The Formation of Religious Authority Among Central Asian Mullahs in Russia: Questions of Duty and Loyalty in a Muslim Migration Context

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper develops a new approach to contemporary religious authority among Muslim migrants in Russia, conceptualizing such notions as duty and loyalty in the Muslim migration context. The study demonstrates the fluidity of the boundary between official and unofficial authorities using the configuration of the Muslim environment of Irkutsk (Siberia) as its real-life example. The research focuses on the position, religious practices, and views of Central Asian mullahs in the city of Irkutsk. Though they do not hold any official positions in the city mosque, they nevertheless play a considerable role in the construction of the religious everyday life of their fellow believers.