Dr. Diliara Brileva

This project examines the emergence of a new theological discourse in the Muslim Tatar periodical press during the late imperial period of Russia. Following the October Manifesto of 1905, which granted freedom of speech, the Tatar press expanded rapidly (with more than 70 titles), becoming a key platform for discussing a wide range of issues, particularly theological questions. Previously confined to individual treatises, theological debates shifted to the periodicals, allowing them to reach a much larger audience across the Russian Empire. This study explores how new theological ideas were formed, discussed, and disseminated among the Muslim Tatar intellectual elite during the early 20th century. Key questions include: How did Muslim intellectuals interpret the Qur’an in this period? What approaches to Islamic theology emerged, and how did they evolve? What role did the periodical press play in shaping these theological discussions, and how did it contribute to the formation of a new public theology? And, finally, how did the socio-political context of the Russian Empire and the interests of the emerging Muslim bourgeoisie influence the theological discourse? This research aims to reveal the ways in which the Muslim Tatar theological discourse was shaped by both the imperial context and the broader Muslim intellectual tradition. It also seeks to show how the periodical press played a key role in the transformation of Islamic thought in this period, ultimately contributing to the development of a new public theology.