WHY THE MUSLIM ORGANIZATIONS OF RUSSIA SPLIT

Mikhail TULSKY

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Mikhail Tulsky, Observer, Portal-Kredo.ru publication (Moscow, Russian Federation)

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Liberalization of Muslim Life and Moving Toward the Split

In Soviet times the Muslims of the Russian Federation were supervised by two structures: the Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of the European Part of the U.S.S.R. and Siberia (SAMES) with headquarters in Ufa and the Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of the Northern Caucasus (SAMNC) based in Makhachkala. The former was headed by Mufti Talgat Tadjuddin elected on 19 June, 1980; and the latter by Makhmud Gekkiev.

In May-October 1989 Balkar Gekkiev and acting muftis, Kumyk Magomed-Mukhtar Babatov and Darghin Abdullah Aligadjiev, were successively dismissed from their posts; another acting mufti, Darghin Akhmad Magomedov, was elected; by December 1989 the kazi of Karachaevo-Cherkessia, Ismail Berdiev, of Checheno-Ingushetia, Shakhid Gazabaev, and of Kabardino-Balkaria, Shafig Pshikhachev, withdrew from the SAMNC.

The North Caucasian developments supplied the Tartar Muslims with certain ideas: according to Nafigullah Ashirov (who headed the SAMES department for economic activities), in May 1990, at a SAMES plenary meeting, Gabdullah Galiullin, Mukaddas Bibarsov, and Umar Idrisov put forward a demand to set up regional muhtasibats autonomous of Ufa. Tadjuddin refused to second their proposition. At the SAMES Fifth Congress on 6-8 June, 1990, the majority of 700 delegates supported Tadjuddin and praised, or even acclaimed him. As a result, he was reelected with the high spiritual title of Sheikh-ul-Islam. Gabdullah Galiullin, who made a feeble attempt to raise the question of autonomous muhtasibats, was cut short by Ashirov, who said that the place and time were ill-chosen. Later Ashirov said that for some time their personal relations remained strained. Immediately after the congress, the groups of delegates who stayed in a Ufa hotel said among themselves that “the congress was a formal one; it changed nothing and resolved no problems.” Having failed to suppress the internal contradictions, Tadjuddin agreed to accept some of its demands: on 15 January, 1991, the meeting of the presidium called to “improve administration of the Muslim community” passed a decision on setting up 25 muhtasibats. This inspired the opposition to fight until victory.

The money that started coming to the Russian Federation as soon as the activities of the foreign Islamic foundations were……………………

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