On July 28, 2015, news feeds reported the adoption of a «Social Doctrine of Russian Muslims» by the «Caucasian Muftis.» According to the chief muftis, the document is intended to replace their well-known but inadequate «Moral Code of the Builder of Communism.» The chairman of the Coordination Center of Muslims of the North Caucasus (KCM SC), Ismail Berdiev, said that this text would provide the followers of Islam with accessible information about the principles of the religion.
Earlier, the document was solemnly approved by Tadzhuddin, the same Berdiev, Gainutdin and Samigullin as part of a ceremony in the Bulgarian language.
However, suspicions about the meaninglessness of the whole project of the «Social Doctrine of Russian Muslims», which was inspired by the «Social Doctrine of the Russian Orthodox Church» (which is not surprising, considering that the initiative came from the former priest of the ROC, Polosin), have already begun to arise among the pro-government muftis themselves. IslamNews, a website that often follows the Kremlin’s lead, published sad comments by one Shavkyat Avyasov, the head of an organization with the pretentious name «United Muftiat» (of what or whom?). In his article, he basically honestly admits that no one needs this «social doctrine» and no one intends to implement it.
Since most of the state-appointed muftis have limited intellectual development, it can be assumed that few of them even read this pamphlet. It is obvious that they merely followed the party line without any real understanding.
The lack of hope that this document will become fundamental for the Russian Ummah is due both to the informal nature of its discussion and adoption and to its content. The procedure for its adoption, as is typical in such cases, was a nomenclature power play that excluded any real discussion involving authoritative Russian-speaking Islamic intellectuals. As a result, the vast majority of Russian Muslims, including active ones, are unaware of this document and have no interest in it.
As for its content, it is clearly aimed at aligning Muslims with the needs and interests of the Russian state, which in practice does not take into account the needs and interests of Muslims. In this context, all the efforts of Polosin and company to justify the Russian constitution from Islamic positions appear futile and comical, given that the regime itself regularly tramples on its own constitution, which has long since become a mere scrap of paper for it.