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normal Russia able to ensure an adequate quality of life comparable with the advanced countries of the world. The concentration of main forces and possibilities of society to create conditions for achievement of a high level of living for the people is the urgent task acquiring decision on the part of the national elite in the observed future. For the period of its achievement, one should comprehend (and should not make any tragedy out of this!) clearly that the applied forms and methods of work to attain a high level of living may be taken from both the liberal-democratic and the traditional national administrative-directive arsenal, within the framework of compliance with legislation, the main human rights and freedoms, and there may be acceptable any means ensuring the final result.
They are acceptable because without the radical change of quality of the people's life on the basis of rapid growth of the size of national wealth by modernization of all spheres of life of Russian society it is impossible to expect to achieve the strategic aim of constructing new Russia - the transfer from the mobilizing to the organic self-developing type of social system, which is the sole society able to create a favorable basis for the stable taking root of freedom, democracy and liberalism in Russia.
"Svobodnaya mysl", M., 2011, N 2, p. 71-86.
P. Chuprikov,
candidate of historical sciences (N. Novgorod) THE ISLAMIC HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS AND STATE UNIVERSITIES OF RUSSIA
The renaissance of Islamic education in Russia after the long interruption started in the middle of the 1980s and was going on in two directions: first, - the education was executed via summer schools at
the mosques, where the basics of Islam were taught to the population (adults and children); second, - through the system of religious education (Islamic medreces, colleges and institutions, universities, where the cadres of Muslim clergy were trained).
The religious education institutions appeared chaotically and independently from each other. They started the education process without unified curricular and training plans. Despite the fact that these education institutions were commissioned on the initiative of the Spiritual Departments of Muslims, their activities were deprived of any support on the part of any scientific-methodical or coordinating center. Each education institution was carrying out its activities self-dependently and actually solved its problems independently. They also confronted the problem of organizing vocational orientation. The contemporary professional education institutions, which were opened after a long intermission could not admit for education the graduates of maktab, since they also were in the process of creation. The religious education institutions admitted Muslims on the basis of the school programs.
For the 1990s, young Muslims of Russia could get Islamic education only abroad. For that period several thousands of young Muslims of Russia received the chance to leave for Islamic states for studies. Nevertheless, the process of the unprecedented mass exit of young Muslims to Islamic states for studies did not produce an adequate result for development of umma.
The main features having impact on the inefficient outcome of their studies was as follows: 1) the inadequate control over this process on the part of Muslim structures; 2) the full diversity in criteria of the students sent abroad. The entrance examination for Russians in Islamic higher education institutions were either pure formality or did not exist at all.
Thus, the foreign Islamic higher education turned out to be deprived of any value by such approach, when only some students were able to graduate from these education institutions. Of not lesser significance was the circumstance that Russia did not sign with any Muslim state an agreement of mutual recognition of their diplomas. This fact promoted creation of Muslim higher education institutions in Russia. However, the organizers of the education process lacked methodology and methods of teaching, and they did not have a chance to raise their education level. Some of them started to study history and traditions of Islamic education in Russia, which existed before the 1930s, but were unaware of the standards of contemporary professional education; or, on the contrary, the Spiritual Departments recruited for organization of the education process the people, who lacked the knowledge of the religious education's sense.
The restoration of professional Islamic education in Russia actually from zero had, except difficulties, some advantages: it was possible to organize the contemporary religious education at once without rebuilding old forms, which often is not easy to do. A chance existed to create in Russia at once a contemporary and optimal Muslim education system.
All Russian professional education institutions - both medreces and universities - were concerned about dissemination of general religious knowledge on Islam as a whole. But these perceptions have not been constructed into a system. Given the lack of Islamic theologians, the theoretical bases of education institutions' activities have not been elaborated. The curriculum able to comprehend religious problems has not been planned either. The inter-disciplines transfers are not maintained. The circular disciplines in the curricular have been selected by random. Although the directors of religious education institutions hold the view of the close inter-connection and mutual
supplementation of all disciplines, actually the integration of secular and religious disciplines takes place without due account of connections between them. This is the result of the lack of the united standard for religious education institutions, of centers for the methodic consultation, of the courses for improvement of trainers' skill.
