Islamic landscape of Tyumen Region in the early 20th — early 21st c.

Abstract

This article examines the transformation of the Islamic landscape in the southern region of Tyumen from the early 20th century to 2020. The Islamic landscape is defined as a collection of religious sites associated with communal Islamic rituals. Three maps illustrate the changes in the number and distribution of functional mosques, as well as the sociodemographic composition of worshipers. The first map represents the Islamic landscape at the beginning of the 20th century, the second at the end of the 1980s, and the third at 2020. Our analysis is based on archival materials, field research conducted by the authors, and relevant literature on the subject. Significant changes have occurred in the Islamic landscape in the southern region of Tyumen since the early 20th century, affecting the number and distribution of religious sites and the composition of mosque attendees. As part of the post-communist sphere, the Islamic landscape in the southern region of Tyumen has been influenced by factors common to most post-communist countries, as well as changes related to regional economic development and geographical location. Repression against religious leaders, an excess of religious sites, and the marginalization of religion during the Soviet era depleted the Islamic landscape. The democratization of social and state relations in the 1990s led to an increase in the variety of religious sites. Additionally, mosques were constructed in historically Tatar villages and areas resettled by populations from Kazakhstan. The ethnic diversity of urban prayer gatherings in the southern region of Tyumen increased with the development of oil and gas industries and further expanded following the democratization of social and state relations.