Great Muslim philosophers and educators of the XIX-XXth centuries called to life scale on its depth, geographical and social coverage Renaissance in the environment of the Muslim people of Russia which fell outside the limits of the pure theology and extended on various spheres of public practice, found reflexion in culture and art development. Their works awoke not only religious thoughts and feelings, but developed religious and cultural consciousness, promoted revival of spiritual and cultural life of the Muslim people of the Russian empire and the USSR, to their "returning" from a condition of historical "oblivion".
Nowadays "Islamic" factor possesses an appreciable place in a spiritual, cultural, social, political life of the people and the states formed on ruins of the former empire. And if the spiritual life of Muslims of modern Central Asia, Russia already became object of their self-reflexion and specialized researches of the Post-Soviet period, Muslims of modern Ukraine are given much less attention in this respect.
At the same time, intensity of spiritual, cultural, political life and the statistical data testify that in modern Ukraine there are places of compact residing of Muslims and the people developing within the limits of Muslim historical and cultural tradition.
Presidential election of 2004 has shown all complexity of arrangement of political powers in the Post-Soviet Ukraine, they bared with all sharpness political split in the Ukrainian society, divided into two big camps which only rather conditionally, according to officially declared orientation, may be named pro-Russian and Western. In the context of geopolitical powers in the modern Ukraine and Crimea the Muslim religious factor, as a whole, does not play an appreciable role in definition of a vector of political actions of the authorities, crystallizing, mainly, in the form of decisions of Ukraine and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea directed on preservation of monuments of Muslim architecture, connected with the period of the Crimean Khanate
86 % of the Muslim religious networks of Ukraine make communities of Crimea. During 1988 – 1998 in Crimea were registered 183 Muslim communities, to the beginning of 2003 their number exceeded 300. In 2004 in Ukraine operated already 445 Muslim communities which had their own registered charters, and 22 communities functioning without registration of the charter (that is supposed by the legislation of Ukraine), among them in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea functioned 349 communities which registered the charter, and 20 – without charter registration. The cited data testifies that the centre of the religious Muslim life in the modern Ukraine is Crimea.
The Muslim population of Crimea (and Ukraine) is presented mainly by the Crimean Tatars, that is (with the account of Sevastopol) about 11 % of population of the peninsula. In the literature it was repeatedly noticed that “even in atheism domination, the Crimean Tatars as traditionally practicing Islam, in the overwhelming majority aspired to preserve their traditions, at least at a family-household level”.
The religion performed nationality-forming function on the peninsula in the times of the Crimean Khanate, but nowadays Muslim and the Crimean-Tatar identity does not coincide completely: the Muslims in Crimea are not only the Crimean Tatars (but also, for example, the Volga Tatars, the Azerbaijanians and separate representatives of some other ethnoses). On the other hand, though Islam is the consolidating factor, in 1997, according to "Krymsocis" service, only two thirds of the Crimean Tatars considered themselves Muslims. Despite the fact that in the conditions of the post-Soviet territory there is a high indicator of religiousness, in the culture, way of life, and at times publicly expressed views there are often observed moments not compatible to the laws of Islam.
Islam is perceived by a part of the Crimean Tatars mainly as a culture element. At such approach the religion to a lesser degree carries out the major social function: as a standard-valuable regulator of actions, acts, way of life, thoughts. All that leads to loss by a part of the Crimean Tatars which traditionally practiced Islam, the important cultural-valuable reference points and motives of activity and, finally, to marginalization.
However, along with the general for all nations “modernizing” and secular tendencies of the New and the Newest time, so pernicious influence on the condition of spiritual life of Muslims of Crimea rendered colonization of the peninsula in the end of the XVIII-th century and the reprisals which followed after it, concerning local residents – Muslims, and also deportation of the Crimean Tatars and its catastrophic consequences. In particular, it is known that two centuries ago “in Crimea there were about 1,5 thousand Muslim buildings – mosques, medrese, tekkiye, durbe. Nowadays there remained just tens of them. Almost all constructions... are in deplorable condition”. About 300 thousand Muslims of Crimea till now have no their Cathedral mosque in the capital of the autonomy. For decades of deportation among the Crimean Tatars practically did not remain religiously educated people. In 1998 among the Crimean Tatars there was no “any representative of the clergy having the higher spiritual education”.
Disposal of dictatorship of the communistic ideology and democratization of all spheres of public practice in Ukraine, certainly, facilitated spiritual and cultural life of all religious and cultural communities, including Muslims, introduced into it new trends promoting revival in new conditions. Complexity in definition of a technique of calculation of exact quantity of followers of this or that faith is well-known. For this reason there is no exact data about the number of Muslims in modern Ukraine. Estimations of their number fluctuate from 360 thousand to 2 million people. Experts consider that the truth, as always, is somewhere in the middle. Nowadays in Ukraine operate 90 Sunday schools, 7 Muslim spiritual educational institutions with 276 listeners, are published 5 periodical editions. At the disposal of Muslims there are 160 mosques out of which 10 are architecture monuments.
However, Muslims feel themselves in the sociopolitical situation which developed in Ukraine not so comfortable. On a question “Whether in Ukraine are sufficiently provided fundamental laws and freedoms for Muslims and equality of all religions before the law?” just 33,28 % of the interrogated Muslims answered in affirmative, and 27,84 % answered in negative. Muslim respondents also noticed that no any politician or political party of modern Ukraine reflects their interests.
The cited data speaks about inconsistent position of Muslims in modern Ukraine, and noted positive tendencies are represented not so considerable if to speak about “full and definitive returning of Islam in the system of the religious beliefs existing in Ukraine”.
