One of the most important developments in modern Islamic missionary activism was the establishmen... more One of the most important developments in modern Islamic missionary activism was the establishment in 1972 of the Libya-based World Islamic Call Society (WICS, originally the Islamic Call Society) which acted as a leading think tank advocating Muslim unity and Pan-Arabism throughout the Qaddafi era. Despite the severe challenges facing postrevolutionary Libya, WICS remains active today, albeit with reduced global visibility. This article demonstrates the ways that WICS's endeavors in publishing were innovative in the Northern African Arabic context, notably when it comes to the al-Muṣḥaf al-Jamāhīriyya (1983) and the various Qur'an translations it produced, and argues that its activities are a neglected yet critical aspect of modern Islamic missionary endeavors at the nexus of Pan-Islamism and Pan-Arabism. Through exploring WICS's historical background, the individual actors affiliated with it, and its primary publishing projects, the current study sheds light on an overlooked chapter in modern Islamic missionary activity. It also explores the contextual factors that have influenced the success of its Qur'an translations beyond issues of religious identity, offering new insights into the intersection of politics and religion that underlie many modern translations of the Qur'an. ****** This research owes its existence to a research project that received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation program of the European Union (grant agreement n° 863650). I am deeply indebted to Professor Johanna Pink for her useful commentaries over the first draft of this article. I am also deeply thankful to the British Academy for organising my research stay at Coventry University, UK (Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations), where I discussed some of my preliminary findings related to this article.
Tatarski szejch: Ibrahim al-Kyrymi
i jego dzieło Dary Najmiłosierniejszego ,Rocznik
Tatarów Polsk... more Tatarski szejch: Ibrahim al-Kyrymi i jego dzieło Dary Najmiłosierniejszego ,Rocznik Tatarów Polskich, Seria 2,Tom X (XXIV), 2023, s. 68-82
A significant recent surge in both the publication of modern Muslim translations of the Qur'an an... more A significant recent surge in both the publication of modern Muslim translations of the Qur'an and the reprinting of previously published Qur'an translations has made it possible to identify some of the ideological trends that underpin not only the efforts of individual translators or translation teams, but also the political and religious discourses of translation production. The growing number of Muslim-authored Qur'an translations produced under the aegis of various institutions, and their wide accessibility via various digital platforms, can shed light on the 'internal cuisine' of the translation processes involved in their production, providing answers to questions about how translators are selected and approved, how revisions are undertaken, and who is finally responsible for the 'correctness' of the translation (and what this 'correctness' means in each case). Broadly speaking, the Sunni experience of the 'institutional' translation (where some kind of shared paradigm is at least supposed to be adopted) is usually contextualised within two main establishments: Al-Azhar University in Cairo, and the King Fahd Qur'an Printing Complex (KFQPC) in Medina. 1 To this list can be added the Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı (the General Directorate of Religious Affairs in Turkey), which had published some 28 Qur'an translations into world languages by the end of 2018, 2 and the individual efforts of the Egyptian-Qatari scholar Ḥ asan al-Maʾāyrigī (1927-2008). Although al-Maʾāyrigī was unable to realise his long-standing aim of establishing a 'World Committee for the Noble Qur'an', he did oversee the publication of a number of Qur'an translations, including several into Major Turkic languages (Tatar, Uzbek, and Uyghur). 3 In contrast to translations into West European languages, which have been subject to some scholarly analysis, translations of the Qur'an into Central Asian and Caucasian languages have been almost entirely neglected by Euro-American scholarship, despite the fact that these languages have been the focus of recent attention from a number of international actors in Qur'an translation. 4
Among the big corpus of the commentaries over the Qur'an, one of the special developments was a g... more Among the big corpus of the commentaries over the Qur'an, one of the special developments was a genre of gloss (ḥāšiya). The study addresses main Ottoman glosses written to the Qur'anic commentaries, contextualizing it within the internal dimensions of the content transformations. It is argued that since the glosses were used as the textbooks in the Ottoman medrese, they could be considered as the "mainstream" Ottoman reading of the Qur'an. This reading was not merely one of the practices for approaching the Qur'an, but the kind of tradition with the related authorities and meaningful developments. The research covers these patterns of interpretations applied to the case of Āl 'Imrān, 3: 7, showing the way of how the philology and theology interacted in the Ottoman tafsīr glosses.
