The lecture of “Russian Orientalism and The Islamic World” came under the framework of the cultural program of Hassan Bin Mohamed Center for Historical Studies, aiming at defining Orientalism phenomenon in general and shedding light on Russian Orientalism in particular.
Professor Mahmood Al-Hamza began his lecture by establishing the origin of early cultural relations between Russia and the Islamic World. This reflects the strength of early political and cultural relations between both sides. He said that accepting Christianity as a formal religion, in Russia in 988 AD., helped in establishing its relations with the Orient and paved the way for sustained cultural interaction.
The lecturer discussed the early arrival of Islam to Dagestan and the resulting cultural interaction, whether through Islamic religion itself or through the translations of the Holy Quran. He referred to the efforts exerted by Russian orientalist in defining it. He explained that the interest in Islamic studies, Arabic language, and Islamic sciences, as being a part of the cultural and religious reality of the Russian Empire, increased after a large number of regions of Islamic population majority being annexed by Russia. He mentioned a number of early travelers, on the top of whom is Ibn Fadlan who played a major role in forming an early image about the Islamic World in the Russian conscience.
He reviewed the efforts of a number of prominent Russian orientalists, who wrote about the region or visited it, pointing out their scientific and cognitive contributions. In this context, he shed light on the significant role played by the Azhar scholar Muhammad Ayad Al-Tantawi in teaching Arabic language, qualifying Russian travelers, explorers, and diplomates through equipping then with cognitive and linguistic skills related to the nature of Islamic and Arabic Societies.
At the end of the lecture, Professor Mahmood Al-Hamza referred to his book “Russian Orientalism and The Islamic World” issued in 2022 by Wa3i Foundation for Studies and Research in Qatar. The book deals with the history of Orientalism and Arabism in Russia. It writes, extensively and comprehensively, the history of its course that expands over more than three centuries.
Professor Al-Hamza moved on to talk on the modern age, discussing the waves of new contact between both sides, through establishing centers of Eastern and Orientalist studies in Saint Petersburg; the role played by Peter the Great in translating the Holy Quran into Russian for the first time in the History of Russia, and his efforts for establishing relations between the Russian Church and the Orthodox Church in the Orient.
The lecture was well attended by those interested in Orientalist studies. It was generally an important and condensed study that represents an earnest beginning to get into Russian Orientalism and its scientific and thought courses in a more profound and balanced manner.