Interferes with adequate, positive perception of Islam by the majority of the population of Crimea – an area of its basic distribution in Ukraine, and helps marginalization of the Crimean Tatars, besides an adverse economic situation, the sociopolitical situation which developed on the peninsula characterized by rejection of the Crimean Tatars by the majority of the population of Crimea, which arrived here after the deportation of the indigenous population. At the heart of aversion of the Crimean Tatars lies fear of loss of material benefits and leading position on the peninsula of the present majority, and also yet negative ethno stereotypes which are still present in consciousness concerning the Crimean Tatars lies. The given stereotypes inherited from myths of the period of the Soviet Union, are artificially cultivated in consciousness of the Crimeans by a certain part of political and business elite of Crimea in their own mercenary interests, are broadcasted in some mass-media, destabilizing situation, aggravating interethnic and inter-confessional interaction on the peninsula. The facts of involvement of some mass-media in this question did not remain without attention of both researchers and professional journalistic associations.
Hiding their true purposes and interests, local "oligarchs" often "mix" to political rhetoric ethnic (anti-Tatar) and religious subjects. So, the mechanism of incessant provocations of conflicts in Crimea from the side of the local elite visually shows the following example. In January, 2005, powers of the ARC decided to establish in Yalta the monument to I.Stalin (!) – the author and the main originator of the genocide of the Crimean-Tatar people in the XX-th century. The decision was changed only after numerous protest actions of the Crimean Tatars which left far beyond Crimea and supported by the democratic public. In reply to change the decision the leader of the Crimean communists, the deputy of the Supreme Council of Ukraine and local oligarch L.Grach, replied, obviously "playing" on national feelings of the Crimean Tatars, loudly stated, “Their protests will lead that we will erect a monument of Catherine II, since due to her, by the way, Crimea became a part of Ukraine”.
Thus, the harmonization problem of inter-confessional and interethnic interaction, consent achievement in Ukraine, besides efforts of members of communities and public organizations, demands active participation of the authorities of Crimea and Ukraine. After the lapse of 14 years from disintegration of the USSR (when the power and responsibility for decision-making on the peninsula moved to Kiev), the position of the Crimean Tatars remains simply depressing. This is the leitmotif of conclusions of researchers of the given problematic. So, on July, 26th, 2002, in the parliament of Ukraine arrived report of commission of the experts of the Council of Europe, devoted to racism and discrimination. Experts, marking, as a whole, improvement of interethnic situation in Ukraine, focused attention on difficulties in position of the Crimean Tatars. “According to experts, the Crimean Tatars who returned home after the deportation do not possess all complex of the rights which possess other citizens of Ukraine... And almost all of them [the Crimean Tatars – E.А., V.А] live in villages or in suburbs of cities where there is no water, gas, water drain and even electricity”.
It is also noticed that in the places of living of the Crimean Tatars there are no highways. “The life of the Crimean Tatars is very difficult, and it is still far from being civilized”, experts consider.
In a context the realized by the modern Ukraine state “Program of integration into the Ukrainian society of the Crimean Tatars, the Germans, the Greeks, the Armenians and other citizens deported by nationality” absence of original rehabilitation, the facts of rejection of the Crimean Tatars, actual inequality, infringement in rights, promoting their marginalization, to replacement on outsider positions in the Crimean society, seem especially strange and make to think, above all, about understanding by the authorities of the essence of the process of "integration". Integration should be based on original (instead of declared) recognition of pluralism of cultures, opinions, freedom of worship. At present the fear of the Ukrainian authorities of growth of ethnocultural consciousness after recognition of original pluralism is obvious. However, there is no alternative to pluralism. Moreover, the original pluralism promotes achievement of the original consent in the society as it leans against opinion of members of ethnocultural groups that the existing mode reflects their interests, promotes satisfaction of their inquiries, irrespective of religious, ethnic and other accessory.
In the conditions of rejecting by ethnic and confessional signs there is, on the contrary, a politicization of ethnic, confessional, and the cultural accessory, their transfer from the daily sphere to the sphere of policy.
Accurate and unequivocal correlation between social and economic, sociopolitical conditions of life, on the one hand, and intensity of religious feelings, on the other hand, are not established by modern social sciences. However, it is well-known that religion inspires and feeds development of science, culture and art, and in extreme conditions it may act as a form of national consciousness and self-preservation, social and political mobilization.
The future of Crimea and all Ukraine, the basic social and political powers depends on their ability to find the integrating idea, able to rally all (or, at least, the main) social and political forces. Such an idea should lean against public consensus (and in ideal - the consent) concerning the past of Crimea, its present and future. The public consensus is impossible without not only political, but also social recognition of criminal character of genocide of the Crimean Tatars, restoration of rights of the Crimean-Tatar people on its Motherland and account of its cultural, social, political and spiritual needs in the present and the future development of Crimea and Ukraine, no less than other ethno-cultural segments. Among them the major are the freedom of worship, the right to maintenance and development of national culture, the equality of people irrespective of racial, religious and other accessory.
Originally poly-cultural, poly-confessional character of the modern Ukrainian society should be recognized, too. Islam should take a worthy place in system of values and public life of Crimea and Ukraine.
Eldar AYETDINOV, the candidate of political sciences, the city of Naberezhnye Chelny
Vil'dan AYETDINOV, the student of the Crimean State Industrial-Pedagogical University, Simferopol
Related Links:
Muslims in Ukraine: Revival in the Context of Eurointegration
Different View on Events in Crimea
