ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the situation of Muslims in present-day Russia. Although we may think of Muslims as being ‘at home’ in Russia, one can now observe a tendency in wider society to erase Russia’s Muslim heritage from people’s perception. While Russian national identity is increasingly interpreted in terms of Orthodox Christianity and Slavic culture, little space remains for the unfolding of Muslim everyday lives. Before this background, this chapter considers conceptions of the Islamic ‘other world’ (al-ghayb), which is commonly associated with fragrance (misk or attar) and its use in Muslim religious contexts. We see how Muslim belief and practice are informed by interpretations of the other world, which in some instances becomes physically manifest and may even capture and replace the more dominant sense of reality with its accompanying narratives. Another reality is being invoked, whose cosmological implications then challenge both the secular world order and the Orthodox Christian claim to the land. The aforementioned beliefs and practices are part of a lived Muslim culture that enables a reconnection with Muslim history and heritage.
