Based on the materials of museum collections and archival records, the article examines in chronological order the history of the formation of the ethnographic collection on the culture of Muslim Tatars at Kazan University in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries. Moreover, the paper describes the composition of collections and the specifics of the acquisition of funds. For the first time, the authors of the article analyze a set of objects belonging to Muslim Tatars from the collection of the Ethnographic Museum of Kazan University. Ethnographic museum collections do not just represent the culture of peoples, they also reflect the realities of the time (the history of the development of ethnography and the scientific paradigm, the social context), which increases the relevance and significance of such works. The methodological basis of the research is based on the principles of historicism and objectivity. Formal typological, problematic chronological and comparative historical methods and the method of description are used in the work. The article pays special attention to exhibitions as a vivid manifestation of the entire collection of the museum and concludes that for the first time the features of the ethnography of the Kazan Tatars (decorative and applied arts and costume) were presented in the wide public space of Kazan only in 1912. Prior to this, the collections were extremely small and practically had never been exhibited. The "museification" of the traditional culture of the Muslim Tatars at the end of the 19^th century began with the collection of obsolete women's jewelry and printed shamails as a vivid and interesting manifestation of the culture of the Kazan Tatars. The need to record the Tatar culture as a whole, not only the part that goes out of existence, comes a little later.

This article is devoted to the analysis of an attempt to establish a consular representation of the Ottoman Empire in Kazan in the 1870s. Based on the archival materials and academic literature, the study examines the initiative of Kazan Tatars who were subjects of the Ottoman Empire, the response of the Ottoman embassy, as well as the motivations behind the petition and the reasons for its rejection. The article is grounded in previously unpublished sources, including a petition and the correspondence of Ottoman diplomatic institutions on this matter.

The relevance of this research lies in the insufficiently explored topic of the Ottoman Empire’s diplomatic presence in the Muslim regions of Russia, as well as the need for a deeper understanding of the transnational initiatives of Muslim communities in the second half of the 19^th century. The analysis of the Kazan Tatars’ petition for the establishment of a consulate not only introduces unique sources into academic circulation but also contributes to the existing understanding of Ottoman-Russian relations and the role of the Muslim factor in imperial diplomacy.

This article unwinds the history of the creation and existence of the Kazan Muslim infantry command courses. These courses represented a rather specific and, in many respects, unique type of military educational institutions designed to train commanders exclusively for Muslim, primarily Tatar, units of the Red Army. During the Civil War in Kazan there were three successive courses for training infantry commanders of Muslims: the first formation of 2 Muslim infantry courses (February 1919 - April 1919), the second formation of courses under the same name (September 1919 - July 1920) and the 16^th Muslim courses (October 1920 - January 1923). The history of these military educational institutions is an important page in the study of the formation of the Red Army and in terms of reflecting the specifics of the formation of the national policy of the young Soviet state.

Before the formation of the USSR, Turks and Russians had a very long history of relations. According to different estimates, Russia fought Turkey 12–13 times. The different assessments of this relationship presented by the authors from Europe, Turkey and Armenia deserve closer attention. The conclusion offers several findings about the nature of these assessments across geopolitical regions and attempts to systematize them. While much can be said about the historical development of bilateral relations, this article focuses on the military‑political dimension in the Middle East, especially in light of mounting tensions in Europe and worldwide. The purpose of the article is to track how researchers’ assessments change depending on their affiliation with a particular state or region – Turkey, Armenia, the European region, or the Russian Federation. The object of the study comprises evaluations by various authors of aspects in the history of Turkey-Russia relations over the last five years.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the scientific heritage of Letchi Magomedovich Garsaev – one of the leading researchers of the history, culture and ethnic identity of the Chechen people. Special attention is paid to his works on the study of tayps (benoy, gordaloy, elistanjoy, gunoy), the history of villages (Elistanzhi, Argun, Shali), ethnography (male and female clothing), religious culture (the Sufi brotherhood of Kunta-Haji), and issues of the Chechen diaspora in the Middle East. The work uses a comprehensive approach based on the analysis of Garsaev's published works available on the eLibrary.ru platform. The scientific significance of his research for understanding the historical path of the Chechen people and preserving their cultural heritage is demonstrated.

The aim of this article is to analyze the role of Muslim public intellectuals in contemporary Indonesia. The novelty of this study lies in its comprehensive examination and analysis of the phenomenon of Muslim public intellectuals in contemporary Indonesian society. Methodologically, the article draws on principles proposed in intellectual history, allowing us to perceive Muslim intellectuals engaged in discussions on the Ummah, Islam, and politics as an imagined community, and their ideas as invented traditions. The article analyzes 1) the main areas of public intellectual activity in Indonesia as a Muslim country, 2) thematic focus of Muslim public intellectual research in Indonesia, and 3) the main vectors and trajectories of possible developments of Muslim intellectuals within the intellectual community in Indonesia in general. It is assumed that Muslim intellectuals make a significant contribution to the modernization processes of Indonesian society, since their actualization of political and socio-economic problems through the prism of Islam reflects the real difficulties and contradictions of modern, dynamically developing Indonesian society. The conclusions of the author include several provisions: 1) the range of roles of public Muslim intellectuals in Indonesia is relatively diverse, including the roles and statuses of experts and analysts, 2) political commentary and analysis are the main forms of activity of public Muslim intellectuals in Indonesia, 3) public Muslim intellectuals are forced to leave traditional spheres of intellectual activity, migrating to the virtual spaces of the Internet, 4) Muslim intellectuals have become active interpreters of secular society, offering a religious vision of the problems and threats of our time, 5) issues of Islam and the development of the Ummah in Indonesia in general are among the conditionally acceptable and relatively taboo topics for Muslim public intellectuals, 6) public Muslim intellectuals correlate the discourse they offer with the political and ideological preferences of the ruling elites. 

