On the first day of winter, an interregional conference “Old and New Tatar settlements of Kazan: Heritage and modernity” was held at the Al-Marjani Mosque, organized by the Institute of History. Marjani AN RT together with the parish of the Muslim temple.
Before the event, his imam-Khatib Mansur Jalaletdin conducted a tour of the mosque building for the conference participants. The rooms where parishioners and volunteers weave camouflage nets, sew camouflage robes, knit warm socks for fighters were shown.
Opening the conference, Mansur Hazrat noted that Tatarskaya Sloboda is a unique corner of the capital of the republic.
“Numerous guests of our Kazan admire the unique appearance and originality of the settlement. It is no exaggeration to say that the Kazan Kremlin and the Tatar Sloboda are of primary interest to tourists and guests of our city,” he said. “It is the settlement that preserves the richest history of our people.”
According to Mansur Hazrat, the figure of Shigabutdin Marjani occupies a special place in the history of the Tatar settlement. “A mosque, a madrasah, a street bear his name, a monument has been erected here, the house in which he lived has been preserved. Marjani’s books are still being studied in many of the largest Muslim scientific centers in the world,” Mansour Hazrat said.
Jalaletdin urged to preserve the legacy of the great Tatar theologian.
The Vice-President of the RRO “International Union of Women” Farida Khuzina also took part in the conference: One of the historically significant sights of Kazan is the Old Tatar Sloboda – the only preserved complex of monuments from the period of the formation of the Tatar nation. Archaeologists believe that the history of these places dates back to the Bulgarian settlements, but it is obvious that the intensive development of this territory falls in the second half of the XVI century.
The conference featured reports on the history of the Tatar settlement and the prospects for its development in the conditions of a modern metropolis.
Director of the Institute of History. Marjani of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan Radik Salikhov also noted in his welcoming speech that Sloboda has always been the center of spirituality, culture and art of the Tatar people. “Our oldest mosques were built here,” he noted, “the Tatar bourgeoisie was formed here, professional Tatar literature, poetry, theater and music arose,” he said.
Salikhov stressed the special mission of the current conference. “The last conference on the Tatar settlement was held more than 20 years ago, in 2000. But we see how great the public interest in this sacred territory is. This conference is an occasion to reflect on what has been achieved in the study of the settlement, about its future. Today is the day when we have to take a fresh look at the state of the Tatar settlement,” Salikhov said.
Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan Indus Tagirov told about the rich history of the Tatar settlement and the Marjani mosque. He thanked the organizers for the initiative in holding such a conference.
The plenary part featured reports on the history of the Tatar settlement and the prospects for its development in the conditions of a modern metropolis. Thus, the candidate of historical Sciences Bakhtiyar Izmailov in his speech noted the main stages of the development of Tatar settlements from the moment of their appearance until the middle of the XIX century.
Ilnur Minnullin’s report was devoted to the most dramatic events in the history of mosques and Muslim clergy of Kazan — the 20-30s of the XX century. The head of the New History Department of the Institute, Aidar Nogmanov, spoke about the process of preparing a unique publication on the history of the New Tatar Cemetery of Kazan, which is a kind of pantheon for the entire Tatar people. Associate Professor of the Department of Tatar Literature of KFU Milyausha Khabutdinova presented a report on the image of the Old Tatar settlement in the works of Naki Isanbet.
The participants called for holding similar conferences in the future, because the history of the Old Tatar and New Tatar settlements has not yet been fully studied.
