Transfer of Ideas on the Reform of Islamic Education in the Volga-Ural Region of the Russian and Ottoman Empires in the Second Half of the 19th – Early 20th Centuries: Historiographical Review

Abstract

The trends and evaluation of one of the manifestations of Jadidism – the reform of Islamic education in the Russian and Ottoman Empires in the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries – are the object of strong interest from Russian and foreign researchers. The reflection in Russian and foreign historiography of the transfer of Jadid ideas in these empires during the indicated period is the subject of this article. Relying on the methodology of “cultural transfer”, the author attempts to study the coverage in historiography of both the process itself and its transfer agents. The article highlights the main mechanisms and key agents that determined the circulation of Jadid ideas in both areas. According to the author, Russian researchers, studying publications on the reform of Islamic education in periodicals, focused on the works of domestic Jadids and noted fragmentary ties with representatives from the Ottoman Empire. Turkish authors primarily turned to Ottoman periodicals, in which the works of Russian theologians and publicists of reformist dissent were published. They noted the activity of Russian Jadids in the process of intellectual exchange in Ottoman periodicals. The author concludes that the genesis, orientation and nature of social ties, as well as the mutual influence of ideas and social practices of Islamic communities of both countries in this historical period have not been properly studied, and the methodological tools of cultural transfer for studying this issue are insufficiently applied.