Islamic revival in the Volga-Ural region

Abstract

Nadir Devlet, Islamic revival in the Volga-Ural region. In 922, Islam had acquired the status of the official creed of the region that at the time was known as the Turkic Bulgar State. In 1552, after the decline of the Kazan khanate, the Russians, who were now ruling this land, persecuted the Islamic religion. The oppression lasted till the advent of Catherine II (1762-1796) who inaugurated a more liberal policy towards her Muslim subject. In particular, it is under her reign that in 1789, the Pan-Russian Muslim Religious Administration was organized. The Soviet government, after its institution, embarked on an anti-religious campaign in defiance of all its former promises. This policy was somewhat revised with regard to all the creeds of the USSR, after the outbreak of the Second World War as the authorities deemed it necessary to thus boost the morale of the population. However, after the war, attacks on religion started again. This lasted until the perestroïka and glasnosť when some freedom was again awarded to Muslims, enabling them to create new mosques, to reopen old ones and to practise and propagate freely their religious beliefs. Thus, we can speak of a measure of Islamic revival in this region.