Why read For Prophet and Tsar?

Book cover of For Prophet and Tsar: Islam and Empire in Russia and Central Asia

Book description

Russia occupies a unique position in the Muslim world. Unlike any other non-Islamic state, it has ruled Muslim populations for over 500 years. Though Russia today is plagued by its unrelenting war in Chechnya, Russia's approach toward Islam once yielded stability. In stark contrast to the popular 'clash of civilisations'…

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Why read it?

1 author picked For Prophet and Tsar as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Stefan B. Kirmse

Author

This book was a milestone in the study of tsarist Russia as a multiethnic and multireligious empire, especially its large Muslim population.

By the 2000s, we had become used to thinking that the Russian Empire had suppressed or ignored its religious minorities who, in turn, had avoided state institutions as much as possible. Crews’ book shattered that idea.

Exploring court cases and other disputes across time and space, he boldly argued that Muslims turned to the state as protector of their faith and that Islam became a pillar of Russian imperial policy. Many scholars have attacked his argument since then,…

From Stefan's list on The best books to see how cultural diversity both sustained and brought down the Russian Empire.