Muslim East Research Articles

Two Faces of Urbanization in the Muslim East: Tehran in the Second Half of the 19th Сentury — 1930s.

In this study the authors examine the main stages of evolution and social characteristics of the capital cities in the Muslim East on the example of Tehran, which over the course of a century has made its way from the medieval Shah's residence to the capital of a modern country. This period in the history of Iran was marked by a gradual modernization of state and society, associated with the personalities of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar and the new ruler Reza Shah Pahlavi, who managed to offer a radical way to transform the country basing on a new ideological doctrine, the symbolic expression of which was his renovated capital. The image of Tehran is reconstructed on the basis of urban planning outlines of the 1920s — 1930s, a wide range of narrative sources, mainly diaries of the Iranian rulers themselves and European diplomats and travelers, and information from Persian literary works.

The birth of philosophy in the muslim east

The birth of philosophy in the muslim east

The question of soul and body in the Muslim East

The question of soul and body in the Muslim East

The question of soul and body in the Muslim East

The question of soul and body in the Muslim East

Интерпретация исламских и общечеловеческих ценностей в макамах имама аз-Замахшари

The cultural uplift in Central Asia in the 9th–12th centuries contributed to the flourishing of literary creativity in Arabic in such regions as Mavaraunnahr and Khorezm (the territories of pre-sent-day Uzbekistan). The article discusses the contribution of the great scientist, philologist and writer Makhmud al-Zamakhshari to the development of Arabic literature. Through the example of his work “Maqams by al-Zamakhshari” the author demonstrates what role this well-known monu-ment of Arabic literature played in the development of spiritual and social thought and aesthetic consciousness of the peoples of the Muslim East. Maqams of Imam al-Zamakhshari, conveying the ideological and aesthetic ideals of their time, contributed to the education of a true Muslim, his im-provement within the framework of Islamic values, which largely coincide with the moral and ethi-cal values developed on the basis of the life experience of mankind.

In the name of enlightenment… Isma‘il Gasprinsky and Turkestan palace elite

At the end of the 19th century, the territory of Turkestan administratively consisted of Russian Turkestan, Bukhara and Khiva Khanates. The last two were dependent on Russia both politically and economically, although they were officially considered independent. The Russian authorities were reluctant to interfere in the internal affairs of these vassal states. Because of this policy, the khan's administrations, until the events of 1917, tried to preserve the old method of management, as well as land and economic affairs. Despite the conservative attitude of the authorities to various innovations and the efforts of the Russian administration to reduce all ties with the outside world, the sparks of the modernist movement that swept the entire Muslim East in the last quarter of the 19th century still penetrated into the khanates. Muslims of the interior regions of Russia, in particular the leader of the Jadid reformist movement Isma‘il Gasprinsky, played a special and main role in this matter.The article examines the relations and cooperation of Gasprinsky with the palace elites of the Bukhara and Khiva Khanates on the basis of primary sources.

“Education and enlightenment can be taken everywhere where it is”: tatar students in the countries of the Muslim East at the turn of the ХIХ–ХХ centuries

The article examines the process of Tatars studying abroad at the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th centuries – in Bukhara, Samarkand, in the world centers for Islamic education – Istanbul, Cairo, Medina, Deoband. On the example of specifi c individuals, the prerequisites and some features of the learning process, including the issues of material support for students, as well as the further fate of the Tatars who graduated from these educational institutions, are described. Many graduates returned to their homeland and continued the work of their mentors. The most capable ones were invited as teachers to the madrasah that they themselves graduated from. The paper includes the results of the well-known Tatar scholar and theologian Shihab al-Din al-Marjani and the materials of the Tatar periodical press of the early 20th century. Many of the materials are introduced into scientifi c circulation for the fi rst time.

REFORMIST VIEWS OF AHMAD DONISH IN THE RENEWAL OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM IN THE EMIRATE OF BUKHARA (XIX AND EARLY XX CENTURIES)

In the conditions of the dominance of religious dogmas, the sheer illiteracy of the population, the thinkers of the Muslim East were forced to resort to certain traditional forms of expressing their ideas. Socio-philosophical views were expressed in the pages of historical treatises, as well as in various essays, essays of a fictional, sociological nature, and poetry. The creativity of A. Donish was no exception here. However, in works that are semi-artistic in form, the thinker poses and tries to solve philosophical questions, in his own way criticizes religious dogmas. So, he asks the question: “If God, creating a person, predetermined the fate of a builder for him in advance, why did he not immediately, from birth, endow the person with the ability to build? Why is it necessary, while fulfilling the predestination of God, to study any other professions?

