Jadidism as a Paradigm for Studying Islam in the Russian Empire

Abstract

This article is devoted to problematizing the research focus of academic literature on Islamic reformers in the Russian empire. Studies of the late imperial period typically devote the most of their attention to modernization. Jadidists-reformers are considered as key protagonists and engines of history. A typical narrative about Jadidists includes several elements: political activity, reforms in education, the flourishing of journalism, the renewal of religion and the “female question.” In this article we consider Jadidism as a narrative about backwardness and progress, which is uncritically reproduced in academic literature. Relying on recollections of Gabdulla Bubi, we offer a reconsideration of the framework that is generally used to describe the intellectual history of Muslims in Russia. We classify Bubi's narrative as a language-ideology and place it within the framework of our own “imperial project”. We do so to offer an alternative to Jadidim as an explanatory model.