On December 8-9, 2008, the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences hosted a scientific conference on "The Islamic factor in the history and modern development of the region of the Near and Middle East (Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, ethnic Kurdistan) and its adjacent area". This was the sixth conference on Islamic issues in a series of biannual conferences held by the BSV Countries Division of the Institute. This time they discussed the history of interaction of Islam with various elements of social and political life in a vast area from the Ottoman Empire to India, the features of Islamization at the present stage, in the XX and XXI centuries, socio-economic, cultural, demographic and socio-political processes in the Islamic area. Special attention was drawn to the international political role of the Islamic factor.

The conference was opened by R. B. Rybakov, Director of the Institute of Information Technology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He noted the breadth of issues covered by the conference program and the relevance of studying Islam, mentioning the international conference on this topic held in Egypt in October 2008 with the participation of a large number of scientists from the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

MSU ISAA Director M. S. Meyer, R. G. Landa (IB RAS) and G. I. Mirsky (IMEMO RAS) made presentations at the plenary session.

In his report on the evolution of Islamic civilization, M. S. Meyer traced the historical stages of its formation, noting the features of the early, middle and late stages and bringing the analysis to the collapse of the Ottoman Caliphate.

R. G. Landa in his report "Cultural and historical origins of Islamism" focused on the deep foundations and roots of such a widespread phenomenon as political Islam. The speaker emphasized the responsibility of the colonial powers and leaders of the post-colonial world order for creating a breeding ground for Islamic radicalism, and concluded that the West should show understanding of the current realities in order to avoid further alienation of the Muslim masses and outbursts of violence by Islamists.

In the report of G. I. Mirsky, the question was raised whether there is a crisis in Islam and a crisis in the Islamic community, the Ummah. The speaker gave a negative answer to both of these questions. There is no question of any crisis in Islam, as this religion remains one of the most confident, increasing the number of its supporters, attractive even for some people who were not born in a Muslim environment. Muslim ideology remains almost the only global ideology against the background of the crisis of the humanistic tradition and the materialistic ideologies of socialism and capitalism. G. I. Mirsky expressed disagreement with S. Huntington's theory about the clash of Muslim and Christian civilizations, claiming that it is only a question of the position of Islamic fundamentalists, supporters of traditional values, "horrified" by the order prevailing in the West. For the theorists of Islamism, the speaker stressed, this is not a struggle against Christianity, but against its distortion and deformity.

Further, the conference was held in three sections.

The first of them, "The Islamic factor in modern international political and economic processes", was attended by 17 reports.

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V. Ya. Belokrenitsky (IB RAS) in his report "Demographic future of the Islamic world" noted the trends of accelerated growth in the number of followers of the Prophet Muhammad and their share in the world population. If at the beginning of the XX century 11-14% of the world's inhabitants were Muslims, then at the end of it they were 20-23%, and in the middle of this century they may be 30-35%. The reasons for the future growth in the number and proportion of Muslims are the increased birth rate and the so-called population moment (accumulated mass of the population). Describing the reasons for the higher birth rate among Muslims, the speaker stressed that they should be sought not in the prevailing norms of birth control, but in the type of family and social relations.

A.V. Akimov's report (IB RAS) raised the question of the stability of Islamic banks in the current financial crisis. He noted that Islamic banks operating on an interest-free basis now operate in more than 50 countries around the world. At the same time, large banks that interact with the widespread financial system were significantly exposed to the risks of the global crisis in 2008.Small Islamic banks are more reliable in crisis conditions, and their number will obviously increase, including in Russia.

Dmitry Malysheva (IMEMO) described some aspects of modern relations between the Central Asian states and their neighbors to the south - Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, paying special attention to the issue of Islamic solidarity and islamoradicalism.