One of the most important developments in modern Islamic missionary activism was the establishmen... more One of the most important developments in modern Islamic missionary activism was the establishment in 1972 of the Libya-based World Islamic Call Society (WICS, originally the Islamic Call Society) which acted as a leading think tank advocating Muslim unity and Pan-Arabism throughout the Qaddafi era. Despite the severe challenges facing postrevolutionary Libya, WICS remains active today, albeit with reduced global visibility. This article demonstrates the ways that WICS's endeavors in publishing were innovative in the Northern African Arabic context, notably when it comes to the al-Muṣḥaf al-Jamāhīriyya (1983) and the various Qur'an translations it produced, and argues that its activities are a neglected yet critical aspect of modern Islamic missionary endeavors at the nexus of Pan-Islamism and Pan-Arabism. Through exploring WICS's historical background, the individual actors affiliated with it, and its primary publishing projects, the current study sheds light on an overlooked chapter in modern Islamic missionary activity. It also explores the contextual factors that have influenced the success of its Qur'an translations beyond issues of religious identity, offering new insights into the intersection of politics and religion that underlie many modern translations of the Qur'an. ****** This research owes its existence to a research project that received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation program of the European Union (grant agreement n° 863650). I am deeply indebted to Professor Johanna Pink for her useful commentaries over the first draft of this article. I am also deeply thankful to the British Academy for organising my research stay at Coventry University, UK (Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations), where I discussed some of my preliminary findings related to this article.
Tatarski szejch: Ibrahim al-Kyrymi
i jego dzieło Dary Najmiłosierniejszego ,Rocznik
Tatarów Polsk... more Tatarski szejch: Ibrahim al-Kyrymi i jego dzieło Dary Najmiłosierniejszego ,Rocznik Tatarów Polskich, Seria 2,Tom X (XXIV), 2023, s. 68-82
A significant recent surge in both the publication of modern Muslim translations of the Qur'an an... more A significant recent surge in both the publication of modern Muslim translations of the Qur'an and the reprinting of previously published Qur'an translations has made it possible to identify some of the ideological trends that underpin not only the efforts of individual translators or translation teams, but also the political and religious discourses of translation production. The growing number of Muslim-authored Qur'an translations produced under the aegis of various institutions, and their wide accessibility via various digital platforms, can shed light on the 'internal cuisine' of the translation processes involved in their production, providing answers to questions about how translators are selected and approved, how revisions are undertaken, and who is finally responsible for the 'correctness' of the translation (and what this 'correctness' means in each case). Broadly speaking, the Sunni experience of the 'institutional' translation (where some kind of shared paradigm is at least supposed to be adopted) is usually contextualised within two main establishments: Al-Azhar University in Cairo, and the King Fahd Qur'an Printing Complex (KFQPC) in Medina. 1 To this list can be added the Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı (the General Directorate of Religious Affairs in Turkey), which had published some 28 Qur'an translations into world languages by the end of 2018, 2 and the individual efforts of the Egyptian-Qatari scholar Ḥ asan al-Maʾāyrigī (1927-2008). Although al-Maʾāyrigī was unable to realise his long-standing aim of establishing a 'World Committee for the Noble Qur'an', he did oversee the publication of a number of Qur'an translations, including several into Major Turkic languages (Tatar, Uzbek, and Uyghur). 3 In contrast to translations into West European languages, which have been subject to some scholarly analysis, translations of the Qur'an into Central Asian and Caucasian languages have been almost entirely neglected by Euro-American scholarship, despite the fact that these languages have been the focus of recent attention from a number of international actors in Qur'an translation. 4
Among the big corpus of the commentaries over the Qur'an, one of the special developments was a g... more Among the big corpus of the commentaries over the Qur'an, one of the special developments was a genre of gloss (ḥāšiya). The study addresses main Ottoman glosses written to the Qur'anic commentaries, contextualizing it within the internal dimensions of the content transformations. It is argued that since the glosses were used as the textbooks in the Ottoman medrese, they could be considered as the "mainstream" Ottoman reading of the Qur'an. This reading was not merely one of the practices for approaching the Qur'an, but the kind of tradition with the related authorities and meaningful developments. The research covers these patterns of interpretations applied to the case of Āl 'Imrān, 3: 7, showing the way of how the philology and theology interacted in the Ottoman tafsīr glosses.
