«Заложник» обстоятельств или реформатор: жизнь и наследие Абдулхабира ал-Муслими

Abstract

The paper discusses the biography of Abdulhabir al-Muslimi, a student of Sh. Mardjani. The rich accounts of his life and activities allow us to study the features of the mobility of Muslims in the Russian Empire and beyond, the main trends in the development of theological and intellectual tradition, the new approaches to reform the Muslim education system. Since al- Muslimi had progressive ideas that outlined the range of urgent issues of Muslim society in the second half of the 19th century, some scholars call him the forerunner of Jadidism. How fair is this assessment? Does it take into consideration the complexity of Jadid discourse itself and the problems that remained beyond the concepts of “modernity”, “reform”? In order to answer this question, I analyze some of Abdulhabir’s works and the specifics of historical space in which he operated. The most valuable source in this regard is the correspondence of Sh. Mardjani with his student.