Islam in Russia: Crisis of leadership

In August 1989 I participated in the celebrations of two events, both of which marked the apparent revival and rejuvenation of the Islamic faith in the Russian Federation. The first of these events was the 1100th (A H) anniversary of the official arrival of Islam on the banks of the Volga River in 922 AD when Almush, king of the Volga Bulgars, accepted Islam as the state religion of his mighty and prosperous kingdom. This event was scrupulously recorded by the famous Arab traveller Ahmed ibn Abbas ibn Fadlan, then the secretary of the ambassadorial delegation of the Abbasid khalif AI-Muktadir, which arrived on the present-day territory of the Republic of Tatarstan on the invitation of King Almush himself. Old though the history of Islam on the Volga River seems to appear, Islam was not a complete novelty in the area even as early as in 737 AD.' The second event of 1989, which conveniently coincided with the first, was the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the Muslim Board of the European part of the Russian Federation and Siberia. After a series of stormy rebellions and mutinies by the Tatar and Bashkir Muslims culminated in the famed Pugachev uprising, the Empress Catherine 11 finally granted the Muslims a certain extent of religious freedom. The exercise of this freedom had nevertheless to be supervised from above through certain establishments answerable to the state authorities. In the city of Orenburg, a new religious body consisting of the mufti and three qadis was set up and named the 'Directorate of the Community of Muhammedan Faith'.' This marked the official beginning of the spiritual rule of the all-Russia mufti over the Muslim communities of Greater Russia. The festivities dedicated to both events started in Ufa, the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan, where the seat of the all-Russian mufti Talgat Tajutdin was situated,' and then proceeded through the territories of Bashkortostan and Tatarstan to Kazan', the capital of the latter. Associated celebrations were also held in the city of Orenburg, the historic seat of the all-Russia muftis. The celebrations were quite impressive, given the fact that, as far as I know, this was the first occasion when the words 'Islam in Russia' had been spoken openly and widely not only by the participants in the events but also by the Russian media at large. There were many guests from abroad, many inspiring speeches and many wishful predictions as to how Islam would be developing and prospering in Russia from then on. Since then, six years have passed. The USSR is no more and many new forecasts about the future of Russia are being made. The most noticable event of these six