This book presents a detailed analysis of the translation of the Qur’an in Saudi Arabia, the most... more This book presents a detailed analysis of the translation of the Qur’an in Saudi Arabia, the most important global actor in the promotion, production and dissemination of Qur’an translations.
From the first attempts at translation in the mid-twentieth century to more recent state-driven efforts concerned with international impact, The Kingdom and the Qur’an adeptly elucidates the link between contemporary Islamic theology and the advent of modern print culture. It investigates this critical juncture in both Middle Eastern political history and the intellectual evolution of the Muslim world, interweaving literary, socio-historical, and socio-anthropological threads to depict the intricate backdrop of the Saudi ‘Qur'an translation movement’.
Mykhaylo Yakubovych provides a comprehensive historical overview of the debates surrounding the translatability of the Qur'an, as well as exploring the impact of the burgeoning translation and dissemination of the holy book upon Wahhabi and Salafi interpretations of Islam. Backed by meticulous research and drawing on a wealth of sources, this work illuminates an essential facet of global Islamic culture and scholarly discourse.
Ukrainian translation of Ibn Sina's Kitab al-Najah (preface, translation and commentary by Mykhay... more Ukrainian translation of Ibn Sina's Kitab al-Najah (preface, translation and commentary by Mykhaylo Yakubovych). Kyiv: Tempora, 2020. 582 p.
islamic Heritage of Crimean Khanate: Biographical Dictionary and Catalogue of the Works [in Ukrai... more islamic Heritage of Crimean Khanate: Biographical Dictionary and Catalogue of the Works [in Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar]. Kyiv: DUMARK, 2018
Muslim community as a religious minority of the country belongs to the groups with a long and ric... more Muslim community as a religious minority of the country belongs to the groups with a long and rich history. Described in the terms of cultural, religious and social experience, in the present study Islam in Ukraine is addressed from this broad historical perspective. The approach is based on the spiritual and intellectual dimensions of Islam in Ukraine, with a speciall attention to the first Islamic presence in the country, cultural heritage (manuscripts, mosques, medrese etc.), image of Islam in early modern Ukrainian society and, finally, esteblishment of the new Islamic organizations in the age of Ukrainian independence. First chapter of the book, “Islam in Medieval Ukraine”, reveals the history of Muslim community in Kyiv and the interest in Islam from the Kyiv rulers of these times. Also it describes the times when Islame became official religion in the Golden Horde and the first Muslim scholars appeared in Ukraine. The second chapter, “Islamic Science and Education in Crimea” is dedicated to the textual evidences of Islamic learning in Crimea by the early 15th century; also it adresses few figures of Islamic knowledge, Sharaf al-Din al-Qirimi (d. 1440), Ibrahim al-Qirimi (d. 1593) and Abu al-Baqa’ al-Kafawi (d. 1683). Respectivelly, the third chapter of the book, “Islamic in the Steppes of Odessa: Yedisan and Bujak” reveals the intellectual history of the Ottoman city of Akkerman (nowadays Bilhorod-Dnistrovs’kyi, Odessa region, Ukraine) and one of its greatest scholars, Muhammad al-Aqkirmani. Fourth chapter, “Islam in Volyn” tells about the unique historical experience of the Tatar settlements in the Western-Nothern Ukraine region of Volyn. Fifth chapter, “Islamic Culture in Ukraine”, counts historical monuments of Ukrainian Muslims like mosques, medreses and manuscripts. Sixth chapter, “Image of Islam in Early Modern Ukraine”, provides and analysis of the representation of Islam in the works of Ukrainian Orthodox polemists like Galatowski, who published his “AlKoran Mahometow” by 1683. The last, seven chapter “Islam in Independent Ukraine” is concerned with the recent development of Islamic institutions in Ukraine. The Supplements (glossary and chronological tables) provide general outline of Islam in Ukrainian lands.
