the publication of specialized religious literature. Particular attention is paid to the representation of these activities to the authorities of the Republic of Tatarstan and the region’s Muslim community. The author concludes that the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan has managed to combine religious initiatives with the nationwide support for the army.

The article is devoted to studying of the activities of the muftiates of the Republic of Bashkortostan amid the special military operation from 2022 to 2026. Based on the analysis of media platforms (websites, social media, media mentions), the article presents a chronology of events and the main forms of interaction between Islamic organizations, society and the state. The study focuses on how religious leaders convey the current agenda on behalf of the Muslim community while reacting to changing social and political conditions. The muftiates are viewed as institutional structures that use media platforms to present their work and influence public opinion, especially during crises. The article emphasizes the importance of media strategies and the role of the clergy in mobilizing the population and supporting state policy. The conceptual framework of the study includes approaches to examining the relationship between religion and the state, religion and politics, interreligious dialogue, and the mediatization of religion. The results of the research reveal the areas of activity of the muftiates in socio- political life: humanitarian assistance to participants of the special military operation, fundraising, participation in political, scientific and practical events, public support for state decisions, and spiritual and psychological assistance to soldiers and their families.

The study examines the first women’s column Khanymnar kyyseme (“Women’s Column”) in the newspaper Kazan Mukhbire (“Kazan Herald”) as a unique phenomenon in the formation of women’s political and educational discourse during the profound transformation in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century. The column existed during a period of unprecedented socio- political instability, including the aftermath of the Russo- Japanese War (1904–1905) and the revolutionary upheavals of 1905–1907. The study aims to present the social position of a Tatar Muslim woman and her role in society at the beginning of 20th century, as well as to conceptualize the socio- political problems faced by Tatar women, and the Muslim community in Russia as a whole. The novelty of the article lies in the fact that the author, based on an analysis of Tatar periodicals of the early 20th century, for the first time comprehensively examines the activities of the Kazan Muslim women’s movement in advancing women’s rights (including political rights) and their participation in public life. No prior studies of this kind have been conducted.

The arrangements of the Russian Army Colonel Ravil Syrtlanov (1877–1916), who heroically died in June 1916 during the First World War (1914–1918), and the coverage of this event in the Tatar periodicals represent an atypical but illustrative example of effective state- Islamic interaction in shaping public opinion among Muslims in the Russian Empire and in promoting state propaganda within their community. The article, based on the analysis of materials from the Moscow newspaper Suz, the Kazan newspaper Koyash, the Orenburg newspaper Vakyt, and the Ufa newspaper Tormysh for the period of June–August 1916, reconstructs the chronology of the funeral ceremony, and examines the symbolic interaction between the military department and the Muslim community. The author concludes that this case stands in stark contrast to the mutual distrust between the imperial authorities and the Muslim community, which is characteristic of the period under review, and refers to the model of dialogue between the government and Muslims, dating back to the ideas of the founder of Jadidism, Ismail Gasprinsky (1851–1914). In conclusion, it is noted that the case in question remains relevant for modern state- Islamic interaction, particularly in the context of forming a Russian civic identity and working with public opinion.

The review is devoted to the monograph Perevod Korana Petrovskoy epokhi (“A Translation of the Quran of the Petrine Era”) (2022) by Russian researchers T. V. Pentkovskaya and E. E. Babayeva. This monograph presents a groundbreaking linguistic, textual, and cultural study of the first complete translation of the Qur’ān into Russian, published in Saint Petersburg in 1716. The authors have analyzed the sources and linguistic features of the translation and proposed a hypothesis regarding the possible authorship of Count P. A. Tolstoy. Special attention is paid to the controversial aspects related to the historical context of the work’s creation, as well as to certain inaccuracies of an orientalist and linguistic nature. In conclusion, it is emphasized that the publication of the monograph is a significant event in Russian humanities. Pentkovskaya T. V., Babayeva E. E. Perevod Korana Petrovskoy epokhi. Moscow: MAKS Press, 2022. 800 s. (In Russ.). ISBN 978-5-317-06849-3.

The paper presents Russian translations of the texts accompanying the French edition of The Alcoran of Mahomet by André du Ryer (1649). These materials include prefaces, addresses to the reader, and other accompanying texts reflecting the intellectual and cultural context of the early European study of the Qur’ānic text. Their translation and introduction into scientific circulation make it possible to reconstruct the features of the Qur’ān’s reception in Western Europe in the 17th century, as well as to identify the confessional, polemical, and educational attitudes that shaped its interpretation. This work continues a series of studies conducted by the Moscow Islamic Institute on the history of European translations of the Qur’ān and aims to develop a more holistic view of the Qur’ānic text reception within the European cultural tradition.