"Muslim mosque as a house of worship to be closed off…" (The Cathedral Mosque of Leningrad in 1932–1940s)
https://doi.org/10.31162/2618-9569-2021-14-3-529-555
Abstract
The 1930s were a troublesome period for all religious communities in the Soviet Union. Muslims were not an exception. The widespread closure of mosques and repressions against religious leaders took place in all regions of the country. The history of the TatarMuslim community of Leningrad in 1930s has not been properly researched as yet. It would be interesting to know how Muslims managed to maintain control over the mosque until 1940 despite growing pressure from the authorities. The article examines the strategies used by offi cials of Leningrad City Council (Lengorsovet) and other state authorities to reduce the religious activity of Muslims. The article centres around the restoration of the Cathedral Mosque of Leningrad which served as one of the main pretexts for the closure of the mosque.
About the Author
R. I. Bekkin
Institute of Oriental Studies at Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia;
Institute for African studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Renat I. Bekkin, Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences; D.Sc. in Economics, Ph.D. in Religious Studies, Cand. Sc. in Law; Professor; Leading Research Fellow
St. Petersburg;
Moscow
References
1. Bekkin R.I. “Ya mog by bezhat’ i v Finlyandiyu” (Istoriya odnogo nesostoyavshegosya pobega Musy Bigeeva) [“I could have escaped to Finland” (The story of one failed escape of Musa Bigeev). Gasyrlar avazy=Ekho vekov [Gasyrlar avazy=Echo of centuries]. 2018;(4):88–102. (In Russian)
2. Bekkin R.I. “K tataram sovetskaya vlast’ otnositsya ploho…” (Sud’ba imama Ya.K. Halekova) [“The Soviet government treats the Tatars badly...” (The fate of Imam Ya.K. Khalekov)]. Ural’skij istoricheskij vestnik [Ural Historical Journal]. 2018;1(58):82–90. (In Russian)
3. Bekkin R.I. Imam Yakub Halekov i musul’manskaya obshchina sovetskogo Petrograda–Leningrada [Imam Yakub Khalekov and the Muslim community of Soviet Petrograd-Leningrad]. Rossij skaya istoriya [Russian history]. 2017;(1):148–156. (In Russian)
4. Bekkin R.I. “Rabochie mne ugrozhali ubij stvom za naznachenie Bayazitova…”: M.S. Bayazitov i delo leningradskih mull 1932 goda [“The workers threatened me with murder for the appointment of Bayazitov...”: M.S. Bayazitov and the case of the Leningrad mullahs in 1932]. Novejshaya istoriya Rossii [Modern History of Russia]. 2019;9(4):1058–1072. (In Russian)
5. Barudi G. Pamyatnaya knizhka [Commemorative book]. Kazan: Iman; 2000. 148 p. (In Russian)
6. Bekkin R.I. Musul’manskaya obshchina Kronshtadta XIX – nachala XX v. [Muslim community of Kronstadt in the 19th – early 20th centuries]. Gasyrlar avazy=Ekho vekov [Gasyrlar avazy=Echo of centuries]. 2016;(1/2):238–245. (In Russian)
7. Bekkin R.I. Musa Bigeev kak lider musul’manskoj obshchiny Petrograda (po materialam pisem Musy Dzharullaha Bigeeva k Muhammed-Alimu Maksutovu) [Musa Bigeyev as the leader of the Muslim community of Petrograd (based on the letters of Musa Jarullah Bigeyev to Muhammad-Alim Maksutov)]. Iz istorii i kul’tury narodov Srednego Povolzh’ya [From history and culture of Peoples of the Middle Volga region]. 2017;(7):227–235. (In Russian)
8. Zaripov I.A., Belyaev R.F. “Our Religious Mentor”: Musa Bigeev and the Tatars in Finland. Studia Orientalia Electronica. 2020;8(2):40–55.
9. Bekkin R.I. Connections between Tatars in Petrograd-Leningrad and Finland during the 1920s and 1930s. Studia Orientalia Electronica. 2020;8(2):56–69.
10. Odincov M.I. Vse religioznye organizacii musul’man nahodyatsya nakanune polnejshego razrusheniya [All Muslim religious organizations are on the eve of complete destruction]. Otechestvennye arkhivy [Domestic archives]. 1994;(1):67–75. (In Russian)
11. Islam v Peterburge: Enciklopedicheskij slovar’ [Islam in St. Petersburg: Encyclopedic Dictionary]. Moscow – Nizhniy Novgorod: Medina; 2009. 307 p. [Electronic source]. Available at: http://www.idmedina.ru/books/encyclopedia/?3382 (Аccessed: 30.07.2021). (In Russian)
Review
For citations:
Bekkin R.I. "Muslim mosque as a house of worship to be closed off…" (The Cathedral Mosque of Leningrad in 1932–1940s). Minbar. Islamic Studies. 2021;14(3):529-555. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31162/2618-9569-2021-14-3-529-555
Views:
1326
Email this article 