The state accreditation supposes the control of the state education institutions, however, it should not be considered as a negative phenomenon: on the contrary, this kind of control will promote a more efficient work of Islamic education institutions. One should take into account that this control shall be executed not by ordinary officials but by professionals, by professors of secular state higher education institutions.
At present, two higher education institutions - Moscow Islamic University and Russian Islamic University (Kazan) - arrange the education process according to the state standards of "Theology". The integration of circular and religious disciplines in these two higher education institutions is effected differently, and each higher education institution has selected its own way of development. In MIU the adoption of the state education standard was the result of decision to solve the problems emerging in the process of education. The experience shows that the integration of secular and religious disciplines goes on successfully.
The other professional Islamic religious education institution -Kh. Faizkhanov Nizhni Novgorod Islamic Institute carries out the work in the field of preparing a material-technical and education-methodical basis. At present, the directorate and the trainers pay a great attention to writing and publishing of text books. It is necessary to mention a series of books on the main legal norms of the Khanafit school education.
At present, the professional training of specialists in the sphere of "Islamic theology" is practiced mainly in the religious education
institutions. Since 2008, the education program "Theology" jointly with the Islamic block of disciplines is realized in GOU VPO "Pyatigorsk State Linguistic University". The active work of the State for Islamic Education and of the Spiritual Departments is needed in this direction. The state should give financial support also to the religious education institutions to maintain a high quality of education. Its quality should be improved by means of methodical assistance and by increase of the teachers' salaries. The teachers of the religious education institutions do not enjoy social protection and do not have any benefits and guaranties, and the system of their qualification improvement has not been organized. One of the main objectives in the field of religious education should be the rise of social status and professionalism of educators and the support given to them by the state and the public circles. The graduates from religious education institutions turn out to be in the complicated position.
For the 2000s, the authorities paid attention to problems of Islamic education. They implemented a number of projects aimed at unification of education programs and elimination of radical ideologies in education programs. In 2002, the president of the Russian Federation charged the Ministry of Education and Science of the RF in a short time to elaborate a complex of measures for organizational, material and methodical assistance aimed at development of religious and primarily Muslim education. For the sake of implementation of this assignment as well as for achievement of great tasks for support of traditions and culture of the peoples of Russia traditionally professing Islam, for the sake of education in the sense of inter-national and inter-confessional tolerance and for preventive measures relating to extremism the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia in cooperation with higher education institutions within its competence and jointly with spiritual (Islamic) education institutions has elaborated and implements for some
years (since 2005) a complex of measures aimed at attaining the set tasks by means of creating a system of training specialists in history and culture of Islam. Due to various objective and subjective reasons these activities were carried out quite recently, and therefore this process has just been started. Nevertheless, recently a rather great amount of work was carried out; and the organs of the executive power (Administration of the President of the RF, the Ministry of Education and Science etc.) as well as Muslim public and religious figures participated in this complex work, which is directed to several spheres.
The Foundation for Support of Islamic Culture, Science and Education should be mentioned among other means. The Trusteeship Council of the Foundation accumulates and distributes among Muslims in Russia the moneys received from Islamic states via OIC and other organizations.
At the federal level, the thorough work is carried out to train cadres for the Spiritual Departments of Muslims in Russia. As an example, the Ministry of Education and Science of the RF regularly convenes conferences devoted to development of Muslim education in Russia. The State Duma of the Russian Federation discussed the issues of preventing by legislation the attempts to radicalize Russian umma, particularly in the milieu of the youth. The purposeful presidential program of training in circular higher education institutions of cadres for the Spiritual Departments of Muslims is successfully implemented in Russia.
Thus, the complex activities aimed at restoration and development of national system at the Muslim spiritual and education institutions have been started. Given the systemic approach to this work, for several years it will be possible to arrange training of loyal Muslim clergy's cadres able to participate in the constructive dialogue.
In its turn, it will contribute to prevention of dissemination of radical and extremist ideas in Muslim environment of Russia.
