Isma‘il Gasprinsky on integration of Muslims into socio-political space of the Russian Empire

Abstract

The article examines the socio-political “Muslim project” put forward at the turn of the XIX–XX centuries by the famous Muslim figure, publisher and teacher Isma’il Gasprinsky (1851–1914), in the light of the problem of integration of Russian Muslims. A key factor in ensuring better social mobility of Muslims in the Russian Empire is the diverse initiatives of Isma’il Gasprinsky in the field of education. Moreover, Isma‘il Gasprinsky consistently advocated for restructuration and gradual unification of the Muslim spiritual assemblies in his own “Perevodchik-Terjiman” newspaper. At the same time, he justified the existence of this institution as a rational governing body for imperial Muslim subjects. Under the circumstances of the Russian Revolution of 1905 his attitude towards unification of Muslim spiritual assemblies has evolved into a paradigm of “national-cultural autonomy” for Russian Muslims. This idea, in particular, was proposed by the All-Russian Muslim Union, affiliated with Gasprinsky. This article argues that despite the questions, which this project posed, gradually transformed, the project itself kept following its dual, though, consistent aim. On the one hand, to consolidate Muslims as a particular group of subjects and inform them about the potential social opportunities in the imperial society, on the other, to assure the official authorities that imperial Muslims are eager to be integrated (not assimilated, though).