This book is the first comprehensive academic study of the religious and philosophical heritage o... more This book is the first comprehensive academic study of the religious and philosophical heritage of the Crimean Khanate of the 15th-18th centuries showing development of its major intellectual traditions – those of the law and apologetics, discursive theology and mysticism (Sufism) – in the global context of the Muslim philosophy in the post-classical period. Moreover, the author managed to reconstruct biographies of the most outstanding thinkers of the Crimean Khanate, and the annexes contains fragments of their works translated directly from handwritten and printed sources. Many of the sources used are introduced into the scientific discourse for the first time in the world practice of oriental studies.
Von Siwak und Zahnpflege
Eine gesunde Oralhygiene findet sich auch in den islamischen Quellen, Is... more Von Siwak und Zahnpflege Eine gesunde Oralhygiene findet sich auch in den islamischen Quellen, Islamische Zeitung, März 2018, s. 18
I would like to describe the situation in Ukrainian Muslim communities in terms of continuous pol... more I would like to describe the situation in Ukrainian Muslim communities in terms of continuous political confrontation in our country. It bears noting that as we divide Ukraine’s contemporary history in two periods, namely 1991 - 201302914, and 2014 and further, it’s obvious that the same division is good for the history of Islam in Ukraine. You may ask - why so? It may sound strange to someone, but Ukrainian Muslim communities are exactly the social groups most influenced by what is going on in Crimea and Donbass. In 2013, vast majority of Ukrainian Muslims lived in the South and the East of the country, mostly in Crimea.
After the latest events in Crimea and Donbass, we can speak about Ukrainian Islam in three realities. First reality is particularly Ukrainian, the second is Russian political and legal realities in Crimea, and Donbass is the third one, where Muslims are in an indefinite state, as some settlements are occupied by the pro-Russian troops and others controlled by Ukrainian army. Almost every second Muslim left the occupied Donbass and moved to other regions of Ukraine for the reasons of safety; almost 20,000 Crimean Tatars resettled to the continent.
I’ll start my review with analysis of Crimean situation. There was a strong religious administration on the peninsula, and it became the focus of interest after the annexation. Smaller structures either ceased to exist or transformed to some other state. Take for instance representatives of so-called Salafi communities: such organisations as Hizb-ut-Tahrir left the peninsula, as Russian policy lies in harassing the most active elements of the Muslim communities. People were being arrested and gone missing already. Amid this, new mosques are being open and some Islamic activities are held. But at the same time the most active members of the communities who either stood against Russian occupation or fall short of accepted Russian standards for the followers of Islam were forced to leave the peninsula. Religious Administration of Muslims of Crimea found itself amid a power struggle between different Russian Muslim religious Centres. The point is that there are about 90 Muftiates in Russia, and the largest of them (first of all, Central Religious Administration of Muslims of Russian Federation and the Council of Muftis of Russia) tried to persuade the RAMC to either allot or at least ally the RAMS. Delegations from Russia’s major political Muslim players visited Crimea one by one, and Muslims form Caucasus seemed to be the most successful. RAMC, however, preferred to stay neutral and refused to allot some larger structure.
Those processes look like dialogue now, however, RAMC would face the need to come down on the right side of the fence sooner or later, at it wood need some “protection” to speak to Russian authorities on their behalf and try to defend the rights of Crimean Muslims, as State attitude towards Muslims is completely different in Russia, and Crimea gets more and more integrated in that reality every day.
Things went slightly different in Donbass, where all pro-Ukrainian Muslim organisations unfortunately lose their influence and even can’t maintain constant communication in person. There were attempts of creating some “alternative Muftiates” and “Alternative Religious Administrations”. For instance, there was a little-known community “Edinenie” (Rus. “Unity”), whose head is being often referred by the press as “Mufti of DPR” (“Donetsk people’s Republic”). It’s an ongoing process, but certain part of Donbass Muslims didn’t stand against separatism, and some mosques even agitated for separate territories, and some Muslims, though very few, had sympathies for such ideas. It’s hard to say how disappointed those people may be now, but it’s obvious that Islamic factor will have further developments, and there will be an attempt to create some central Muslim Administration in some or other way.
