Umar ibn al-Khattab in the cultural memory of Muslims of Russia on the example of the Republic of Bashkortostan

Nadyrshin Timur Maratovich Junior Scientific Associate, R. G. Kuzeev Institute of Ethnological Studies of Ufa Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences 450077, Russia, respublika Bashkortostan, g. Ufa, ul. Karla Marksa, 6 timurimp@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction  For Muslims whose daily life is closely connected with religion, the early history of Islam and the biographies of the companions are the basis for instrumentalization in everyday life.

The hadith of the Prophet Muhammad reads as follows: "The best people in my community are my generation, and then following him, and then following him." For Muslims, the stories of the Prophet's companions, that is, people who personally saw Muhammad and accepted him as the Messenger of Allah, are images that believers strive for and relate their daily life to their behavior.

         Of particular importance in this series is the personality of Umar ibn al-Khattab, one of the closest companions of the Prophet Muhammad. It is safe to say that this figure is one of the most significant "places of memory" in the cultural memory of Sunni Muslims around the world. The term "place of memory" was developed by historian Pierre Nora. This is a "symbolic figure", the meaning of which may vary depending on the context of its use, transmission, appropriation and perception, and which, having lost its meaning, may again disappear from the collective memory. Nora sees in the "place of memory" a symbolic fragment of a symbolic whole ^{[12, p. 13]}. The appearance, character traits, place and influence of Umar ibn al-Khattab not only in the Muslim civilization, but also in the history of the whole world became the basis for the formation of a vast meta-narrative that has developed around this historical character.

However, a serious difference between Christianity and Islam is that the apostles of the latter religion built their state under its founder. During the reign of the companion we are studying, Muslim rule spread to most of the Byzantine Empire, Egypt, Syria, and Persia. The successes of the conquests of the young caliphate make Umar ibn al Khattab one of the most attractive symbols of statehood among Muslims. In the religious narrative, Umar embodies devotion, asceticism, absolute loyalty to the ideals of religion and the state. In this sense, the quote of the associate of Al-Khuzaifa ibn al-Yaman is very indicative, who said: "Islam was advancing until the death of 'Umar, and after his death he began to retreat and is still retreating." However, the actual lack of interpretation of the place of Umar ibn al-Khattab in the collective memory is a significant problem for analysis.

At the moment, the analysis of the role of certain symbolic figures in the collective memory of various communities is present in Russian and international science. The significance of the image of Umar ibn al-Khattab for Muslims is confirmed by big data analysis tools (Google Trends), presence in theological literature, representation of the image in cinema, as well as instrumentalization in socio-political discourse.

         At the moment, the study of cultural memory is one of the most dynamically developing areas of research. The aspect of the "hero of history", "figures of memory" in the studies of classical researchers of cultural memory are the fundamental foundations for studying the image of Umar ibn al Khattab.

In recent years, research has been conducted on cultural memory. The fundamental research of Fridtjof Schenck is devoted to the evolution of the image of Alexander Nevsky ^{[12, p. 178]}. As the author notes, collective identities go hand in hand together with formulated narratives about certain characters of the past ^{[12, p. 10]}. The collective identity of we are a group of Muslims, fixed through the concept of "ummah" common to all believers, is impossible without a common memory. It is the common foundations of collective memory that distinguishes Muslims with religious practices from just ethnic Muslims. Umar ibn-al Khattab is currently one of the figures of self–identification of Muslims, which is a model of a statesman.

As noted by another major theorist of cultural memory , Jan Assman: "This or that truth, in order to be fixed in the memory of the group, must appear in the concrete form of an event, person or place." And vice versa: in order for an event to continue to live in the memory of a group, it must be enriched with the fullness of the meaning of an essential truth...Every person and every historical fact, when they enter this memory, are immediately transposed into a teaching, a concept, a symbol; they receive meaning, they become an element of the ideological system of this society" ^{[3, p. 39]}. The political and territorial conquests of Umar ibn al-Khattab are significant for the historian. Soviet science, studying the period of the reign of the second Caliph, focused its attention on the land reforms carried out by him. However, after almost one and a half thousand years, narratives about Umar remain significant, which can be visualized in the form of teachings and parables.

