Islam

The article analyzes the views of Saddam Hussein, based on his statements regarding the “Shiite question”, which was originally based on the ideological heritage of the Ba’th, set out in the Constitution of 1951. However, under the influence of the processes that took place in Iraq throughout the 1970s, in particular the Kurdish national movement and the “Islamic awakening” of Shiites under the influence of the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Saddam Hussein was forced to adjust the ideas of the Ba’th to new realities.

The article attempts to analyze the specifics of the position of the Shiite clergy in Iraq, associated with the traditional Islamic worldview of Shiites, who traditionally occupied a subordinate position in the Sunni political hierarchy. The article focuses on the period of the formation and strengthening of Saddam Hussein’s sole power, when he took the initiative to appease Shiites and Ulama, combining the policy of “carrot and stick”, considering Shiites as a potential threat to his secular power.

This article contains the brief analysis of the theoretical bases of «Mohammedans Renaissance» in the British India in the last third of XIX century. The author analyzes the publications of W. S. Blunt, W. H. Gregory, M. R. Ahmad, Khawji Ghulam-us-Saqlain on this problem. The author is of the opinion that the British politics and Mohammedan intellectuals created the effective model of modernization of Mohammedan community in British India. 

The article examines the events of October – December 1962 in Iran, related to the discussions that took place in Iranian society on the issue of the election bill, as part of the preparation of the reforms of the “White Revolution of the Shah and the People”. Based on the analysis of Ayatollah Khomeini’s speeches and appeals, his views and approaches to the proposed bill are characterized. Based on the results of the analysis, it is concluded that Ayatollah Khomeini’s approach to the Shah’s initiative is unconstitutional and anti-Islamic.

The article «Religious aspects in foreign policy of the Golden Horde during Berke’s khan reign» written by Alexander Sheremetyev is devoted to works analysis of medieval Arabic historians concerning Berke’s khan Muslim devotion. According to the authors Berke’s personal commitment to Islam was the decisive factor in his foreign policy activities. The struggle between the Golden Horde and Mongolian Iran was defined as «Religious War». A. Sheremetyev came to a conclusion that medieval authors exaggerated Berke’s personal commitment to Islam.

The paper investigates the multi-faith religious life of the population of the Saratov region in the 1930s. Anti-church policy of the state has carried out since 1917, but in the early 1930s. sharply intensified, accompanied by mass lawlessness and repression. Defeating the church to the middle of the 1930s., The Bolshevik government was not able to destroy the religious life, which lasted semi-legally and illegally, in spite of persecution and repression.

Based on the population census and archival materials, the article examines the confessional diversity of the Saratov Volga region in the late 1920s – early 1940s. Orthodoxy prevailed in this territory, however, a characteristic feature of regional life has always been polyconfessionalism, due to historical and geopolitical factors. In the article, the author characterizes the confessional space of the Saratov Volga region and gives a quantitative ratio of various confessions.