Родство в стратегиях обретения и оспаривания исламского авторитета (Тюменский случай на рубеже XX–XXI веков)

Abstract

The study of authority is of great importance because it is a way of understanding why and how the worldview diversity is formed. The scholars describe the specific character and consequences of the use of authority; identify the factors which determine its acquisition, maintenance, and loss in certain social and historical conditions. The role of kinship in the strategies of earning and challenging Islamic authority among the Muslim Tatars living in Tyumen Region at the turn of the XX–XXI centuries has been considered in this article.. The article is based on the materials collected by the author during field research in the 2000s in urban and rural settlements of Tyumen Region. Methods of unstructured observation and interviews with a flexible questionnaire were used to collect the materials. We have used the grounded theory procedure to analyze them. In the article it is briefly described how the positions of Islamic authority have multiplied in the region since the late 1980s. The following main positions were identified: mullahs, abystai, astana keepers, organizers of religious rituals from among the residents, Ulema, imams, Islamic political activists. It is argued that these positions represent a specific set of characteristics that enables the bearers of authority to influence the connection between the laity and the supernatural world. Regarding the Muslim Tatars of Tyumen Region, it has been singled out the kinship as one of these characteristics. The patterns of strengthening / weakening its influence in the structure of Islamic authority were revealed. In particular, kinship plays a crucial role for mullahs, astana keepers, and apprentice imams. The role of kinship increases when there are enough religious specialists in a particular place and weakens when there is a lack of them. On the other hand, kin ties stop being an advantage for Islamic authority of a religious specialist, if he doesn't know “Islamic doctrine, rituals and the Arabic language” or isn't “engaged with the laity”.