Traditional Islam - reality or artificial construct? On the publication of the essay collection “"Islam, having a peaceful and benevolent essence": a discourse on traditional Islam among the Muslim Turks of the European part of Russia and Crimea”

The article offers a critical analysis of a new essay collection by seven authors, scholars in Islamic studies from Kazan, Ufa and Moscow, edited by R. I. Bekkin. Published in Moscow in 2021, the essay collection is devoted to the history of the concept and doctrine of “Traditional Islam”, as well as the regiona peculiarities of Islam in Tatarstan, Bashkortostan and the Crimea. The analysis of the essay collection is done in the context of the modern historiographical situation, which is characterized by an increasing interest in the problems of Russian Islam and the relationship between the state and confessions in modern Russia. An extensive source base is viewed as a special advantage, represented not only by Russian-language sources, but also by texts and oral speeches in the Tatar language, which normally are not easily accessible to the reader. The book features the first detailed historiographical review of literature devoted to the problem of traditional Islam. The preparation and publication of the essay collection indicate an active interest in the Islamic studies assessments of the life of Russian Muslims at the present stage of the activity of the multi-confessional community of Russia. The article leads the reader to believe that traditional Islam is both the reality of our existence and an artificial construct. Traditional Islam is established regional practices and changing assessments of these practices.