A significant step in development of Islamic education both in Moscow and in Russia as a whole became establishment in 2005 of the Council for Islamic Education at the Council of Muftis of Russia. The Council for Islamic Education adopted the corresponding standard for each stage in order to construct the integrated system of education in relation to basics of Islam and of training specialists in the middle and the highest religious levels of the personnel. All education institutions will work according to the united standard. The education institutions may apply the proposed programs and curricular, prepared by the Council for Islamic Education, or may elaborate their own programs according to the standards.
The scheme of constructing the system of contemporary Islamic education in Russia was adopted; it includes the primary religious education, the general high religious education, the stage of high professional education and three directions of higher education: Koran sciences, shariat sciences and Islamic theology. The close connection is being arranged among these stages. Some other problem is being gradually solved in this way: ensuring continuity of various levels of Islamic education and succession of education and enlightenment processes, which makes it possible to maintain activities of different parts of the system and to arrange vocational training.
What direction should be fixed for integration of higher Islamic educations in Russia? At present, the standard of education direction "Theology" has been worked and adopted with qualification of the bachelor received by the first holders of this diploma. But there is no need to adopt the united religious standard, and therefore there are no and there will be no standard state diplomas (since this sphere is out of competence of the state), and in each higher education institution the
religious education directions and professions differ a lot like their education programs. Thus, there are no united criteria of evaluation of the higher education institutions' activities in terms of their quality. The Olympic competitions in Arabic and Islamic sciences among representatives of various Islamic higher education institutions may present only indirect information on the quality of the graduates' training.
The lack of integration is the result not only of the administrative division of Muslim umma by its centers (TsDUM, CMP, KTsMCK) but also the absence of a united comprehension of the aims and tasks of activities of Islamic higher education institutions. For instance, in the middle of the 1990s, the following point of view was widely spread: the Islamic higher education institutions represent by themselves the center of training of highly educated imams - the religious activists. This view on the conception of the higher Islamic religious education is shared by the functionaries of the Spiritual Departments of Muslims and by muftis and was shaped by the middle of the 1990s, when rapid construction of new mosques in big cities was accompanied by a great lack of cadres. This position was considered as an adequate point of view by the leaders of biggest Islamic foundations and Maecenas of flourishing states of the Persian Gulf and ensured the inflow of the sponsors' money for accommodation of these universities. The representatives of the intellectual circles postulate the quite different approach. They think that the contemporary Islamic higher education institution should form primarily Muslim intellectuals, who are equally educated in the sphere of the so called religious and in the secular sciences, who organically correlate in themselves both identities (general-civic and Muslim) and are ready to work both in Muslim and in circular institutions - in the sphere of education, in state offices, in
mass media etc. Up to the present time there is no final response to the answer - what is the way further ahead.
"Mir cherez yazyki, obrazovanie, kulturu: Rossiya-Kavkaz-Mirovoe soobschestvo", Pyatigorsk, 2010, p. 184-190.
D. Lavrinenko,
political scientist
THE CONFLICTING PROCESSES IN KARACHAYEVO-CHERKESSIA (2008-2010)
The conflict generative situation in the North-Caucasian region is determined by a complex of problems with historic roots and by the new problems emerging in various spheres of life of the regional society. Given the internal dispersion of the North Caucasus, the conflict generative situation in the region and its determining characteristics, these phenomena are different on its territories. Since 2008 and particularly since the end of 2009, the escalation of inter-ethnic tension was growing in Karachayevo-Cherkessia. Political scientists and journalists more often compare the present situation with the situation shaped in the republic for the period of presidential elections in 1999. Nevertheless, in terms of its substance it differs greatly from the situation ten years ago.
After the period of a relative stabilization of ethnic-political processes in Karachayevo-Cherkessia the new escalation of tension for the period of 2008-2010 was the result of the non-constructive reciprocal action of the state authorities and of a number of public organizations with each other and with the republican power. And one of them, namely the most active - "Adyge Khase" of Karachayevo-Cherkessia constantly and directly makes its requirements to the regional and even the federal power. The most acute contradictions are
