The Role of Associations in the Organization of the Muslim Community. The Case of the Association of Graduates of the Muslim Seminary in Dobrudja

Abstract

This paper addresses an aspect of the institutional history of the Muslim community in Romania. It aims to present how the Association of Graduates of the Muslim Seminary in Dobrudja was established and analyze its purpose and activities. The role of the Association is considered from two perspectives. The establishment of the Association was linked to Emel magazine and the group that published it. This group supported the creation of a Crimean Tatar state in Crimea. However, some of its members tried to solve the problems the Turks and the Tatars in Romania faced. In my paper, I explained the role of the Association in the organization system of Islam in Romania. The organization of the Muslim community was established in the first years after the Russo‑Ottoman War of 1877–1878, after which Dobrudja became part of the Romanian state. Thus, an organizational system similar to the Ottoman one continued after this year. Its central institution was the Muftiate, under whose subordination were the Muslim Communities and the Kadiates. The Muslim Seminary held a special place in this system. It was the only educational institution whose role was to train imams and Turkish language teachers of the Turkish and Tatar community in Romania, recognized and supported by local and central authorities. In this sense, the establishment of the Association of Graduates of the Muslim Seminary in Dobrudja was also a response of the Muslim community members to the new political, demographic, and cultural realities.