The situation in Ukraine is changing as well, most of all for the reason of migration. This, first of all, includes migrants from Crimea to Central and Western regions of the country. In Lviv, Ternopil, Vinnytsya regions, for instance, social processes caused by increased number of Muslims activate, and there are ideas of creating new Religious Centres of autonomous communities. We’ll have the situation when there’ll be several such centres in one city, or several centres dominated by different religious administrations. This is caused by disagreement when interpreting some theological rulings and lack of common vision of even the matters of doctrine, not to mention the patterns of cooperating with the State.
This is quite a challenge for the local authorities who never faced Muslims. As the report of Ukrainian Centre for Islamic Studies reads, the lowest Islam awareness level is in the Central and Western regions, as they are mostly polyethnic and polyreligious, especially in rural areas. I can recommend that the Ukrainian authorities maintain dialogue with Ukrainian Muslim communities, because sometimes there rise the questions of opening new mosques, and there can be some misunderstanding, as, for instance, in Khmel’nytskyi or Bila Tserkva where they refused to allocate the land for the mosque projects. And those steps have to be taken right now while positive attitude towards Muslims, mostly those from Crimea, dominates, so there’s certain perspective.
Changes within the Muslim communities led to re-opening of Ukrainian islam’s formative period. It bears reminding that there were officially no Muslims in Ukraine up to 1989, so evolution of Ukrainian Islam indissolubly related to the evolution of ukraine. A formative period began in 1990-ies and came to it’s completion in early 2000-ies. Also we must expect division between Muslims for their political preferences.
Religious Administration of Muslims of Ukraine formally declares its devotion to Ukraine, but it shows no actual support so that position is rather formal and declarative, but though it’s a position.
Religious Administration of Muslims of Ukraine “Umma” took a way more active part in Euromaidan. Autonomous communities, even those who moved from Crimea (Hizb-ut-Tahrir, for instance) are negative towards the latest events in Ukraine, which is linked to their ideology that the only state a Muslim should care for is Islamic Caliphate and all revolutions, regardless of the circumstances, are evil. At the same time, the left Crimea for the Western Ukraine in search of religious freedoms as Hizb-ut-Tahrir is forbidden in Russia.
And summarizing it all, I want to say that there’s a long-felt need to create a United and powerful Centre For Islamic Studies, that would at least preserve the heritage created between 1991 and 2014. This is necessary in order to show how positive can cooperation between Ukrainian Muslim communities, Ukrainian Society and Ukrainian State be, as Muslims are indeed the indigenous part of ukrainian society and have been such for a long time. And if this isn’t done within the nearest year, we'll start losing Crimean Muslims who can get totally integrated in one of the Russia’s Religious Administrations; same goes for Donbass.
I want to believe that this will be done, and that the main role is that process will be played by the Muslims communities themselves.
History of Printing the Qur'an in Europe: Editions, their Quality and Accuracy, in: Studies of the Symposium on Printing the Qur'an (2014), Madinah: KIng Fahd Qur'an Complex, 2016, p. 51-76.
Published in:
Studies of the Symposium on Printing the Qur'an (2014), Madinah: KIng Fahd Qur'an C... more Published in: Studies of the Symposium on Printing the Qur'an (2014), Madinah: KIng Fahd Qur'an Complex, 2016, p. 51-76.
The newly established peer-reviewed academic journal “Modern Islamic Studies” (published by The C... more The newly established peer-reviewed academic journal “Modern Islamic Studies” (published by The Center for Islamic Studies of the National University of Ostroh Academy, Ostroh, Ukraine) is pleased to announce collection of papers for the first issue “Islam and/or Tradition? Traditional Islam and Islamic Traditions in the Eastern Europe”. Taken in a broad geographical sense, we are seeking for the papers addressing history and modernity of Muslims in the area from Balkans and Crimea on the South, Baltia on the North and Caucausus on the East, where indigenous Muslim popullation and traditions are represented.