A Reassessment of Diplomatic Interactions and Islamic Laws of Nations in The International System

The discourse on the evolution of the principles of international laws and laws amongst nations have always taken a Eurocentric approach. The common argument and perspectives is that contemporary international law evolved from the Christendom to the Spanish School and Grotius, while downplaying the influence of the Islamic law of nations in shaping issues of acculturation, accommodation, rules of engagement in war relating to international law. This paper tends to x-ray and investigate the impact of the Islamic law of nations, from the the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah to the Siyar of Muhammad ibn Shaybani. It tries to highlight the relevance of the Muslim East and its concrete contributions to Laws and treaties of the Middle Ages to recent times and also argues, using existing literature, that the European Christian society only adopted what already existed in the Muslim, Islamic laws and tried to Christianise them overtime. The paper finds that further investigation and interrogation will reveal much more of the influence of the Islamic laws on contemporary laws of relations amongst nations and beyond.

FEATURES OF THE ARAB-KHAZAR RELATIONS IN THE “HISTORY OF TABARI”

The issue of studying and comparative analysis of the historical materials of Tabari’s chronicle has long been discussed in literature, because it also contains valuable information on the fate of the peoples and state formations of the Muslim East. Researchers agree that the introduction of the prose material of this book into academic circulation could shed light on many aspects of the consistent development and formation of dynasties in the ancient times. However, the narrative tradition of Arabic literature did not allow presenting the material about a particular historical or cultural object in the context of the chronicle. Based on this, in the pre-Islamic part of the Tabari chronicle an important discussion topic is the definition of borders, history, ethnic and religious composition, state structure, diplomatic relations, location of cities and other issues concerning the Khazars. Written monuments are considered a valuable source for determining the zone of distribution of the Khazars and Khazaria, although the boundaries were constantly changing following the changes in the balance of power between the Khazars and neighboring states. In the first centuries the struggle of two empires — Byzantium and Sasanian Iran for dominance in the Middle East — began to increasingly influence the establishment of borders. Later, the Arab Caliphate joined in this struggle against Khazaria to establish control in the Transcaucasia and the Black Sea region. The Tabari chronicle preserved a huge amount of narrative material about the role of the Khazars in the development of the past centuries’ events. Plans of the Abbasid caliphs in the 8–9th centuries undergone major changes due to the resistance of the Khazars. Further clarification of the role of the Khazars and Khazaria is possible only based on a critical analysis of Tabari’s information in comparison with the materials of late medieval authors.

From the History of the Conservatory Creation in Azerbaijan

This article is devoted to the first conservatory creation of the Muslim East, which was opened in the city of Baku on August 26, 1921. In itself, this remarkable fact testifies to the difficulties that arose on the way to creating this Higher Musical Educational Institution in Baku. The article consistently highlights the most important facts related to the opening and activities of the conservatory. It is important to emphasize that despite all the difficulties that arise along the way, Uz. Hajibeyli and his associates persistently went to their cherished dream – the creation of the first conservatory in Baku. The purpose of the research is to identify the conditions in which the first conservatory of the Muslim East was created. Uz. Hajibeyli took years of consistent work to create that strong foundation on which the building of the conservatory was erected, now BMA named after. Uz. Hajibeyli. Note that August 26, 2021, marks the 100th anniversary of the first conservatory in Azerbaijan founding. The research methodology is based on genuine historical facts with which the activities of Uzeyir Hajibeyli were associated in the process of creating the conservatory. The scientific novelty of the research is associated with some facts of Uz. Hajibeyli’s life, which were not mentioned at all in Soviet times. All these facts, one way or another, come out of the time of the existence of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. The ADR national anthem was written by Uz. Hajibeyli. It is also the anthem of modern Azerbaijan. Conclusions. The approaching centenary anniversary of the first conservatory in Azerbaijan allows not only to evaluate the path it has travelled but also to pay tribute to its creator, Uzeyirbek Hajibeyli, the founder of Azerbaijani professional music, a great visionary who consistently leads Azerbaijani music along the path of progress and conquest of heights in composing, performing and educational processes in the republic.

