Moscow: Strana OZ. 567 p.

Since December 2001, a magazine with the same name as the famous magazine Otechestvennye Zapiski, published in the 19th century, has been published in Moscow. The editorial board (chief editor T. Malkin) calls its publication a slow-reading magazine, emphasizing that it is intended for educated and thoughtful readers. Because of this, the materials published in it are usually written at a good professional level and equipped with the appropriate scientific apparatus. Individual issues of the journal are devoted to certain topics, for example, such as "The Brilliance and poverty of Russian science", "Education: a fetish or necessity", "The Army and the military organization of the state". The reviewed issue of Otechestvennye Zapiski is devoted to the topic "Islam and Russia".

Islam in modern Russia is becoming an increasingly prominent factor in social and political life. Although there are no exact statistics on Russian Muslims, many experts agree that about a tenth of the population of our country is Muslim1 . Now, when the theory of the clash of Western and Muslim civilizations is very popular in the world, it is extremely interesting to see in what sense this applies to Russia. Therefore, the initiative of the editorial board of Otechestvenny Zapiski, which decided to publish a consolidated volume devoted to Islam and the problems of Russian Muslims, certainly deserves approval. The peer-reviewed issue of Islamic studies contains articles by leading Russian Islamic scholars, a number of major foreign authors, as well as classics of modern Muslim thought, such as Said Qutb, Abul A'la Maududi and Imam Ruhullah Khomeini, who formulated the basic principles of Islamic fundamentalism. The texts are accompanied by extensive reference material, data from opinion polls, and analytical notes. The issue is perfectly executed in terms of printing: it is provided with beautiful illustrations, vignettes and screensavers.

In the preface to the issue of the magazine, one of its editors, V. A. Kurennoy, emphasizes that the choice of the topic was connected "with the role that Islam plays at the present time, being associated with a number of major conflicts and catastrophes both in Russia and in the world. In particular, we tried to find out to what extent Islam contains a conflict potential that contradicts the foundations of modern secular society" (p. 9).

The issue opens with an article by G. I. Mirsky entitled " The Civilization of the Poor "(pp. 20-27). The author rightly points out that " Muslims share the views that prevail in the third world as a whole."-

¹ The reviewed publication provides some statistical data concerning the Muslim population of Russia (pp. 82-84).

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There is nothing really Islamic in such views. They reflect widespread anti-Americanism, or rather anti-hegemonism, caused both by the behavior of the sole superpower and by the well-established idea that America seeks not only to dominate the whole world, but also to impose its values and way of life on everyone, depriving others of their identity and ancient traditions" (p.23). In this sense, we can say that Muslim peoples, like the peoples of other developing countries, have suffered greatly from the processes of globalization. G. I. Mirsky tries to answer the key question: "What is wrong in the world of Islam?" In his opinion, "the problem is primarily with the spiritual leadership of Muslims" (p. 26), which is not able to influence extremists in its own environment. The problem is raised by the author pointedly, in the order of discussion and needs, apparently, serious reflection.

The article by another well-known author, A. A. Ignatenko, "The Split Ummah waiting for the Day of Judgment "(pp. 28-52) seeks to outline new approaches in the study of extremist trends in Islam. Serious attention should be paid to the words of the scholar that " now is the time for Russian Islamic studies to consciously turn to the method that I have designated as neoclassicism, understanding it mainly as an empirical study of specific groups (trends, trends, schools, etc.) that arise and exist in Islam as Islamic - that is, as a result of the fact that they are based onthose that manifest the internal dynamics of this religion as a complex set of institutions, perceptions, norms, and beliefs" (p. 30). However, the suggestion of A. A. Ignatenko to be guided as a model by classical Muslim doxographies (studies on sects and various trends in Islam), in particular the "Book on Religions and Sects" by ash-Shakhrastani, written in 1127, seems at least strange. He himself emphasizes that many Muslim organizations are emerging today, primarily in the field of politics, and it is quite obvious that a new methodology is needed to understand their nature and characteristics. A. A. Ignatenko's article actually raises the question of "political Islam", although it does not say so directly.

This is directly discussed in the abstract of the book "The Future of Political Islam" by former CIA officer Graham Fuller (p.294 - 303). It can be seen that the author has a good command of the subject, and a number of his conclusions in the predictive part deserve attention. Thus, he suggests that relations between "international Islam" and the United States will continue to deteriorate, and "tension will increase in relations between Muslims living in the West and the population of Western countries" (p. 302). However, it is difficult to agree with his statement that " political Islam... it cannot be considered as an ideology that is alternative to other ideologies, such as fascism, socialism, liberalism and communism" (p. 294). The author does not explain why this is so. I think it is quite acceptable to speak of "political Islam" as an independent ideology with its own goals and priorities.