As the Russian researcher V.A. Shnirelman notes, "It is the state that takes care of compiling a standard list of significant historical events and significant historical figures. Some of the latter are declared "heroes" and their memory is to be perpetuated, others are recognized as "scoundrels" and their names either have to be erased from the book of memory, or, on the contrary, are preserved for the edification of descendants as a negative example" ^{[13, p. 24]}. At the same time, in the Muslim community, the memory of the "heroes" of history is preserved by the community of all believers – the Ummah.

If cultural memory is often based on communication and in many countries of the world the events of recent centuries have an advantage for preservation, then in the eyes of believers, the narrative of the early history of religion has superiority and significance over subsequent events, since early history is included in the cultural background of a Muslim in the form of a Golden Age.

Studies of the life and reign of Umar also provide some assessment of the place of this personality in the collective memory of believers.

In O.G. Bolshakov's book, a significant part of the second volume is devoted to the reign of Umar ibn al-Khattab. The Soviet researcher subjects to skepticism and criticism the main narratives and narratives devoted to the life of the caliph, which are precisely the most significant value for Muslim believers: "Undoubtedly, part of the stories about Umar's asceticism ... is the fruit of pious fabrications" ^{[4, p. 70]}. Bolshakov O.G. also gives a general description of Umar's place in the collective memory of Muslims: "Muslim historical tradition paints Umar as a pious and wise omniscient sovereign…Under him, the Caliphate and Muslim society acquire a completely complete form, which then almost does not change, and if it changes, then only for the worse… This idealized image of Umar in our time, under the pen of some Arab historians, has acquired a new halo – a kind of herald of Arab socialism."

         Based on the role played by Umar ibn-al Khattab in the life of Muslims, the significance of assessing the place of this personality in the collective memory of modern believers – residents of a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional region such as the Republic of Bashkortostan. Do modern believers know the facts of the hero's biography? How familiar and how do Muslim theologians interpret the "texts" dedicated to Umar? Which of the narratives of the Caliph's life are manifested in the socio-political space? What place does the image of Umar ibn al-Khattab occupy in the personal memory of believers?

         The purpose of the article is to study the place of Umar ibn–al Khattab in the cultural memory of Muslims in Russia on the example of the Republic of Bashkortostan.

Objectives of the article:1. The study of the image of Umar ibn al-Khattab in Muslim theological literature

2. Analysis of the image of Umar ibn al-Khattab in cinema

3. Analysis of the popularization of Umar ibn al-Khattab in the socio-political space

4. Analysis of the memory of Umar in the cultural memory of the believers of Bashkortostan.

Research methods        

The study of theological literature and the series "Umar ibn al-Khattab" is based on the hermeneutic method, which is aimed at analyzing the interpretation of the works presented in this article. Sunni historical literature is heterogeneous in its content, but for it the basic thing is the lack of criticism of the characters under study, the desire to explain actions not by subjective desires, but by high motives. Supporters of the same camp (Muslims), even if they enter into disagreements, nevertheless, they always put the tasks of Islam at the forefront. Only non-Muslims are seriously criticized in religious historical literature.

         The hermeneutic method is complemented by quantitative analysis, which considers how much the authors devote to certain topics. These positions also make it possible to clarify the ethical and ideological views of the authors.

         The second element of the analysis is the Google Trends tool. This is a public application that allows you to search for a specific term, topic, category and compare it with other search queries. Accordingly, each topic entered allows you to evaluate the interest in the topic depending on the region and the volume of the number of requests. Today, Google Trends is a widely used tool that is used in Russian and foreign science for research and forecasting in a variety of fields.