Continuing this theme, V. T. Korgun (Institute of Internal Affairs of the Russian Academy of Sciences) analyzed the peculiarities of the participation of regional states in the "Afghan project", i.e. in attempts to restore the economy and normalize life in modern Afghanistan. He noted that Tehran is very active in providing economic assistance to the neighboring country. This is especially true for the development of its western provinces bordering Iran. The largest trading partner of Afghanistan remains Pakistan, which allocates considerable funds for itself for Afghan projects. India is also very active in Afghanistan, and this is perceived with caution in Pakistan. China's assistance to the reconstruction of the Afghan economy is still small in volume, but it tends to grow. The Central Asian states are extremely interested in developing ties with Afghanistan, but they are not able to do this without the participation of third parties, as the speaker noted, due to limited financial and capital resources.

P. P. Sikoev (Institute of Islamic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences) in his report "From Pan-Islamism to Radical Islam" emphasized the continuity between the ideas of the founder of Pan-Islamism J. Afgani and the worldview of modern jihadists (radical Islamists). It is characteristic that the ideology that emerged from Afghanistan at the end of the XIX century, having described the "Ottoman-Arab" circle, returned to the same place at the beginning of the XXI century. The main center of jihadists, according to the speaker, today is located in Afghanistan and in the northwestern, Pashtun regions of Pakistan bordering it.

Yu. N. Panichkin (Ryazan), in a report on the history of complex, sometimes conflicting, Afghan-Pakistani relations, showed that the border between the two states, which runs in the mountains through the territory of the so-called free Pashtun tribes, has no "statute of limitations". Established in 1893, the "Durand line", which then divided the band of tribes into Afghan and Anglo-Indian, and now - Pakistani parts, is mistakenly qualified in a number of modern domestic works as temporary, established for 100 years.

The report of D. Pavlov, a young researcher from St. Petersburg, was devoted to a detailed analysis of the recently available correspondence between Iraqi President S. Hussein and Iranian President A. Hashemi-Rafsanjani in the summer and autumn of 1990, on the eve of and at the very beginning of the Gulf War.

E. S. Melkumyan (Institute of Islamic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences) described the European Union's policy towards Muslim states. Emphasizing that Europe attaches great importance to Islamic countries, she showed this with the example of Europe's relations with the most solid and rich economic structure in the Muslim world - the Gulf Cooperation Council. The main conclusion of the report is a shift in EU policy priorities from economic to political.

Postgraduate Institute of Oriental studies RAS A. Iskandarov presented a report on Islamic banks in the monetary system of Pakistan. The speaker highlighted two stages in the development of Islamic banking in the country. The first phase began under General M. Zia-ul-Haq in the early 1980s, had the character of a political campaign, and mostly ended in the 1990s.

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This period was accompanied by the creation of a fairly viable network of Islamic banks, although their share in lending is still insignificant (about 5%).

In her report "Demographic status of Muslim Turkey in Europe", N. Y. Ulchenko analyzed the main demographic trends characteristic of Turkish society at the beginning of the XXI century: a gradual decline in the birth rate to almost the level that means stabilization of the population in the future; a continuing increase in the share of the working-age population, which after 2020 due to the observed changes in demographic processes will be replaced by the trend of population aging. Thus, the delay in the decision to accept Turkey as a full member of the EU means for the latter, on the one hand, the possibility of avoiding the demographic pressure of Turkey on the total population of the European Union, and on the other - the loss of chances to fully use the potential of the Turkish labor force.

B. V. Dolgov (IB RAS) investigated the role of the Islamic factor in the socio-political development of the Arab world. It was noted that such relatively successful Arab States as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia do not officially recognize Islamic extremism. These countries seek to regulate their socio-political development by allowing for the possibility of diverging opinions, but at the same time they do not accept extremes, they try to combine different positions with moderation in their expression and propaganda, and an ideological split in the Arab world is considered unacceptable. Therefore, extremist Islamic organizations, in particular Al-Qaeda, are not supported at the state level in these countries.

G. G. Kosach (RSUH) made an attempt to create a portrait of a Saudi diplomat, namely: origin, place of education, features of career growth. The main conclusion of the speaker is the lack of communication between the diplomatic elite and the royal family, the relatively independent democratic nature of its formation, as well as the entire Saudi intelligentsia.

