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The Talking Dead: Everyday Muslim Practice in Russia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 May 2020

Jesko Schmoller Open the ORCID record for Jesko Schmoller [Opens in a new window]
Jesko Schmoller*
Affiliation:
Perm State University, Perm, Russian Federation
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article focusses on the issue of “traditional Islam” in Russia and the practices associated with it. Employing an approach that combines the concepts of lived religion and everyday nationalism, those practices are taken into consideration that are often interpreted in terms of vernacular Islam and regarded skeptically, if not outright rejected, by proponents of a more global Islam. Discussed in detail are commemoration ceremonies for the dead, prayers in the cemetery, saint veneration and local pilgrimage, the mawlid celebration and the use of prayer beads. These practices indicate an outlook on life, where Muslim believers cultivate a close connection to their environment and maintain personal relations to various human and more-than-human beings, thus creating the space for an exchange crossing the boundary between life and death. The article contributes to the anthropological study of Islam in Russia and—by focusing on religious practice—specifically attempts to capture the main characteristics of “traditional Islam.”

Keywords

practicelived religionfuneral culturesaint venerationIslamRussia
Type
Special Issue Article
Information
Nationalities Papers , Volume 48 , Special Issue 6: Special Issue on Everyday Nationalism in World Politics , November 2020 , pp. 1036 - 1051
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Copyright
© Association for the Study of Nationalities 2020

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