Russia is a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional country, and its inhabitants are familiar with the main provisions of neighboring religions. The general educational level of the population is also promoted by television programs. In addition, recently the Turkish series are extremely popular. Thanks to them, Russian spectators got acquainted with the country's beauties, the history of Turkey, with Islam, which she professes. They know who Sultan Suleiman is, the imam is the spiritual leader of the Muslims, and the vizier is the highest official of the country.
The ambiguity of a word
However, the term "imam" is ambiguous. For example, in the Muslim religion, during the main sermon, a parishioner (they may be a simple person) is elected, who will continue to lead the worship, and he is also called the "imam". This word - amma - in Arabic means "leader". Each Islamic mosque was headed by such a leader.
Whether the imam was at the head of the caliphate, whether he was a parish mullah among the Tatars or the head of the Mohammedan church is always a leader at a certain religious level. The imam is a position for which in the XIX century in the XIX century parishioners were elected worthy, and the authorities only asserted it. And the post is not very noble, not requiring high education. Cadia and the mufti were much higher in importance in society. At the same time, in Islam (among Shiites), the imam is the mediator between God and man, that is, the Prophet.
Different meanings of the word "imam"
And the Sunnis called imams the wise men, the most outstanding theologians. They were Malik and Ahmad, Ash Shafi'i and Abu Hanifah. And if we add to the foregoing the fact that the Arabs had the title of Imam influential princes, then we can conclude that the ambiguity of the term is as great as the words "leader" or "leader".
The Sufi Sheikh
Imam Shamil (1797-1856) is known by many even without Turkish TV series. The leader of the eastern Caucasian mountaineers in 1834 was recognized as the head of the North Caucasian imamate, who was a theocratic state, that is, the country where the state is ruled by religious figures. Western publicists always (though some sincerely and unknowingly) romanticize the images of the enemies of Russia. So around Imam Shamil there was a halo of mystery, audacity, sacrifice. Such a Danko. In fact, he was an uneducated man and an incompetent commander, who did not put a simple life in a penny. It was with him that the territory where Chechnya is now located was annexed to Russia, and the Imam himself was captivated and sent into exile, in which he died.
Muhamed Al-Buhri
"Imam Al" - these two words can denote the abbreviated names of two prominent figures of Islam - Muhammad al-Bukhari (810-870) and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058-1111). The first of these is a mufassir, or an interpreter of the Qur'an (although there is a claim that the best Qur'anic commentator is the Koran itself). Nevertheless, Muhammad al-Bukhri was a prominent Muslim scholar-muhaddist and interpreter of the Koran. In addition, this Imam Al was the author of the canonical collection Al-Jami al-Saheeh. This is Sunni tradition. A book called "At-tarigh al-kabir," or "The Great Story," also belongs to his pen. The fate of the scientist was not very successful: it was stipulated, because of the misinterpretation of the words of the Imam, the troubles began. Four times he was expelled from Bukhara, he died in exile. The brass mosque of Upper Pyshma is named after al-Bahri. In 2014, next to her, the capsule was buried with the ashes of a scientist.
Imam Gazli
Abu Hamid al-Ghazli is an authoritative scholar and jurist, philosopher, Islamic theologian and mystic. All his forces he directed to the formation and systematization of Sufism. What does this word mean? In Islam, as in other faiths, there are many directions. One of the main is Sufism - the current with a mystical and ascetic deviation. This complex teaching, to understand its subtleties and periods was only possible for highly educated Muslims, but even today Sufism plays quite a significant role in the life of Islamic states. Imam Ghazali lived 11 years as a hermit, then taught a lot, went back to asceticism, taught followers of the Sufi way of life and died at the age of 53. His writings had a significant impact on both Islamic and Christian and Jewish philosophers. The "Resurrection of Religious Sciences" is his main work. This scientist left a lot of work on philosophy, theology and logic.
Treasures of Islamic architecture
Speaking of Islam, one can not touch his cult places - mosques. Many of them are unusually beautiful, like temples, churches, pagodas. But among all these God's houses there are real world-famous pearls. To these masterpieces, of course, is the Imam Mosque. 340 km from the capital of Iran, at the foot of Zagros (Iran's largest mountain system) is the ancient city of Isfahan, which Marco Polo admired. The city exists since prehistoric times and in the XI century becomes the capital of powerful Seljuks. Isfahan knew the ups and downs - in 1387 he was captured by Tamerlane, who cut out the city's population and folded the infamous pyramid of 70 000 skulls. But the city was reborn and already in the XVI century the golden age of Isfahan came. The heart of this city is the square of the Imam. It also houses a masterpiece of Persian architecture - the Shah's Mosque, or the Imam Mosque. It was not built for long - from 1611 to 1629. The current name of the mosque was in 1979, when the last Iranian Shah was overthrown, and Imam Ayatollah Khomeini founded the Islamic Republic of Iran. In his honor the former Shah's Mosque was renamed. The central square of the city makes many tourists feel like guests of a fabulous country, celebrated in the "Thousand and One Nights". The beauty of the Mosque is staggering. Minarets of 42 meters high, seven colors of glazed tiles, the amazing architecture of the 52-meter mosque itself and its courtyard with vaulted aivans - all delight the visitors of the city for four centuries. On the interior and acoustics of the mosque, not one volume of research is written. The whole area of Meydan-Imam is included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
A unique voice
The brilliant Peruvian singer named Soila Augusta Imperatriz Kavarri del Castillo (1922-2008), known to the whole world as Ima Sumak, with the imam, except the first three letters, has nothing in common. The second part of the pseudonym indicates that the maternal line of the singer comes from the priestesses of the God of the Sun, who in the disappearing Inca civilization were valued more than gold. The singer's father with a one-of-a-kind soprano was a Spaniard. What is the uniqueness of Ima Sumak? In the range. About the number of octaves that she could take, arguing, but it is considered that her voice was subject to five octaves, in addition, she could sing with two voices at the same time. She was approached by doctors and scientists with the request to allow her to explore her voice - the rarest miracle of nature. A categorical refusal was their answer. 6 months Ima Sumak spent in the Soviet Union, receiving a fee for concerts in hard currency on the personal orders of Khrushchev. Sometimes she disappeared from sight, but then triumphantly returned. The years of her active work are 1944-2008. That is, she sang until her death. Fans who attended her concerts in the last years of her life say that her voice has not lost either purity or strength. Mysticism, and only!