E. I. Urazova's report "Some aspects of Turkey's participation in oil and gas transit" noted that the implementation by Western countries of the concept of diversification of sources of energy imports, which is supposed to pay special attention to reducing their purchases in the Russian Federation and Iran, has led to an increase in the role of Turkey as a transit country. In addition to the existing Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, the construction of the Nabucco trans-Eurasian gas pipeline is planned. This project is actively lobbied by Turkey in the Turkic republics of the former USSR, which have large reserves of energy raw materials, as well as in the countries of the Middle East region. We are talking about the mobilization of the necessary volumes of natural gas to fill Nabucco. This inevitably increases competition with Russia's Gazprom, which intends to implement the South Stream project, which also provides for the delivery of gas to the countries of Southern and Central Europe.

In the report of G. I. Starchenkov (IB RAS) "Oil and gas of the Caspian-Caucasus region", it was noted that after the collapse of the USSR, the newly formed Caspian states began to divide the Caspian Sea again, violating the previously established borders. To this day, they have failed to reach a compromise. The fish and oil riches of the Caspian Sea add urgency to the issue. Indeed, during the period of independent development in the Caspian littoral states, the volume of raw material production increased significantly. Kazakhstan is the leader in oil production, followed by Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. Having lost the support of Russia, burdened with complex political and economic problems, they are forced to turn to the help of Western capital. Having established the delivery of energy raw materials to world markets, the Caspian littoral states managed to significantly increase their foreign exchange earnings and accelerate the pace of economic growth. In the current energy strategy of the West, an important role is played by efforts aimed at becoming the main consumer of Caspian oil obtained through reliable transportation routes bypassing Russia.

In her report "Reasons for the growing role of Islam in Central Asia", I. D. Zvyagelskaya (Institute of Islamic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences) expressed the opinion that in the post-Soviet period, Islam in Central Asian countries became a way of expressing the national identity of their peoples. During the existence of the USSR, a system of state and public institutions of a "universal" Soviet character was created in these republics. The current period is marked by the growth of nationalism, the desire to build an original national state based on mass national culture, rituals, including religious ones. In addition, with the development of a kind of capitalism in Central Asian societies, property and social tensions are increasing.

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polarization, which in turn also increases the attraction to Islam with its slogans of social justice. Finally, religiosity is also encouraged by certain business circles, such as companies that organize pilgrimage trips, whose business is closely related to Islamic rituals.

V. A. Nadein-Rayevsky (IMEMO) in his report "Turkism in Turkish foreign Policy" noted that after the collapse of the USSR, the West was sympathetic to the Turkish dream of uniting all Turks, believing that its implementation could become a reliable defense against the influence of Shiite Iran. As a result, Turkey "entered" Central Asia with a variety of educational and cultural programs. But economically, it could not respond to the requests of the Turkic states of Central Asia. In addition, having freed themselves from Soviet influence, they behaved quite cautiously in relation to the attempts of new patrons to deprive them of political independence. The recent strengthening of the position of Islam in Turkey is viewed with extreme caution by the leadership of Central Asian states.

B. M. Potskhveria (IB RAS) analyzed the main differences between Turkey and the EU. The position of the European Union is dominated by the unwillingness to accept Turkey as a member of the European Union, the desire to preserve its status as an associate member with privileged relations. As an additional compensation, it is offered membership in the planned Mediterranean Union. Such an alternative is sharply negatively assessed in Turkey, which insists on full membership in the united Europe.

The section "Islamization processes and the role of Islam in the social and political life of the countries of the region" included 25 reports.

The situation in Turkey, Iran and Pakistan, as well as in Central Asia, was most fully and compactly covered. A more fragmentary, though vivid, view was formed for the Arab countries. As for the role and place of Islam in the socio-political life of countries where Muslims are the majority, the discussion focused on the prospects of the Islamization process and the pain points that may accompany it. There were also positive trends in the establishment of moderate Islamism that denies extremism.

The problems of the Middle East were discussed in the reports of M. A. Sapronova(MGIMO (U)). Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation), T. V. Nosenko (IB RAS), N. A. Semenchenko (IB RAS), O. I. Zhigalina (IB RAS) and K. M. Truevtsev (HSE).