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Papers by Mykhaylo Yakubovych
i jego dzieło Dary Najmiłosierniejszego ,Rocznik
Tatarów Polskich, Seria 2,Tom X (XXIV), 2023, s. 68-82
i jego dzieło Dary Najmiłosierniejszego ,Rocznik
Tatarów Polskich, Seria 2,Tom X (XXIV), 2023, s. 68-82
From the first attempts at translation in the mid-twentieth century to more recent state-driven efforts concerned with international impact, The Kingdom and the Qur’an adeptly elucidates the link between contemporary Islamic theology and the advent of modern print culture. It investigates this critical juncture in both Middle Eastern political history and the intellectual evolution of the Muslim world, interweaving literary, socio-historical, and socio-anthropological threads to depict the intricate backdrop of the Saudi ‘Qur'an translation movement’.
Mykhaylo Yakubovych provides a comprehensive historical overview of the debates surrounding the translatability of the Qur'an, as well as exploring the impact of the burgeoning translation and dissemination of the holy book upon Wahhabi and Salafi interpretations of Islam. Backed by meticulous research and drawing on a wealth of sources, this work illuminates an essential facet of global Islamic culture and scholarly discourse.
First chapter of the book, “Islam in Medieval Ukraine”, reveals the history of Muslim community in Kyiv and the interest in Islam from the Kyiv rulers of these times. Also it describes the times when Islame became official religion in the Golden Horde and the first Muslim scholars appeared in Ukraine.
The second chapter, “Islamic Science and Education in Crimea” is dedicated to the textual evidences of Islamic learning in Crimea by the early 15th century; also it adresses few figures of Islamic knowledge, Sharaf al-Din al-Qirimi (d. 1440), Ibrahim al-Qirimi (d. 1593) and Abu al-Baqa’ al-Kafawi (d. 1683).
Respectivelly, the third chapter of the book, “Islamic in the Steppes of Odessa: Yedisan and Bujak” reveals the intellectual history of the Ottoman city of Akkerman (nowadays Bilhorod-Dnistrovs’kyi, Odessa region, Ukraine) and one of its greatest scholars, Muhammad al-Aqkirmani. Fourth chapter, “Islam in Volyn” tells about the unique historical experience of the Tatar settlements in the Western-Nothern Ukraine region of Volyn. Fifth chapter, “Islamic Culture in Ukraine”, counts historical monuments of Ukrainian Muslims like mosques, medreses and manuscripts.
Sixth chapter, “Image of Islam in Early Modern Ukraine”, provides and analysis of the representation of Islam in the works of Ukrainian Orthodox polemists like Galatowski, who published his “AlKoran Mahometow” by 1683. The last, seven chapter “Islam in Independent Ukraine” is concerned with the recent development of Islamic institutions in Ukraine. The Supplements (glossary and chronological tables) provide general outline of Islam in Ukrainian lands.
Eine gesunde Oralhygiene findet sich auch in den islamischen Quellen, Islamische Zeitung, März 2018, s. 18
https://daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/recordings/welcoming-return-mykhaylo-yakubovych-thursday-october-15-2015
After the latest events in Crimea and Donbass, we can speak about Ukrainian Islam in three realities. First reality is particularly Ukrainian, the second is Russian political and legal realities in Crimea, and Donbass is the third one, where Muslims are in an indefinite state, as some settlements are occupied by the pro-Russian troops and others controlled by Ukrainian army. Almost every second Muslim left the occupied Donbass and moved to other regions of Ukraine for the reasons of safety; almost 20,000 Crimean Tatars resettled to the continent.
I’ll start my review with analysis of Crimean situation. There was a strong religious administration on the peninsula, and it became the focus of interest after the annexation. Smaller structures either ceased to exist or transformed to some other state. Take for instance representatives of so-called Salafi communities: such organisations as Hizb-ut-Tahrir left the peninsula, as Russian policy lies in harassing the most active elements of the Muslim communities. People were being arrested and gone missing already. Amid this, new mosques are being open and some Islamic activities are held. But at the same time the most active members of the communities who either stood against Russian occupation or fall short of accepted Russian standards for the followers of Islam were forced to leave the peninsula. Religious Administration of Muslims of Crimea found itself amid a power struggle between different Russian Muslim religious Centres. The point is that there are about 90 Muftiates in Russia, and the largest of them (first of all, Central Religious Administration of Muslims of Russian Federation and the Council of Muftis of Russia) tried to persuade the RAMC to either allot or at least ally the RAMS. Delegations from Russia’s major political Muslim players visited Crimea one by one, and Muslims form Caucasus seemed to be the most successful. RAMC, however, preferred to stay neutral and refused to allot some larger structure.
