Religious Educational Institutions Of The Karachay People In The 19Th-20Th Century

Abstract

This article deals with the role of religious educational institutions in the development of the Karachay people. The authors analyze the sources on this problem and demonstrate its controversial nature. Based on some sources and archive materials we showed that the religious schools in Karachay were a major factor behind the improvement of the cultural level of the populace due to their teachers. This is especially important because until the mid-1870es there were no secular schools or teachers and the clergy were the only knowledge holders. This work rightfully notes that viewing religion as hostile towards or incompatible with enlightenment is biased and un-academic. The process of comprehensive religious education that began in the 20th century provided the Karachay with the opportunity to establish confessional educational institutions with specific structures and features. This article compares such types of Muslim educational institutions as maktab and madrasah and shows their composition and sizes in the Karachay settlements of the period. The authors acknowledge that as Russia’s position in the Caucasus strengthened, the tsarist administration opted to replace maktabs and madrasahs with state schools. This Russification policy of the monarchs could lead to the loss of religion by the Caucasian nations, including the Karachay, and their transformation into the nondescript mass. This research pays special attention to the new-method madrasahs or Dzhadidist schools that appeared in Karachay in the late 19th century. In conclusion, we claim that religious educational institutions had a positive effect on the spiritual development of the Karachay people.