As part of the events dedicated to the Day of Russian Science, on February 8, the roundtable “Crossroads of Interaction: Legal Religious Studies, Theology and Islamic jurisprudence ” was held at the Bolgar Islamic Academy.

Professor of the department of religious studies of Kazan (Volga Region) federal university, doctor of philosophy, author of the course on legal religious studies Anatoly Pogasiy took part in the event as a guest of honor. The expert told about the history of the emergence of legal religious studies, familiarized the participants with the main problems, and also gave concrete practical examples of participation of specialists engaged in legal religious studies in improving the legislation in the sphere of state-confessional relations.

“At the stage of formation of legal religious studies no one understood what it was, there were very few specialists in this field. Then the idea came, taking into account certain specifics of religious organizations and Russian legislation, to train those people who will be oriented in this field. There were attempts to introduce such a subject in the Academy of Public Service, but this process went much faster in religious educational institutions,” Anatoly Pogasiy shared his experience.

The round table was also attended by Ruslan Khazrat Tagirov, vice-rector for scientific activities of the academy, Aynur Sultanov, vice-rector for development, Ramil Gizzatullin, head of the department of religious and humanitarian disciplines, Svetlana Aidarova, head of the department of theology, head of the department of science Marat Timurshin, senior researcher of the center of Islamic heritage Alsu Khasavneh, associate professor of the department of theology of the academy, dean of the theological faculty of the russian islamic institute Robert Shangaraev, doctoral and master’s students of the Academy.

Thus, Alsu Khasavneh, noting that the hallmark of the academy is good training in Arabic language, as well as detailed study of Quranic and Shariah sciences, wished the students to study more Tatar theological heritage.

In turn, Vice-Rector for Development Aynur Sultanov emphasized the importance of such events and their relevance in the modern agenda.

“In the regions of the Russian Federation, there are often cases related to legal issues, including the return of cultural heritage objects that previously belonged to religious organizations. There are other areas, including Islamic banking. We need to deepen our competencies on all issues. The correlation of Russian legislation and Sharia, clear definition of criteria, development of categorical apparatus – these aspects will be relevant for many years not only for Muslims, but also for academic science”, – said Aynur Sultanov.

During the discussion, the participants of the roundtable were able to discuss the points of contact between legal religious studies and Islamic jurisprudence and theology, as well as detailed the possible directions of interdisciplinary research that can be conducted by students of the academy.

At the end of the meeting, Ruslan khazrat Tagirov, vice-rector for scientific activities of the Bolgar academy, expressed confidence that such discussions in the academy will become permanent and will improve the system of Islamic religious education.