O. I. Zhigalina in her report "National and Islamic factors in the political process in Iraqi Kurdistan" drew special attention to the political fragmentation of Kurdish society in Iraq, the emerging trends in the use of the Islamic factor, as well as the influence of external forces.

K. M. Truevtsev in his report "Development of the ethno-confessional situation in Iraq" considered such an urgent problem as the separation between Sunnis and Shiites. His study of demographic processes revealed a trend towards a noticeable change in the structure of the population in the direction of increasing the share of Shiites, who already make up 58% of the country's population. On this basis, the speaker suggested that in the future there may be a displacement of Sunni Arabs from Iraq. This view has sparked debate, with the majority agreeing that a decrease in the Sunni population will mainly affect political realities, but significant Sunni emigration is unlikely.

In her report "The place and role of the Shura Council in the modern mechanism of exercising power in Arab monarchies", M. A. Sapronova considered the model of formation of new state forms of power based on traditional Islamic principles. A comparative analysis of the common features of the functioning of Islamic councils with European parliaments allowed the speaker to describe these authorities as "proto-parliaments", gradually transforming into European-type legislative bodies.

The peculiarities of the state of Muslim Arab communities in Israel, the contradictory interests of Arabs living in large enclaves or among the Jewish population, and the lack of a clear trend towards a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian problem were noted by T. V. Nosenko in the report "Islam in Israel: Status and interreligious contradictions". N. A. Semenchenko's report on the situation of Circassians in Israel was an interesting and unexpected touch on this topic, demonstrating the possibility of adaptation of the Muslim population in Israel, its "inclusion" in the military-political structure of the country.

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V. N. Moskalenko (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) explained the internal and external causes of the Islamic boom, focusing mainly on the aggravation of the situation in the area of mountain Pashtun tribes living in the north-west of the country. E. A. Pakhomov (RIA Novosti) spoke about the crisis around the Red Mosque in Islamabad, which has been controlled by radical Islamists since the beginning of 2007, and revealed a link between the suppression of the hotbed of resistance by government forces and the subsequent aggravation of the situation in the tribal zone. The message was illustrated by a video about the storming of a mosque in July 2007. A. L. Filimonova (ISAA) raised the issue of the Islamic factor in the ethnic Pashtun movement in Pakistan. In her opinion, the main importance for the movement is not the Islamic, but the ethnic component. The topic of N. A. Zamaraeva's speech (IB RAS) is the policy of the regime in Pakistan headed by President A. A. Zardari. The political situation in Pakistan was assessed by the speaker as transitional, which is due, in particular, to the difficult nature of interaction between religious and secular forces.

A large number of reports were devoted to Turkey. N. G. Kireev (IB RAS) highlighted the issue of creating the pro-Islamic Justice and Development Party that now rules in the country. B. M. Yagudin (Kazan) noted the specifics of the political system of modern Turkey and the influence of the Islamic factor. In the report of Yu. A. Li (Institute of Religious Education of the Russian Academy of Sciences), the features of modern religious education in Turkey were identified.

Very acute issues were raised in the report of K. V. Vertyaev (IB RAS), who focused on the fact that the paradigm of political development in Turkey reveals quite strong positions of the so-called liberal Islamists. This complicates Turkey's European integration, despite the gradual convergence of the country's economic development parameters with the criteria of the European Union. The report of ISAA graduate student G. M. Ziganshina analyzed the socio-political development of Turkey after the 2007 elections, which also gives grounds to speak about the continuing possibility of strengthening the Islamic factor.

The report of A. A. Sotnichenko (St. Petersburg) considered such a phenomenon in the ideological and political life of Turkey as "Eurasianism". The analysis of various interpretations of this term, the connection of each of the ideological trends with certain political forces are, in the speaker's opinion, not only of scientific, but also of practical interest from the point of view of Russia. Namely, if the current linking the concept of "Eurasia "only with the Turkic-speaking countries and peoples can become a factor of contradictions between Turkey and Russia, then the approach to" Eurasianism " based on the historical and ideological traditions of Byzantium can be a factor of rapprochement.