         To analyze Umar's place in the collective memory of Bashkiria Muslims, a survey of believers was conducted, which allowed assessing the level of personal awareness of Umar's life compared to other companions, as well as interest in his biography. The presented comprehensive approach allows us to sufficiently assess the place of Umar in the collective memory of Muslims in Russia.

Umar ibn al-Khattab in Russian-language theological literature

Modern theological literature in Russian is not represented by the works of Russian Muslim scholars dedicated to the activities of the righteous caliphs. Of course, the reign of Umar is the most significant period in the context of the narratives of the general legal publications dedicated to this ruler. As part of the work "The History of Islam", reflecting the Sunni approach to the narrative, published by the Islamic Book publishing house, 55 pages were devoted to Umar's rule, which amounted to 10 years, which is 11% of the entire book ^[7]

However, the main, targeted works available are translations from Turkish and Arabic. Observations and conversations with believers, as well as the shelves of Muslim bookstores, tell us that most believers do not speak Arabic, but are consumers of historical information about Islam in Russian. Let us consider three of the most famous translated works, largely dedicated to Umar ibn al-Khattab. We will highlight the main accents of this literature and their implicit interpretive motives aimed at forming the main accents of the image of Umar in the collective memory of Sunni Muslims.

         The most fundamental work is the second book in the series "History of the Caliphate" ^[2]. Its author Ali Muhammad As-Sallabi has prepared several volumes dedicated to the first righteous caliphs, as well as Muawiyah ibn Abu Sufyan and Hassan ibn Ali. Russian Russian translator is a respected in the Russian Muslim community Karima (Ekaterina) Sorokoumova, who translated a large number of theological books of the widest profile (History, doctrine, children's literature) into Russian, and also wrote several well-known books in the Russian Muslim community.

         The second volume is entitled "'Umar ibn al-Khattab. The second righteous Caliph." The book begins with a justification of the importance of the role of companions in the history of Islam. Then there is the significance of Umar from the point of view of the hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad, which demonstrate that Umar is second after Abu Bakr in the hierarchy of the companions of the Prophet. The pre-Islamic life of Umar (33 years old) is presented extremely sparsely and the author examines it rather superficially, giving only general information about this period of his life. The period of Umar's life in the context of the life of the Prophet Muhammad is also presented to a lesser extent and amounts to about one quarter of the book. The main part is devoted to the period of the caliphate of Umar.

Although the book adheres to a historical and narrative character, however, it is based on a thematic principle. The book presents such parts as: government and life in society; financial and judicial institutions and their improvement; relations with governors; the discovery of Iraq and the eastern regions for Islam; the conquest of Sham, Egypt and Libya.

In the work, the author gives a detailed interpretation of Umar's character and temperament, highlighting his qualities such as directness, sincerity, curiosity. The description of Umar's behavior during the reign of Abu Bakr is aimed at demonstrating the democracy of Arab society after the Prophet: "All affairs in the Islamic state were decided by the council and that the citizens of the Islamic state were not afraid to criticize the Caliph if they considered his actions wrong" ^{[2, p. 105]}.The appointment of Umar as Abu Bakr's successor is a narrative that is given great importance in Muslim tradition.

This appointment was based on Abu Bakr's personal decision, not on the choice of the people. Therefore, the justification for the appointment is based on the evidence of Abu Bakr's meeting with other outstanding companions, the foresight of the first caliph, the oath to Umar until the death of Abu Bakr. The enumeration of these narratives is aimed at the significance of the expediency of appointing Umar ibn al-Khattab as Caliph. Attention to this episode is connected, among other things, with an absentee discussion with Shiites who believe that Ali ibn Abu Talib should have had an advantage in appointing believers as ruler after the death of the Prophet Muhammad.

