DOI: 10.25136/2409-868X.2020.3.32420

Abstract: The subject of this research is the rites of passage among the Muslims of Volga-Ural Region in historical perspective. Ritual practices of the Muslim population of Volga Region are of particular interest since they developed in the conditions of continuous contact with non-Muslim population, and religious was often a key factor of national self-identification. Examination of the patterns of inclusion of the sacred text fragments into Muslim rituals in Volga-Ural Region has not previously been a topic of separate research within the Russian and Western anthropology. Analysis of functionality of the sacred text in rites of passage among the Muslims of Volga Region was conducted within the framework of methodology of diachronic analysis through comparing the records from Arabographic manuscripts and modern editions of prayer books. It is underlined that the prayers presented in manuscript of the XIX century are formulaic and repetitive, consisting usually of brief repeating fragments – epithets of Allah, names of prophets and chapters Ayats. Modern prayer books contain the whole Ayats and Surahs, or citations from Hadith. Such difference can be explained by widely accessible printed literature and expansive increase in the literacy level among population of the region comparing to the XIX century. The author notes that the great majority of prayers in both types of sources are in Arab language, which emphasizes a sacred significance of Arab language in the Muslim culture.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-8744.2020.3.33315

Abstract: In the late XX – early XXI century, the Arab discourse on the issue of Palestine remains saturated with references to the Crusades (1099-1291), and likening the current tribulation of the history of Palestine to the medieval events. Modern historiography traces the growth in popularity of such reminiscences beginning from 1948, while modern literature practically has no mentions of the used of the “anti-Crusades rhetoric” by the Arab cultural figures prior to this data. The object of this research is the mobilization of historical memory in Arab culture of the first half of the XX century; the subject is reference to the topic of the Crusades in the Arab literary texts of 1917-1948 dedicated to the Palestinian issue. Analysis of literary works of the Arab cultural figures of the early XX century demonstrated that way before Arab-Israeli War of 1948-1949, such events as Balfour Declaration (1917) and Arab revolt (1936-1938) were being actively compared by the Arab poets and dramaturgists to the era of the Crusades. In the period from 1917 to 1948, the author highlights the following types of references of the Arab cultural figured to the era of the Crusades in relation to the Palestine issue: blaming of Europe for conducting a new Crusade, manifestations of which were declared the activity of the mandate administrations and arrival of the Jewish settlers; reminding of failure of the Crusades, which should have served as the warning for the modern Europeans; revival of heroic memory of the Palestinians in confrontation of the European crusaders in the Middle Ages, which should have inspire the contemporaries to fight for their land.