The topic of the influence of Islam on political and social development is most closely related to Iran as a state under Islamic rule. The report of N. M. Mammadova (Institute of Islamic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences) was devoted to the general results of the influence of the Islamic factor on the country's development. She described the Islamic principles from which the Shah of Iran's rule was criticized, their evolution over the 30-year period of the Islamic regime's existence, its distinctive features, and the specific goals and methods used by Tehran at the present time. The analysis of domestic, foreign, economic, social and cultural policies gave grounds to speak not only about the evolution of Islamic views and principles applied in practice, but also about their twofold - both positive and negative - impact on the country's situation. If the positive influence is manifested in strengthening the economic potential, strengthening the social orientation of economic policy, increasing regional influence, then the negative influence is manifested in maintaining the authoritarianism of the regime, increasing tension in relations with the world community due to support for radical Shiite movements.

S. B. Druzhilovsky's report (MGIMO (U) of the Russian Foreign Ministry) was devoted to the correlation of religious and secular factors in the socio-political development of Iran. The speaker paid special attention to Shia Islam, which has always allowed the Iranian clergy to take an independent position in relation to the secular authorities. The greatest interest and controversy was caused by the statement that Shiism as a religious trend of Islam is still in development, an example of which was Khomeini's theory of "velayat-faqih". Despite the evolution and divergence of views noted by many, the Shiite clergy, according to S. B. Druzhi-

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He will try to retain his leading positions in the power structure and prevent the domination of secular forces.

V. I. Sazhin (IB RAS) reviewed Iran's military potential. The speaker refers the Iranian political system not to an authoritarian, but to a totalitarian type. Thanks to this, in his opinion, there has been a significant increase in the Iranian military potential. The Islamic factor has also given considerable specificity to the entire complex of the country's armed forces.

The strengthening of Iran's economic position in relations with Muslim countries, first of all with neighboring ones, was noted in the report of M. R. Arunova (IV RAS). L. M. Kulagina (IV RAS) in the report "Features of Iran's foreign Policy" focused on the evolution of Islamic principles in conducting foreign policy, emphasizing the role of the Shiite factor in relations I. E. Fedorova (IB RAS) tried to make a forecast of the policy of the new US President Barack Obama towards Iran, considering this factor to be one of the most significant in the future development of the country.

N. A. Filin (RSUH), perhaps for the first time in Russian and foreign Iranian studies, described Friday prayers as an important tool for maintaining the stability of the political regime of Iran, an example of the Islamic form of influencing the socio-political consciousness of society.

A. N. Fedoseenkova, PhD student of the Institute of Islamic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, presented some modern concepts of modernization of Islamic societies on the example of the theories of the Iranian ideologist A. Sorush and the Turkish one F. Gulen. The discussion of this and other reports revealed a difference of views on the trends in changing the role of the Islamic factor in the Near and Middle East, on the ways of its evolution and reducing the radical nature of ideology. The possibility of replacing Khomeini's concept, which is based on the concentration of political power in the hands of a religious leader, with A. Soroush's concept, which focuses on the democratic principles of Islam, seemed particularly relevant (although unlikely) to the participants of the discussion.

Various aspects of the complex ethno-confessional situation in Central Asian countries were covered in the reports of D. Wilkowski (Berlin), N. M. Yemelyanova (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences), K. S. Vasiltsov and N. S. Terletsky (St. Petersburg).

D. Wilkowski's report "Arab-Muslim organizations in Kazakhstan" noted their significant growth after the collapse of the USSR, and they were particularly active in the field of education. In the future, as the economic situation in the country strengthened and the state management system improved, their influence waned.

N. M. Yemelyanova, based on the materials of her recently published book " Darvaz. Religious and cultural life of the Tajik-Afghan border area", showed trends of strengthening the role of religion in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region after the formation of the Republic of Tajikistan. Her field surveys conducted in the Darvaz Pamir region made it possible to concretize the idea of replacing the secular lifestyle with a religious one with features characteristic of the spread of Ismailism.

The report of K. S. Vasiltsov and N. S. Terletsky was based on the materials of an ethnographic expedition to Tajikistan in 2007-2008 and was accompanied by a slide show and photographs.