As-Sallabi inserts here a quote from Abdallah ibn Mas'ud, who said that "... the most far-sighted people were a girl who advised her father to hire Musa, a nobleman who bought Yusuf and told his wife to take care of him in the hope that he would benefit them or replace his son, and Abu Bakr as-Syddik, who made his successor 'Umara' ^{[2, pp. 110-111]}. Further , the author comments:

"We have not received any reports that there were any disagreements between Muslims regarding the candidacy of 'Umar or someone challenged the legitimacy of his rule during his lifetime. On the contrary, there was a consensus of Muslims (Ijma) that his rule was lawful and that Muslims were obliged to obey him throughout the entire period of his rule ^{[2, p. 113]}.".The appointment of the caliph in the book is also confirmed by the interpretation of certain ayats and hadiths, indicating that the successor of Abu Bakr should be Umar.

The narratives that are present in the text are aimed at affirming such virtues of Umar as rejection of injustice, constant consultation on state affairs with other Muslims, ensuring equality of all before the law, personal modesty, strictness and piety, love for the prophet, respect for scholars. A separate paragraph highlights an aspect that says that "The good of society is above the good of the individual" ^{[2, p. 270]}. Two aspects of freedom that Umar established during this period – freedom of religion and freedom of movement - were also given some attention.

The book also highlights such state achievements as the creation of the education system, the state apparatus, the improvement and creation of new cities, the creation of financial and judicial institutions.

The chapter devoted to legal proceedings is quite detailed and tells about the regulations that were in effect during the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab. The chapter devoted to the relationship with the governors is also aimed at demonstrating the positive qualities of Umar: justice, honesty, integrity. A separate story, to which a whole paragraph is devoted, is the displacement of Khalid ibn al–Walid, who was supposed to denote the following meaning:

 "Thus, the reasons for the suspension in both cases were reduced to differences in the views of Khalid and 'Umar on politics and spending. There has never been any personal enmity or mutual hostility between them. On the contrary, 'Umar often praised Khalid, and Khalid spoke well of ‘Umar. These were two great men whose names remained on the pages of Islamic history. They loved and respected each other, and the relationship between them was what the relationship of brothers in faith should be" ^{[2, p. 302]}.The most significant military event in the confrontation with the Persians, which occurred at Umar, was the Battle of Kadisiya.

The narrative that accompanies this battle is designed to demonstrate the negative qualities of the Persians on the one hand and the justice of the Muslims and their loyalty to the word on the other. There is also a certain opposition here. The positive qualities of Muslims are generalized and spread to everyone and vice versa, the negative qualities of the ruler and all those close to him become decisive for the entire Persian or Byzantine people:

"This is the custom of the Almighty: he destroys the oppressors, thus eliminating injustice. And the Persians were just such a community. They acted unfairly with each other: the rulers enslaved the people and rebelled against the Divine program, and Allah Almighty put an end to them through Muslims" ^{[2, p. 408]}.A separate illustration that concerns the conquest of Egypt is the denial of the burning of the Library of Alexandria by Muslims ^{[2, p. 447]}.

This narrative is also found in many theological books and is part of a correspondence discussion with historians who are critical of the Muslim conquests.

As in the series, which will be discussed below, the book provides a narrative about the decent treatment of Muslims with representatives of conquered peoples, reproducing examples of the relationship between the Patriarch of Jerusalem and Umar ^{[2, pp. 429-432]}, as well as the spiritual leader of the Copts with the commander Amr ibn al-As ^{[2, pp. 447-448]}.

In the Sunni historical literature, the martyrdom of Umar is a tragic, but natural result, since there were numerous signs, which as-Sallabi reproduces, the most significant of which are two hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad ^{[2, pp. 457-458]}.

The second book that was taken for analysis is a short work by the Turkish theologian Osman Nuri Topbash "Constellation of the Righteous Caliphs", the first edition of which was published in 2008 in the publishing house "Sad", which publishes the works of the presented author and his followers. His works are part of the Turkish Islamic meta-narrative, which, along with Arabic, exists in the ethno-confessional space of Russia.

