ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the relationship between Islam and power in post-Soviet Tatarstan and Dagestan is approached from the perspective of the Muslim spiritual elite. The chapter considers the response of Muslim leaders to the religious liberalization and ideological uncertainty of the early post-Soviet period. It outlines the organizational structure of the regional and local Islamic spiritual bodies – in particular, the Islamic Spiritual Boards of Tatarstan and Dagestan – and describes how they interacted both with the Islam recognized by the local population and that found in the world centres of Islamic spiritual authority and learning. The degree of Islamization proposed for Tatarstan and Dagestan by their respective spiritual authorities is compared and contrasted, as are official views on what the role of the state in this process should be. The political and spiritual influence of prominent Muftiis and Imams is discussed and the social and political implications of the extensive construction of mosques, Islamic schools and cultural centres, the development of a broad network of Arabic study groups and the mushrooming of Islamic mass media are assessed.