The section "The factor of Islam in modern and contemporary history" included 10 reports.

I. V. Zaitsev (IB RAS) presented the paper "Problems of certifying the sworn obligations of Muslims to the Christian authorities in Russia in the XVI-early XX centuries". L. Z. Taneeva-Salomatshina (IB RAS) devoted her speech to the history of the Chishtiya Sufi brotherhood in India in the early Modern period. She stressed that in modern historiography there is an increasing attention to the problems of Sufism, which reflects the growing public interest in Sufi ideas. All the Sufi fraternities followed the same obligatory tradition, which consists in the postulate that knowing oneself, a person knows God. Although Islam came to India in the eighth century, only by the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. it became the center of Sufi thought.

L. D. Mashyanova (Ryazan) presented a report on the Indian Ismailis in East Africa, who appeared there at the beginning of the XX century. They formed the Muslim League party, which published its own press organ. Indian Ismailis in East Africa, mainly in Uganda, Kenya and Tanganyika, were employed in various fields (in the post office, mountain road construction, administration and the army), but not in leadership positions, which was opposed by some African leaders and the local population.

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K. A. Demichev (Nizhny Novgorod) devoted his report to the problems of integration of Muslims into the military-political system of the Sikh state of Ranjit Singh (1799-1839). The speaker noted that the ruler was interested in developing this process, and therefore steps were taken to equalize the rights of Muslims with the rights of Sikhs, for example, in remuneration for military service. By the end of Ranjit Singh's reign, the principle of forming power structures also changed - as a result, Muslims received equal opportunities with Sikhs.

The Islamic factor in the modern and contemporary history of Turkey was highlighted in the reports of A.V. Boldyrev (IB RAS), S. F. Oreshkova (IB RAS), N. I. Chernichenkina (IB RAS) and V. I. Shlykov (ISAA).

A.V. Boldyrev described in detail the role of the Islamic factor in solving the problem of Constantinople, as it was interpreted by Russian conservative publicists at the final stage of the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878. In their opinion, in the national interests of Russia at that time, it was necessary to leave Constantinople within Turkey.

S. F. Oreshkova, considering the role of Islam as a factor organizing the Middle East region in the Ottoman period, concluded that the Muslim Turks managed to create a new structure of the state, using some Byzantine models in combination with Muslim and Ottoman specifics. At the same time, Islam has become the main integrating element in this system. Some aspects raised in her report were developed in the report of N. I. Chernichenkina, who analyzed the doctrine of Islamic economy in the Ottoman Empire. Based on a thorough study of the available literature, she concluded that the traditional Islamic provisions were introduced by the Ottoman, Turkic tradition, which determined the specifics of the socio-economic doctrine of the empire.

V. I. Shlykov, in his report "The Islamic factor in the national liberation struggle of the Turkish people in 1919-1923", highlighted the importance of Muslim clergy in propaganda work among the masses of urban and rural populations, since the direct appeal of Turkish nationalists turned out to be ineffective.

A. B. Orishev (Yelets) and V. S. Boyko (Barnaul) A. B. Orishev spoke about the problem of using Islam in Nazi Germany's propaganda against Iran. The result of this policy was the creation of a solid pro-German lobby in the highest echelons of the Iranian government, aimed at combating Soviet and British influence. V. S. Boyko's report " The Muslim clergy of Afghanistan between religion and Politics (late 1940s-1960s)" demonstrated that theologians had a serious influence on the masses of the population and enjoyed great privileges. Leading theologians and heads of Sufi orders became participants in the political struggle and involved their followers in it.

A. S. Kadyrbayev (Institute of Islamic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences) made a report on the Muslims of Western China. Presenting a detailed ethnocultural and historical overview of the Muslim peoples of various parts of the region, the speaker noted the tense current situation in a number of them, the aggravation of contradictions between ethnic Chinese (Han) and Muslims.

In conclusion, the participants of the conference noted the fruitfulness of discussing the problems of Islam in the broadest context and expressed hope that such scientific events will continue to be held in the future.

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