Languages of Islam and Christianity in Post-Soviet Russia

In her book, Gulnaz Sibgatullina examines the intricate relationship of
religion, identity and language-related beliefs against the background
of socio-political changes in post-Soviet Russia. Focusing on the
Russian and Tatar languages, she explores how they simultaneously serve
the needs of both Muslims and Christians living in the country today.
Mapping linguistic strategies of missionaries, converts and
religious authorities, Sibgatullina demonstrates how sacred vocabulary
in each of the languages is being contested by a variety of social
actors, often with competing agendas. These linguistic collisions not
only affect meanings of the religious lexicon in Tatar and Russian but
also drive a gradual convergence of Russia's Islam and Christianity.