M. Y. Roshchin's article "Fundamentalism in Dagestan and Chechnya" (pp. 95 - 103) describes this in sufficient detail. The author rightly notes that "today radical Islamic fundamentalism has turned into a revolutionary-insurgent ideology, which has largely replaced Marxism" (p.100). He carefully analyzes the phenomenon of a small "Wahhabi republic" created in the second half of the 1990s in the Dagestani villages of Karamakhi and Chabanmakhi and turned into a testing ground for the implementation of socio-political ideas of radical Muslims. From the outside, it might seem that most of the villagers actively profess "Wahhabism", but later, when Karamakhi and Chabanmakhi were taken by federal forces by storm, it turned out that this was far from the case. M. Y. Roshchin cites the testimony of human rights activist from Memorial A. Sokolov, who visited the villages shortly after the assault, according to whom "supporters of Wahhabism in these well - to-do villages for a long time were about 10-20%, the rest adhered to traditional Islam. These people found themselves defenseless against the insistence of religious extremists, united in one organization and ready to use violence for the literal implementation of religious dogmas " (p. 102). Roshchin's article also provides a brief but informative biography of field commander Khattab, who began his activities in the North Caucasus in villages. Karamakhi.

The topic of Islamic radicalism in a broader international context is considered in the article "To Love a radical" by A. V. Malashenko (pp. 234-244). The author seeks to find a definition of Islamic radicalism and find various trends in its development. "Priver-

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women of Islamic radicalism "he divides into two parts:" a) those who sincerely believe in Islamic justice, in the Islamic state, and b) shrewd pragmatists who treat Islam as a tool for achieving their goals. There is no insurmountable barrier between them: cynics can be zealous Muslims (there are also cynics-Christians), and fighters for Islamic justice lose their moral innocence with gaining experience" (p. 240). A.V. Malashenko identifies" truly " radical organizations, such as Al-Qaeda and the Palestinian Hamas, The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Algerian Radical Islamic Group, etc. He distinguishes them from what he calls "moderate radicals", with whom dialogue is possible in principle. In his opinion, "there are also a certain number of" moderate radicals " in Russia who are polemicizing with the authorities, but are by no means ready to grab a gun. There are, however, simply radicals, even extremists, who grow not so much on the Islamic proper as on the ethno-separatist ground" (p. 241). As an example of "moderate radicals", one could cite the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, which once feuded with the royal regime, then with Nasser, and now has its own representatives in the Egyptian parliament. As A.V. Malashenko points out, "the moderate wing of Islamic radicals does not identify itself with extremism. Supporters of the idea of an Islamic state claim to fit into the modern picture of the world. For them, the Islamic state is no longer a fetish, but an ideologeme that does not constitute an obstacle to embedding itself in the cross-section of the "civilized world" and occupying its own specific niche in it. The mistake of politicians - both in the Muslim world and outside it - is that they are not able to recognize the ambivalence of Islamic radicalism " (p. 243). It is difficult to deny the soundness of this idea: through dialogue and search for it, you can sometimes achieve more than with the help of police measures.

In another article, also published in the journal, "Two Dissimilar Renascences" (pp. 56-65), A. V. Malashenko talks about the main trends in Russian Islam. He identifies two large areas in it - "Caucasian" and "actually Russian (relatively speaking, Tatar)", which have not yet developed into a single Muslim Ummah. He is right to point out that " each of the two areas is self-sufficient in terms of cultural and religious tradition proper... he is busy solving his own problems, including political ones, and first of all-relations with the authorities " (p. 56).

Sh. M. and R. M. Shukurov speculate on whether both areas will merge into a single Ummah, and what is Islam as a religion on the territory of modern Russia in their article "Straightening Time" (pp. 342-358). The authors doubt "the possibility of a full-fledged, creative Islam in the vast expanses of Russia now and in the near future" (p. 345). They believe that " Islam in Russia cannot remain detached from the global trends of its understanding. It is impossible to constantly live in the stylization of past achievements, whether in theology, architecture or political science, in the field of existing peripheral Islam. The result of this... It is the phantominess, the simulativeness of thinking. It is necessary to fully realize that the modern systematizing intellectual ijtihad ² is the only thing that can successfully resist radicals whose reaction is situational" (p. 358). The article by the Shukurov brothers is of a problematic nature and is aimed at discussing and understanding the role of Muslims in Russia in ideological and philosophical terms.