PHILOSOPHY OF THE FIRST JADID AHMAD MAHDUM DONISH

In the conditions of the dominance of religious dogmas, the sheer illiteracy of the population, the thinkers of the Muslim East were forced to resort to certain traditional forms of expressing their ideas. Socio-philosophical views were expressed in the pages of historical treatises, as well as in various essays, essays of a fictional, sociological nature, and poetry. The creativity of A. Donish was no exception here. However, in works that are semi-artistic in form, the thinker poses and tries to solve philosophical questions, in his own way criticizes religious dogmas. So, he asks the question: “If God, creating a person, predetermined the fate of a builder for him in advance, why did he not immediately, from birth, endow the person with the ability to build? Why is it necessary, while fulfilling the predestination of God, to study any other professions?

Проблемы полицейской службы в государствах мусульманского Востока: эпоха Средневековья и Новое время

The article is devoted to the history of the police in the states of the Muslim East in the Middle Ages and the modern period. According to the author, the police appeared in the tribal com-munities of this region even before the emergence of the state and performed, among other things, the functions of political investigation. In the countries of the Muslim East, the formation of the police was determined by the general regularities of global change, as well as the specificity of Islam as a religion and Sharia as legislation. The article identifies the historical models and reveals the na-ture of the institution of the police in the Muslim world, including their national security functions. Much attention is paid to the activities of the religious police in Central Asia. According to the au-thor, their abolition in Russian Turkestan revealed many negative phenomena that had existed earli-er in the life of Muslim society in the pre-Russian period. The author concludes that in the states of the Muslim East as a whole the police played a historically positive role in the development of the region.

THE CONCEPT OF AN IDEAL SOCIETY IN NIZAMI GANJEVI'S POEM «ISKENDERNAME»

Throughout history, the concept of an “ideal society” and the idea of an ideal state structure have been the focus of attention of philosophers and poets. One of the first who gave a description of a utopian society in the Muslim east was Abu Nasr al-Farabi. After him, the idea of an “ideal society” was presented in his five poems by the Azerbaijani poet-philosopher of the XII century, Nizami Ganjavi. Almost all the works of the great Azerbaijani thinker Nizami Ganjavi are imbued with the idea of an ideal society, an ideal state and an ideal ruler. But a special place it is occupied by his last poem from “Hamse” – “Iskendername”. This article gives a brief summary of Nizami's philosophical thoughts about an ideal society, about an ideal ruler, mainly based on the poem “Iskendername”.

Between Orientalism and Anti-Muslim Racism

AbstractThis article explores some of the ways in which, in the early years of the united Pakistan experiment, elite educated Muslim East Bengali women experienced and narrated their relationship to the new Pakistan nation as they navigated the international stage as citizens of a new sovereign Muslim-majority state. In the context of the nascent Cold War and the Pakistani state’s efforts to develop its own relationship with the United States, one that was distinct from that of India and yet motivated almost entirely by concerns about the greater military might of this large neighbor, Pakistani women from both wings were quickly pulled into the orbit of US- and Soviet-sponsored women’s organizations targeting women around the world. In this article, the author focuses on the relationship between Pakistani and US women in the 1950s that emerges from the memoirs, biographies, and writings of Bengali Pakistani women active in this period, as well as from the archives—housed in Smith College’s Sophia Smith Collection—of one of the first formal US women’s groups to establish contact with East Bengali women leaders: the New York-based Committee of Correspondence.

Аbdurаuf Fitrаt va Buxoroda Jadidchilik

Abdurauf Fitrat is recognized as one of the most prominent repre-sentatives of Turkestan Jadidism. At the heart of his worldview are the idea of social freedom, liberty and a new concept of a democratic state. Fitrat’s interest in Islamic ideas is directly related to his views on the Muslim East. Problems in modern Jadid studies and their analysis allow us to conclude that there are many unresolved issues or controversies related to Turkes-tan Jadidism, in particular the life, work and activities of Fitrat. The conclu-sions drawn from the analysis of primary sources make certain changes in Jadid, especially in Fitrat studies. It is these changes that allow us to give clear answers about Fitrat's early career, especially his work in Istanbul.