The reason for the creation of this branch of Quranic sciences was the desire of Muslim theologians to answer consistent questions that arose either in the minds of researchers, or in the minds of atheists or representatives of some teachings that deviated from Islamic orthodoxy. The answers to these questions have become the subject of this branch of Quranic studies.

The purpose of this modest research is to present these answers arranged in a logical order, at the same time agreeing with the need and motive for raising these questions in the mind of those who ask them. We see that the answers to them represent what can be called the term "theories of Quranic studies", which include: the Theory of Divine Revelation, the Theory of Ways of Reciting and Transmitting the Quranic Text, etc.

Of these theories, we have listed below six general theories that researchers can benefit from by studying them carefully. This may encourage researchers to supplement these theories or exclude some of them by adding something to others.

Perhaps, considering the issues of Quranic studies through these theories will allow us to understand this topic more deeply, identify the basis of disagreements and their causes, and also help in choosing and preferring one opinion over another. It may also indicate the importance of addressing issues whose usefulness cannot be fully known without studying them through these theories. Finally, it will highlight the benefits of some of the topics around which ancient disputes have arisen that have not yet been fully and definitively resolved.

This article opens a series of publications of the Russian translation of the introduction (muqaddimah) to the commentary of the Qur’an “Tafsir al-Qur’an al-‘Azim” (Commentary to the Great Qur’an) by one of the most famous and popular exegete of the traditionalist trend of Islamic thought (ahl al-ḥadīth) – Isma’il ibn ‘Umar ibn Kathir (d. 1373). This first part of the first section of the introduction deals with the importance and necessity of the interpretation of the Qur’an, as well as it’s methodology. The latter is built upon the references to parallel passages of the Holy Scripture, the prophetic tradition (Sunnah), and the sayings of the companions and followers. Linguistic analysis is allowed in the absence of relevant texts or the disagreement among the followers. The use of Jewish traditions (isrā’īlīyyāt) in Qur’anic interpretation, which are divided into three groups, is considered separately. The translation is preceded by a short preface containing a basic biographical information about the theologian and an analysis of the views presented in this fragment.

The article examines the evolution of the Russian Empire's confessional policy in the North Caucasus during the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, with a focus on Kabarda. Through analysis of archival materials and legislative acts, the author identifies three main stages in the development of the system for governing Muslim communities in the region: I) 1792–1820s – Adoption of the «Regulations for the Kabardians» (1792), which recognized religious rights and the jurisdiction of Islamic legal proceedings under imperial oversight; II) 1820–1870s – Initial bureaucratic integration of local institutions through proclamations to the Kabardian people (1822) and tightened control during the Caucasian War and the Murid movement; III) 1870–1917 – Attempts at unification and systematization of governance through the reformist activities of Viceroy Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, the adoption of the «Temporary Rules on the Administration of Sunni Muslim Clergy in the Kuban and Terek Oblasts» (1890), and other regulatory acts. The permanent military status of the region, geopolitical competition with the Ottoman Empire, and the internal differentiation among the Muslim communities led to the incomplete establishment of a North Caucasian muftiate by the early 20^th century, reflecting the distinctive features of the Russian Empire's confessional policy in the North Caucasus.

The article is devoted to the consideration of key aspects of the formation and functioning of Islamic education since the 7^th century. Highlighting the main stages of the formation and development of education, the author focuses on the conceptual aspects of each stage. Special attention is paid in the article to the disclosure of the features of Islamic education and its modern problems. The author examines in detail the concept of Islamization of knowledge, which occupies a special place in modern Islamic education.

In recent years, the development of Islamic Psychology and the issues of counseling Muslims in the Russian academic community have been examined through the lens of international experience and the development of original domestic approaches. Particular attention is paid to the theoretical and methodological foundations, practical models of assistance, and institutional development of this field. This article presents a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Russian-language research and translated works devoted to mental health and psychological assistance for Muslims, from the perspective of the psychology of religion. Key trends are identified, including the integration of religious and psychological knowledge, the development of culturally sensitive counseling methods, and the formation of a professional community. The analysis is based on a corpus of scientific publications of the years from 2018 up to 2025.

The article presents a theoretical foundation and the main parameters of an integrative model of psychotherapy and counseling – AYAH-therapy, developed within the framework of Islamic Psychology. The model utilizes the central Quranic category of "ayah" (divine sign), which is fundamental to the Islamic worldview, as the basis for psychological assessment and spiritually-oriented therapeutic intervention. AYAH-therapy is based on the Quranic premise of three spheres of divine communication with humans: revealed signs (the verses of the Quran), signs in creation, including the external world (nature and society), and the inner world of the human being. The goal of therapy is to help the client learn to "read" these signs within the context of their life path, leading not only to the resolution of psychological problems but also to spiritual growth. The article elaborates on the ontological and theoretical foundations of the model, the principles of case assessment and formulation, as well as key therapeutic interventions. These interventions represent an adaptation of traditional Islamic practices (dhikr, tadabbur, tafakkur) for therapeutic purposes, and a modification and integration of techniques from modern psychotherapeutic approaches in light of the principles of the presented model. AYAH-therapy is positioned as a method emerging from within the Islamic tradition, aimed at restoring the primordial divine balance (taswiyah) of the human inner world.