Islam in Russia

Uncommon card · No. 106401

Islam is the second-largest religion in the Russian Federation, which has the largest Muslim population in Europe. The Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported in 2015, citing the Mufti Council, that there were approximately 20 million Muslims among Russia's population of 146 million. Recognized under the law and by Russian political leaders as one of Russia's traditional religions, Islam is a part of Russian historical heritage, and is subsidized by the Russian government. The position of Islam as a major Russian religion, alongside Orthodox Christianity, dates from the time of Catherine the Great, who sponsored Islamic clerics and scholarship through the Orenburg Assembly. The history of Islam and Russia encompasses periods of conflict between the Muslim minority and the Orthodox majority, as well as periods of collaboration and mutual support. Robert Crews's study of Muslims living under the Tsar indicates that "the mass of Muslims" was loyal to that regime after Catherine, and...

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