An interesting example of the fruitful activity of Westernized Muslims is shown by P. S. Qusli in the article "Assassins at the borders of Russia "(pp. 205-214), which examines the role of the Aga Khan Ismaili Foundation in the revival of Central Asian countries, especially Tajikistan. According to the author, " the activities of the Aga Khan organization are focused on... bringing Western standards to the underdeveloped regions inhabited by its co-religionists, in order to improve the welfare of the population, combat illiteracy and religious intransigence " (p. 214). According to P. S. Kusliya, 19 thousand farmers in mountainous regions of Tajikistan received loans under the Aga Khan Foundation's population lending program (p. 212). By-

^Ijtihad is the ability and right of a Muslim scholar (alim) to make his own decision on important issues of religious and social life based on the Qur'an and Sunnah and guided by the basic methods of Muslim law. In Sunnism, the gates of Ijtihad were closed in the tenth century. Shiites still actively use ijtihad

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The level of positive work of Ismailis is important, as it shows the pluralism and different trends that exist among modern Muslims.

The topic of the existence of Muslim law in Russia is also reflected in the magazine. The leading Russian expert on Muslim law, L. R. Syukiyainen, in his article "Russian Government and Islam: search for a formula for interaction" (pp. 406-415) analyzes the problems that arise between representatives of the government in Russia and Muslims primarily in the legal aspect. He notes that, "sadly, in our country, the authorities that develop and implement legal policy not only do not have sufficient experience in solving Muslim problems, taking into account Islamic law, but also do not have adequate information about it, its place in modern legal systems and interaction with other legal cultures." and also about his approach to such topical issues for today's Russia as the correlation of religious and secular principles in Islam, religion and law, state and religion " (p. 411).

The key idea of the prominent jurist is that " the position of the Russian state in relation to the Muslim legal culture should be reviewed. Currently, the Sharia law is perceived by the authorities as a symbol of Islamic fundamentalism and separatism. They unequivocally deny any possibility of invoking the provisions of Sharia law, and continue to treat it exclusively as a relic that needs to be combated. But among these provisions, there are many that, if strictly observed by the Constitution, may well find their place in the legislation of a number of subjects of the Russian Federation " (pp. 411-412).L. R. Syukiyainen cites as an example the legislative approval in Tatarstan of the institute of waqf (property transferred by Muslims for charitable purposes to a religious community).

It is difficult not to agree with the author's final conclusion that "opposition to Islamic extremism may not be a factor of mutual rejection of Russia and the Islamic world, but, on the contrary, an additional argument in favor of their cooperation" (p.414).

V. O. Bobrovnikov's article "Sharia courts in the North Caucasus" (pp. 420-427) is devoted to the history of specific experience of Muslim justice in the XX century. The author explains that in the early years of Soviet rule, Sharia courts existed everywhere in the North Caucasus. At that time J. V. Stalin emphatically stated: "It has also come to our attention that the enemies of the Soviet government are spreading rumors that the Soviet government prohibits Sharia law. I am here (on November 13, 1920, at the Extraordinary Congress of the Peoples of Dagestan). On behalf of the Government of the Russian Federative Socialist Republic, I am authorized to declare that these rumors are false. The Russian government grants every nation the full right to govern itself on the basis of its own laws and customs " (p. 421). V. O. Bobrovnikov rightly notes that in the first half of the 1920s, the attitude of the Soviet government towards Sharia justice was very positive, but the "honeymoon" of the Soviets and Sharia activists ended quite quickly (by the end of 1920-However, " after the collapse of the USSR, in the wake of the movement for Muslim revival in the North Caucasus, the spontaneous restoration of Sharia justice began. To date, several dozen Sharia courts have been established in the Muslim communities of northern Dagestan and Chechnya" (p. 426). Basically, their activities are limited to the sphere of civil law, mainly family relations.

Among the foreign authors published in the journal, I would like to draw attention to the passage "The Orient of Travelers and Scientists: between dictionary definition and living Thought" (pp. 466-472) from the book "Orientalism"by the famous Palestinian orientalist Edward Said. In this work, the researcher gave his understanding of Western scientific orientalism (Oriental studies) as a specific discourse expressing the claims of the West to dominate the East ³ .

In general, the consolidated volume on Islam prepared by the editors of Otechestvennye Zapiski is a well-executed, essentially encyclopedic publication, useful both for specialists and for a wide range of readers, allowing them to better understand Islam and Muslims, their place and role in Russia and the modern world.

³ Detailed analysis of the work of E. Said "Orientalism" was given in our magazine by L. A. Berezny in the article " Postmodernism and problems of orientalism. Notes on a discussion by US sinologists" (see: Vostok (Oriens), 2004, N 2, 3). Ed.

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