The Legacy of Islamic Education in Russia Since the Bulghar Kingdom

Abstract

This paper provides a brief review of Islamic education in Russia from the tenth century until modern times based on the analysis of primary and secondary sources. The first part of the paper examines the role of Islam in Russian history and suggests that Islam played an important role in building what today is called the Russian civilisation. It also reviews the historical, educational system in the region and indicates that the Volga-Urals region was the centre of Islamic education and civilisation in the Muslim world for at least five centuries until Tsarist Russia colonised the area in the sixteenth century. The second part of the paper briefly elaborates on the educational reforms and provides an overview of Islamic periodicals published at the beginning of twentieth century in Russia. The final part of the paper focuses on the status of Islamic education in modern Russia and suggests that the decade of absolute religious freedom enabled the mushrooming of Islamic madrasahs and various kinds of religious literature. As this study finds, the restrictions on Islamic literature and activities were mainly proliferated after the tragedy of September 11, 2001, and they affected the well-being and security of local Muslims. Thus, this paper recommends a review of the Extremism Law of 2002 in light of basic human rights for faith and education.