Main Islamic Methodological Approaches: Searching for Optimal Ways of Training Russian Muslim Theologians

The presented research attempts to comprehend the main Islamic methodological approaches, starting with those developed in the classical period of the formation of Islamic theological thought, and ending with modern epistemological alternatives proposed by the representatives of the moderately traditionalist and integrative Islamic thought. At the beginning of the paper, the methodological foundation of Islamic theological research is considered, that is represented by two fundamental principles of Islam – the principle of monotheism (mabda’ al-tawhid) and the principle of tradition (mabda’ al-naql), as well as methodological supports in the form of an integrative principle (mabda’ takamul), the principle of unity in diversity (mabda’ al-tawhid fi al-ikhtilaf) and the principle of a holistic approach in education (...), contributing to a harmonious combination of Islamic and secular approaches in the research activities of modern theological researchers. Then the author provides the information about six main Muslim methodological schools formed at the dawn of Islamic thought, four of which (Ahl al-Hadith, Ash‘ari, Maturidi, Sufi) represent the doctrine of orthodox Sunni (traditional) Islam, having unanimity in fundamental issues and diversity in secondary ones, creating methodological polyphony. Then, modern Islamic methodological trends (modernism, neo-modernism, ultramodernism), which are different from the traditional ones, are analyzed, challenging the Islamic tradition (naql), which no longer indicates polyphony, but methodological dissonance, the answer to which was Islamic neotraditionalism, aimed at overcoming methodological chaos (imbalance). As a result of the analysis of various Islamic methodological trends, starting from the “pre-modern” era and ending with the “modern” period, in conclusion, the most optimal methodological approaches for the training of Muslim theologians in Russia are proposed, represented by the moderate traditionalist approach of M.Sa‘id M. Ramadan al-Buti and the concept of knowledge integration (takamul al-ma‘rifah), developed by representatives of the school of Islamic integrative thought, offering specific Islamic methodological alternatives to the modern secular space.