Relations between Orthodox and Muslims in the Tyumen region and Moscow: general trends and local specifics (based on in-depth interviews)

The purpose of this article is to analyze the relationship between Orthodox and Muslims in the multicultural regions of Russia - the Tyumen region and Moscow. The empirical basis of the study was the materials of an in-depth survey (face-to-face), conducted by the method of a semi-formalized interview in 2022. The number of interviewed respondents was 30 people. The choice of the Tyumen region and Moscow as the territorial framework of the study was determined by the ethnic and confessional specifics of these regions, which differ from each other both in the proportion of Muslims and Orthodox, and in national composition. An analysis of the interviews shows that there are no pronounced conflicts related to religious reasons between the interviewed Orthodox and Muslims. Some respondents, especially the Muslim clergy, emphasized the similarity and even commonality of the moral component of the creeds of both religions, while others, mostly Orthodox clergy, specified the boundaries of the dialogue, the groundlessness of theological discussions, the normality of the daily isolation of religious groups. Muslim religious leaders look at the possibility of a theological dialogue a little more broadly and pin certain hopes on it, while there is no such unity among Orthodox priests and rather the view that such a dialogue is not timely and even dangerous prevails. In the extreme case, the interaction of Orthodox Christians and Muslims leads to a change in confessional affiliation. According to the respondents, Muslims and Orthodox Christians could cooperate in solving such common problems as the moral education of youth, charity (most often examples were given of the situation during the pandemic, as well as assistance to the mobilized -members of the NWO in Ukraine), popularization of family traditional values, interfaith dialogue, fight against terrorism and extremism. Among the factors destabilizing relations, the respondents, as a rule, indicated interethnic conflicts, the manipulation of religious feelings, radical representatives of both faiths, and immigration of Muslims from other regions. In addition, the study showed that the rapprochement of Muslims and Orthodox Christians within the framework of interfaith dialogue even in a multicultural region, has obvious limits, is in some cases situational in nature, which is associated with the specifics of the teachings and traditions of both religions. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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