There are 17 pages dedicated to Umar ibn al-Khattab in this book. Here the author says that Umar's personal qualities were negative, but after the adoption of Islam he completely changed: "The noble 'Umar (radyyallahu ankhu), before he was honored to find faith, was a typical representative of the Arab society of the era of jahiliya (ignorance), devoid of a sense of pity and compassion, not bothering to observe the rights others. The light of the religion of Truth that shone in his heart completely transformed him, making him a sensitive, wise, loving man, a model of responsibility and justice" ^{[8, p. 24]}.This short brochure reproduces stories about Umar's personal modesty in everyday life, the story of how Umar changed with his servant, which constantly appears in the story of Umar:

"The noble 'Umar (radyyallahu ankhu), as the ruler, had to enter Sham riding a camel, but it was his servant's turn to ride: "Now it's your turn to ride, get on a camel!"The servant replied, "O Caliph!

People will think that I am the caliph!" However, the noble 'Umar (radyyallahu ankhu) put a servant on a camel, and he entered Damascus on foot" ^{[8, p. 27]}.This brochure reproduces stories about the virtues of Umar deliberately cutting sharp corners concerning his military actions, the fight against enemies of religion, political and administrative decisions, presenting a portrait of Umar without introducing a detailed historical context.

The next book to be analyzed is the work of Muhammad al–Khudari, which is called "The Biography of the Righteous Caliphs". This work was also published in the publishing house "Umma". The structure of the book is somewhat different from other works. Firstly, there is an extensive chapter in this book devoted to the concept of the caliphate. The structure of this introduction tells who the caliph is, his properties, election, duties, etc. Meanwhile, the parts of the book themselves are not divided by rulers, but have two parts. The first part is called "The Period of Concord and Unanimity", which is dedicated to the reign of Abu Bakr, Umar and the first years of the reign of Caliph Uthman. The second part is called "The Period of Schism and Troubles", and it is dedicated to the speeches against Uthman, as well as the rule of Ali and his son Hassan, who is revered by some Sunni theologians as the fifth righteous caliph.

The narrative of Umar's life before his appointment as caliph is very short, since the main part of the text is devoted specifically to the rule. Meanwhile, in the structure of the board, the main narrative is devoted specifically to the conquests, military actions, battles that took place in these years. In the structure of the narrative there are some chapters that tell about everyday life, among them the plague epidemic, legal proceedings, medicine, morality, writing, Fiqh, monotheism, Islamic etiquette during the reign of the first caliphs. However, it must be said that they have been worked out extremely superficially. The rather principled and harsh rhetoric of this book reduces the biography of Umar and other caliphs mainly to the military successes of Muslims.

The image of Umar ibn al-Khattab in the cinemaThe film is of interest for historiographical analysis, as it demonstrates a certain vision of history, fixing it on the screen, and helps to comprehend the events of the past through visual and verbal images.

         The historical film is a variant of the interpretation of the past "floating in the air" of a particular culture [Volkov, Ponomareva, 2012].

The most important document that makes it possible to understand the place of Umar ibn al Khattab in the cultural memory of Muslims is the series "Umar", which was released in 2012. However, before dwelling on the analysis of this monumental canvas, it is important to note how the value of the reception of the images of companions in the cinema of the Sunni tradition evolved.

         In the film "The Message" directed by Mustafa Akkad, there are several characters through whose biography the narrative of the early history of Islam takes place. The main role was played by two-time Oscar winner Anthony Quinn, who embodied the image of Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib, Muhammad's uncle, on the screen.

         In the 2002 animated film "Muhammad: The Last Prophet", the narration is conducted from the collective image of a companion named Malik. The film was directed by Richard Rich, who had not previously prepared projects for religious subjects.

         Finally, in the thirty-part series "The Moon of the Hashim family", the largest role on the screen also goes to the character playing the role of the uncle of the Prophet Hamza.

A certain cinematic canon has been formed in all these paintings. Not only the personality of the Prophet Muhammad, but also his closest associates possessed such sacred power that their image was not considered acceptable by the directors. Previous media projects that were released did not show Umar in one form or another. This applied to all the righteous caliphs: Abu Bakr, Uthman, Ali. Not only the image of Umar, but also other representatives of Ashar al-Mubashshir (ten closest companions of the Prophet Muhammad, whom he delighted with the news during his lifetime that they would be inhabitants of paradise) were not embodied on the screen. The family members of the Prophet were not embodied on the screen either: children and wives.

