Ijtihād in Putin’s Russia? Signature Fatwas from Moscow and Kazan

The present article analyzes the recent fatwa production by two of Russia’s major muftiates, the traditionalist Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan (DUMRT) in Kazan and the modernist Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation (DUMRF) in Moscow. The author investigates the methodologies that Russia’s muftis follow when elaborating fatwas, and the global links that surface from their source bases. DUMRT’s taqlīd, or imitation, of elements of the Ḥanafī school of Islamic law is contrasted with DUMRF’s program of ijtihād. DUMRF’s claims to ijtihād, wasaṭiyya and minority fiqh are tested by the analysis of controversial fatwas about marriage, conversion, and divorce in Russia. This paper introduces the term “signature fatwa” to denote fatwas that are meant to demonstrate the particular identity of a given muftiate, and that serve as a tool for its political positioning vis-à-vis the Kremlin, other fatwa-producers, and the Muslim communities. The present contribution addresses scholars of Islam in Eastern Europe as well as students of Islamic law in Muslim minority situations, including in the European Union.