Common sense is not so common: integration and perceptions of ‘traditional Islam’ in Russia’s Volga-Ural region

To what extent does the official state rhetoric about ‘traditional Islam’ reflect the lay understanding of the concept by practicing Muslims in Russia’s Volga-Ural region? Research and commentaries on contemporary Islam in Russia show that ‘traditional Islam’ in the country has lately become a contentious term with state officials, intellectuals, Muslim clergy, general public, and most importantly local and migrant practicing Muslims emphasizing different senses of the concept (Benussi 2018a, Di Puppo 2018a, Anthropological Journal of European Cultures, 27(1), 99–104, 2018b, Di Puppo and Schmoller 2019). Yet few studies attempt to examine the reason why some Muslims endorse state-approved interpretations of ‘traditional Islam’ while others consciously assess the term and express their religious beliefs and practices differently. This article aims to contribute to this lacuna in the literature. I advance the argument that the meaning of ‘traditional Islam’ for many practicing Muslims residing in Russia depends on the level of (social) integration of those believers into society. Socially well-integrated individuals often take special care to ensure that long-established local customs and lifestyles are preserved and reflected in their religious practices. Less-integrated and marginalized individuals commonly tend to refer to stereotypical essentialist narrative that often disavow time-honored local ancestral beliefs and cultural practices and largely disregard the authority of the local established clergy. While the first category of believers and religious communities that they form enjoy support of the state, individuals with “divergent” thinking patterns are often limited in their ability to act as a group and are further cut off from the public sphere. In a qualitative analysis of several Muslim communities in the Republics of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan in Russia, employing interview and ethnographic methods, I examine perspectives of practicing Muslims on the notion of “traditional Islam” and contrast them with the secular rhetoric of state officials. Most interviewees agree that Islam as a religion satisfies a desire which the material world leaves unfulfilled. However, they disagree on how ‘traditional Islam’ reflects culture, values and history.