«Рассказ об ‘Абд ал-Кадире Ал-Гилани и прядильщице» А. Каргалый: структура произведения, мотивы и образы

The purpose of the article is to determine the place and role of A. Kargaly’s work “The Story of ‘Abd al-Qadir Al-Gilani and the Spinner”, stored in the collection of the Centre for Written and Musical Heritage at the Institute of Language, Literature and Art named after G. Ibragimov of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan, in the system of folklore and literary genres. The paper carries out a scientific analysis of the handwritten work; determines the typology and genesis of the main idea of the newly found text; examines influence of both written sources of the Muslim East and predecessors’ creative work, namely poets of the Volga-Ural region, on this narrative. Scientific novelty of the article lies in the fact that in the domestic literary criticism, there are no works comprehensively analyzing “The Story of ‘Abd al-Qadir Al-Gilani and the Spinner” as an artistic whole. As a result, the researchers have demonstrated depth of the poetics, originality and traditionality of the work’s idea; made efforts to introduce the manuscript into scientific use.

"Among the troops he chose brave warriors, who were battling through ranks...". On Some Peculiar Aspects of Amir Timur's Tactical Art

This article revises the peculiarities of Amir Timur's army tactical peculiarities, as well as their influence on the development of martial art of the Muslim East. It is established that Timur effectively used the mobilization potential of his state. The sedentary population of Chorasa and Transoxiana formed the infantry archery units who were taught to fight under cover of large standing shields - chapars. At the same time, loyal nomad tribes were the source of horse cavalry for the Timur's army. The base of battle formation was represented by a tactical "skeleton" formed of forced kanbuls, powerful advance guard and a reserve (that included elite warriors). Such battle formation allowed Timur to effectively face outflanking and frontal attacks of the enemy. Besides, such battle formation also fit for quick shift from defense to massive counterattack, performed by advance guard and kanbuls projected towards the enemy. The vulnerability of weakened flank corps was partially compensated by using infantry archery units with support of dismounted archers. As a rule, massive archery attack stopped the enemy's attack and provided for counterattack. The organizational and tactical autonomy of kul corps, which could embattle independently even if there was a front breakthrough or encirclement, played an important role. Dismounted, enshielded warriors of the corps could repulse the attacks until the deblocking unit approaches. A fast-moving reserve under Timur's personal command could be used for both repulsing an attack and augmenting the advancing troops.

Arab Studies and Arab-Islamic Languages and Research in Imperial Russian Universities: Kazan and St. Petersburg Universities (1804 –1855)

The authors of this article focus on issues related to history, factors, and trends in the development of Arab-Islamic studies in the Russian Empire. The article presents an overview and systematization of the main events, names, as well as some features of the formation of educational traditions of teaching Arab-Islamic languages, as well as key focus areas and results of historical and cultural studies of Muslim peoples of the Near and Middle East and the Russian Muslim East at Kazan and St. Petersburg Universities in the first half of the 19th century. Complex academic and university courses and subjects – Arab studies, Iranian studies and Turkology – in the Russian Empire in the first half of the 19th century became important components of the disciplinary and institutional development of modern Oriental studies and are presented as a certain historical, scientific, social and cultural phenomenon of humanitarian research of personas and societies of the Islamic East. These Orientalist fields of research contributed to the knowledge of the national history of Russian state and society, particularly the territories, peoples and cultures of the Empire that were organically connected with the Islamic world.

PRECISELY USED SACRED SOURCES IN THE “KHAZOYIN UL-MAONI” OF ALISHER NAVOIY

In this article is given information about the main essencel, history of derivation, and measure of use of the art peculiar to the Muslim's East poetry - the art of iqtibos; and also analyses the issues on the usage of this belles-lettres art in Alisher Navoiy's poetry. Firstly, there is given information that classical sources evidence the derivation of this art is goes as far back as XV century; and then analyzed the information about this art which is carried out in Shayh Ahmad ibn Hudoydod Taroziy's Funun al balog'a (written in 1436-1437), persian classic critic Husayn Voiz Koshifiy's “Badoe' ul-afkor fi sanoe' il ashor (written in 1488-1489), Atoulloh Mahmud Husayniy's Badoe us-sanoe (written in 1493). The author emphasizes that art of iqtibos is the art which is connected with the copying extraction from sacred sources such as Qur'oni Karim and Hadisi sharif; and peculiar classifes its usage in belles-lettres fiction: 1) oyats devoted to God's hamd and prophet's na't;2) oyat and hadises devoted to sahoba's and scholar's description;3) oyat and hadises in maintenance fictions;4) oyat and hadises in the poems devoted to real and historical personalities;5) hadis and oyats about moral-didactic, philosophical-social, amorous maintenances.Also in this article specifically analyzed the types given above in the devan Khazoyin ul-maoniy and summarized that oyat and hadisesa about hamd, munojot and na't are mostly used in Navoiy's poetry.