Orientalists admit problems in studying Islam history in Southern Russia

The history of Islam in Southern Russia and Northern Caucasus is full of unresolved contradictions and white spots. The compilers of the encyclopaedic dictionary "Islam in the Russian Federation" had to postpone the publication of the consolidated volume in order to fill in the gaps in studying the topic.

The leading foreign and domestic Islamic scholars and experts on the Caucasus took part in the international forum "Islam in Multicultural World", which ended on September 27 in Kazan.

The release of the consolidated volume of the encyclopaedic dictionary "Islam in the Russian Federation", planned for 2019, was postponed until March 2020, Damir Mukhetdinov, the editor-in-chief, a candidate of political sciences, who is also the first deputy chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) of Russia, told the "Caucasian Knot" on the eve of the forum.

The aim of the publication is to support the formation of a scientific approach to studying the heritage of Russian Muslims, while the gaps in the coverage of the history of Islam in a number of regions, especially in South of Russia and the Caucasus, have become obstacles. By March 2020, the dictionary publishers expect to collect all the existing material in order to "close fundamental gaps as much as possible," Mr Mukhetdinov has stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 28, 2019 at 05:30 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.