Umar ibn al-Khattab in the cultural memory of Muslims of Russia on the example of the Republic of Bashkortostan

Abstract

For Muslims, the early history of Islam is an important part of the religious meta-narrative. A special place in this story is occupied by the life and reign of Umar ibn al-Khattab, who is revered in Sunni historiography as the second righteous Caliph. The article analyzes the place of Umar ibn al-Khattab in the collective memory of Muslims in Russia. The work is based on the analysis of such sources as Russian-language theological literature, the 2012 TV series "Umar ibn-al Khattab", mentions in Russian-language media, statistics of Internet search queries based on the Google Trends tool, as well as the results of a survey of Muslims of Bashkortostan dedicated to cultural memory. The article is based on the hermeneutical method, quantitative analysis, and questioning of believers. For Islam, the biographies of companions are an important part of hagiography. The biographies of the companions are sinless, the actions are justified, the Muslims of the first centuries appear to be an ideal society. The results demonstrate that Umar ibn al-Khattab is the most interesting "place of memory" for believers among the companions of the Prophet Muhammad. The figure and narratives of Umar's rule are a space for the self–identification of Muslim believers for the whole world and Russia in particular, and his image is the basis for instrumentalization in the public life of the Muslim community. This is especially true of such aspects as power, law and relations with other faiths.