Those processes look like dialogue now, however, RAMC would face the need to come down on the right side of the fence sooner or later, at it wood need some “protection” to speak to Russian authorities on their behalf and try to defend the rights of Crimean Muslims, as State attitude towards Muslims is completely different in Russia, and Crimea gets more and more integrated in that reality every day.
Things went slightly different in Donbass, where all pro-Ukrainian Muslim organisations unfortunately lose their influence and even can’t maintain constant communication in person. There were attempts of creating some “alternative Muftiates” and “Alternative Religious Administrations”. For instance, there was a little-known community “Edinenie” (Rus. “Unity”), whose head is being often referred by the press as “Mufti of DPR” (“Donetsk people’s Republic”). It’s an ongoing process, but certain part of Donbass Muslims didn’t stand against separatism, and some mosques even agitated for separate territories, and some Muslims, though very few, had sympathies for such ideas. It’s hard to say how disappointed those people may be now, but it’s obvious that Islamic factor will have further developments, and there will be an attempt to create some central Muslim Administration in some or other way.
The situation in Ukraine is changing as well, most of all for the reason of migration. This, first of all, includes migrants from Crimea to Central and Western regions of the country. In Lviv, Ternopil, Vinnytsya regions, for instance, social processes caused by increased number of Muslims activate, and there are ideas of creating new Religious Centres of autonomous communities. We’ll have the situation when there’ll be several such centres in one city, or several centres dominated by different religious administrations. This is caused by disagreement when interpreting some theological rulings and lack of common vision of even the matters of doctrine, not to mention the patterns of cooperating with the State.
This is quite a challenge for the local authorities who never faced Muslims. As the report of Ukrainian Centre for Islamic Studies reads, the lowest Islam awareness level is in the Central and Western regions, as they are mostly polyethnic and polyreligious, especially in rural areas. I can recommend that the Ukrainian authorities maintain dialogue with Ukrainian Muslim communities, because sometimes there rise the questions of opening new mosques, and there can be some misunderstanding, as, for instance, in Khmel’nytskyi or Bila Tserkva where they refused to allocate the land for the mosque projects. And those steps have to be taken right now while positive attitude towards Muslims, mostly those from Crimea, dominates, so there’s certain perspective.
Changes within the Muslim communities led to re-opening of Ukrainian islam’s formative period. It bears reminding that there were officially no Muslims in Ukraine up to 1989, so evolution of Ukrainian Islam indissolubly related to the evolution of ukraine. A formative period began in 1990-ies and came to it’s completion in early 2000-ies. Also we must expect division between Muslims for their political preferences.
Religious Administration of Muslims of Ukraine formally declares its devotion to Ukraine, but it shows no actual support so that position is rather formal and declarative, but though it’s a position.
Religious Administration of Muslims of Ukraine “Umma” took a way more active part in Euromaidan. Autonomous communities, even those who moved from Crimea (Hizb-ut-Tahrir, for instance) are negative towards the latest events in Ukraine, which is linked to their ideology that the only state a Muslim should care for is Islamic Caliphate and all revolutions, regardless of the circumstances, are evil. At the same time, the left Crimea for the Western Ukraine in search of religious freedoms as Hizb-ut-Tahrir is forbidden in Russia.
And summarizing it all, I want to say that there’s a long-felt need to create a United and powerful Centre For Islamic Studies, that would at least preserve the heritage created between 1991 and 2014. This is necessary in order to show how positive can cooperation between Ukrainian Muslim communities, Ukrainian Society and Ukrainian State be, as Muslims are indeed the indigenous part of ukrainian society and have been such for a long time. And if this isn’t done within the nearest year, we'll start losing Crimean Muslims who can get totally integrated in one of the Russia’s Religious Administrations; same goes for Donbass.
I want to believe that this will be done, and that the main role is that process will be played by the Muslims communities themselves.
Studies of the Symposium on Printing the Qur'an (2014), Madinah: KIng Fahd Qur'an Complex, 2016, p. 51-76.