         The change of this cinematic canon met with some resistance from Muslim theologians. However, the film received relatively positive reviews.

As S. Hjarvard says: "Religious actors with greater potential in dealing with the media can challenge existing religious authorities; but at the same time, both new and old actors are forced to reproduce the sensitivity characteristic of the media to the preferences of the audience and users" ^{[11, p. 56]}.

         At the moment, the most relevant for the description is the Kinopoisk website, which provides a large share of statistical information about the series. The rating of the film was 8.7. The total number of ratings is more than 1000. This rating is comparable to the rating on the international website IMDB 9.2 ^[9]. At the same time, 66% of viewers rated the film by 10 points.

         Four published reviews are also positive. "The series is large-scale, beautiful costumes, realistic scenery, beautiful battle scenes, all this allows you to immerse yourself in the history of early Islam." "There is no place for digressions or scenes with obscene content in this series.

This proves once again that in order to make a good series, you do not need to go to such measures that are in fashion today.""The film itself is amazing in its scale — a lot of actors, a lot of crowds, people..."

"It is difficult to imagine a man like Umar ibn al-Khattab.

A man who belongs to the 100 greatest people who ever lived on earth" ^[9].        

The last quote implies the famous book by Michael Hart "100 most influential people in history", which placed the Prophet Muhammad in the first place, and Umar ibn al-Khattab in the 52nd position ^[10]. The narrative about this book is part of the missionary appeal of Muslims, representing the figure of a "witness", a neutral and, accordingly, objective person from the outside, who demonstrates the greatness of Islam.

         Therefore, the reception of the image of Umar ibn al-Khattab in the series is of great importance. The events of the film are presented in chronological perspective from the beginning of the Prophecy to the death of Umar at the hands of an assassin.

         The beginning of the film is connected with the return of Umar from Mecca to Medina during the Hajj. An aged caliph on a camel stops near his native places and begins to recall events from his life.

         In Sunni historiography there are two images of Umar before the adoption of Islam. In one, he is the owner of a large number of vices that have changed thanks to Islam. The second concept demonstrated in the series is more common. The film demonstrates a positive appearance and qualities. He has wisdom, poetic gift, respects family ties. Even before the prophecy, Umar is honest, noble, guided by positive motives. Even his struggle with Muslims is based not on Umar's personal dislike of Muslims and Muhammad, but on the desire to unite the Quraysh. This is the difference from the book of as-Sallabi, where the pre-Islamic period of Umar's life is not given any significant place at all.

         Narratives about different stages of Umar's life are present in the collective memory of Muslims and some of them contradict each other in minor details. The most famous among them is the story of the adoption of Islam by Umar.

         In the film, after the adoption of Islam, Umar acts as one of the transmitters of the words of the Prophet. There is a clear distinction between the images of believers and pagans. The former are dressed in simple clothes in the film, the noble pagans of the Quraysh are characterized by rich bright robes. During the battle, the Muslims are all dressed in white clothes.

         The film is historical and narrative in nature. Muslim legends about the miracles of the Prophet are practically not included in the plot. The evidence of the miracle is only the conquests that were promised by the Prophet during his lifetime.

         Since the Prophet Muhammad is not depicted in the film, other companions act as transmitters of his words and orders. Most often they are Abu Bakr, Umar, Hamza ibn Abdulmuttalib.

