The Namaz practice in the structure of the middle Volga Tatars' daily life at the end of the 19^th-beginning of the 20^th centuries

Abstract

© the author(s). The urgency of the problem is determined by an increased public interest in Islam, its history in the Russian Federation, and particularly to the rituals and practices. The aim is: to show the role of fivefold prayer (namaz) in the everyday life space of Muslims of the Middle Volga region at the turn of XIX-XX centuries. The leading approach to the study of this problem is a thorough analysis of the periodic and journalistic press as a source of the most authentic conveyance of the contemporaries' attitude. Development of this type of sources shows that prayer demonstrates remained an inherent part of the Muslims' life, but at the same time under the influence of westernization and the lack of religious education some followers have partially or completely ceased to fulfill the religious requirements. The materials of the article can be useful for the ethnographers, historians and religious scholars investigating profile problems.