The “Galiya” Madrasah as Ufa Muslim community public institution (based on the materials of the “Tormysh” newspaper)

Abstract

Urban Muslim culture with large seats of public education has long been attracting the minds of researchers. In the 19th–20th centuries the city of Ufa became one of the centers of Tatar education and culture. From 1865 to 1908, the percentage of Muslims in the provincial centre increased from 4,33% to 18,03%. In 1906 the “Galiya”, the third madrasah, was founded in Ufa. During the 1913–1914 academic year, 10,7% of all shakirds studied exactly in this madrasah. At that time the main source of information for the Tatar-speaking population of Ufa was the “Tormysh” (“Life”) newspaper, the pages of which often highlighted the topics concerning the history of the “Galiya” madrasah. The article provides some information about the editors and publishers of the newspaper. Some facts help us to conclude that the pages of the national newspaper often refl ected the spiritual and educational work conducted by teachers and shakirds of the madrassah for the sake of the local population. In general, the analysis of the publications reveals the great infl uence of the madrasah on the social and cultural environment of the Urban Muslim community.