         In the Sunni historical tradition, Abu Bakr has a moral advantage over Umar. Despite the fact that Umar is the main character of the series, the audience should not have any doubts about the correct transmission of this message. Therefore, this fact is repeatedly emphasized by the creators of the film, both through metaphorical images and through the very statement of this fact by Umar himself. It is no coincidence that Ghassan Massoud, one of the most famous actors who often play the protagonists of Islam in both Hollywood and Muslim cinema, was invited to this role. He played Saladin in the film "The Kingdom of Heaven" by the famous American director Ridley Scott, the sheikh in the Turkish film "Valley of the Wolves: Iraq", as well as Abdullah ibn az-Zubair in the TV series "Hajaj ibn Yusuf".

Umar's personal qualities as a ruler are demonstrated through his interaction with his subjects. The simple, modest appearance of Umar is expressed in such a way that people are not able to immediately recognize him as a ruler. Another pattern is the opposition with the rulers of Byzantium and Persia. After the plot, where the ruler of Persia is afraid despite all the available resources, Umar is shown, who is very God-fearing. Each of these plots is designed to demonstrate the moral and managerial superiority of Umar.

         A significant narrative line is his relationship with Khalid ibn Walid, the most famous military commander in the history of Islam. Khalid's removal from office was due to serious criticism of Umar. Therefore, all aspects of why Umar removed Khalid first from the post of military commander and then from the post of governor of the province are clearly and repeatedly indicated. Being near death, the character of Khalid ibn al-Walid himself says that Umar's decision was correct.

         Another aspect that is implicitly present in the film is Umar's relationship with Ali ibn Abu Talib. In this sense, the series is a silent conversation with Shiites. Since the attitude of the latter towards Umar ranges from contradictory to sharply negative, the film had to present a number of arguments for the legitimacy of the first two caliphs. There are several arguments that the series presents. First, Ali ibn Abu Talib swears allegiance to both caliphs: Abu Bakr and Umar. Secondly, Ali is one of the companions with whom Umar has a very trusting relationship, he constantly consults with him and even appoints him to the post of judge. Thirdly, the film shows a scene in which Umar meets Ali's younger sons, whom he named after Abu Bakr and Umar. All these episodes are intended to demonstrate that Ali had no claims to the power of the caliph during the reign of Abu Bakr and Umar.

         Another aspect of the personality on which the film stops is Umar's religious tolerance. This concerns the narrative of the capture of Jerusalem, in which Umar builds a fair relationship with the Patriarch of Jerusalem. In particular, it is Umar's refusal to pray in church. Implicitly, religious tolerance is emphasized in his fair treatment of non-Muslim subjects. For example, this can include Umar's repentance after his attempt to call an elderly needy Christian woman to Islam in response to her request to pay her debt.:

Umar: "By the will of Allah, your debt will be paid, but what prevents you from converting to Islam?"Woman: "I am an old woman, and I have so little left to live."

Umar: "Whatever you want"

After a few seconds, Umar begins to say: "There is no power and might except from Allah Almighty!

There is no power and might except from Allah Almighty! May Allah forgive me! What have you done, O Umar?!"Ali ibn Abu Talib: "Why do you ask for forgiveness of sins, Lord of the faithful?"

Umar: "An old Christian woman came to me with a request and I helped her, and then called her to Islam"

Ali ibn Abu Talib: "But you didn't force her, did you?

Isn't that right?"Umar: "I'm afraid she'll think I'm forcing her in return for helping her in need"

Ali ibn Abu Talib: "Everything depends on your intention, Lord of the faithful.

Cases are evaluated according to intentions"Umar: "O Allah, I have instructed and not forced!

O Allah, I have instructed and not forced! But at the same time, I feel bad about what I did. May Allah forgive me!"The series reflects the deathbed appointment of the procedure for choosing a successor, which is based on the version of Abu Mihnaf from the "History" of al-Tabari, to which many theologians are critical, preferring the version of Imam Bukhari to it ^{[2, pp. 467-471]}.

         Today, the series "Umar ibn-al Khattab" is today one of the main "texts" not only about Umar, but also about the entire early history of Islam. A large number of Muslims are familiar with this canvas and undoubtedly the image presented in this film will influence the model of behavior of believers.

Umar ibn al-Khattab in the public space of Muslims in RussiaThis paragraph will consist of the following aspects: the analysis of the personality of Umar ibn al-Khattab in the Google Trends system, the instrumentalization of the image of Umar in the socio-political space, the use of the image of Umar ibn al-Khattab in the Internet space.

In the previous work, an analysis of the use of the image of Umar ibn al-Khattab in the Google Trends system was carried out ^[6]. By the number of requests, this is the most popular hero of Muslim history after the Prophet Muhammad. And although Sunni Muslims recognize the moral superiority of Abu Bakr over Umar, Muslims are looking for Umar in the Russian segment of the Internet almost 3.5 times more often. In this regard, Russia is in context with the whole world. Only in eight States, requests for Abu Bakr are higher than requests for Umar ibn al-Khattab.

Moreover, in five regions of Russia: Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Chechnya, Karachay-Cherkessia, Dagestan, Stavropol Krai, interest in this person is much higher than, for example, to all former rulers of Russia, including Peter I, Joseph Stalin, Ivan the Terrible [Nadyrshin, 2020, 33]. Thus, it can be noted that children from these regions grow up on very special narratives that may not converge with the stories on which their peers from other subjects of Russia are brought up.

Of course, Umar ibn-al Khattab remains to some extent an example to follow for rulers who are close to the caliph's values, some of which can be easily instrumentalized for the Russian socio-political space. On August 24, 2018, the Head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, transferred 1 million rubles for the restoration of the historical Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was burned down in Karelia, built back in the XVIII century, and commented on this: "The Messenger of Allah strictly ordered his companions not to touch Christian churches, not to cause damage to their property and harm the clergy. When the righteous Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab liberated Jerusalem, he was met by Patriarch Sophrony I, whom the caliph assured that no temple would be touched, Christians could still pray in them" ^{[6, p. 32]}.Another interesting case that has spread in the media is the question that experts asked "What?

Where? When" a resident of Tashkent. "... One day Caliph Umar was visited by his friend Abdrahman. I visited at the moment when the supreme ruler was engaged in state affairs. Seeing his friend, Caliph Umar extinguished one candle and lit another. The caliph's behavior surprised Abdrahman and he exclaimed: "Oh, the head of the Muslims. Why did you put out one candle and light another?" Attention, question! Dear experts, guess what was the answer of Caliph Umar."The experts of the TV game were not given the correct answer to the question familiar to most Muslims since childhood:

"When you came, I was engaged in state affairs and burning a government candle, and I will discuss personal issues with you, and the state should not pay for our conversation." It is not the question itself that is noteworthy, but the number of views of the video dedicated to this story: more than 200 thousand.

The two illustrations presented indicate that the discourse about Umar concerns two pronounced accents: religious tolerance and the absence of corruption in the era of Umar's rule.

The place of Umar ibn-al Khattab in the collective memory of Muslims of the Republic of BashkortostanIn 2020-2022, a survey was conducted aimed at studying the collective memory of Muslims of Bashkortostan.

Some of the questions also allow us to conclude what position this companion occupies in the memory of believers.

In particular, Muslims practicing the five-fold prayer were asked the question: "How much do you assess your awareness of the heroes of the history of Islam represented?" The selected characters for the survey were compiled according to the methodology proposed in the previous article on this topic, which is based on data from the Google Trends tool ^[6]. A total of 82 people took part in the survey.

The list of figures for analysis includes the following companions: Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, Ali ibn Abu Talib, Muawiya ibn abu Sufyan, Khalid ibn Walid, Khadija bint Huwaylid, Amr ibn Al-As, Aisha bint Abu Bakr, Fatima bint Muhammad, Salahaddin Ayyubi, Mehmet II, Tariq bin Ziyad, Jalaladdin Rumi, Muhammad al-Bukhari, Muhammad al-Shafi'i, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Abu Hanifa, Ahmad ibn Hanbal.

         The following answers were offered: "I am not familiar with this name", "I only know the scope of this person's activity", "I know the biography in general terms", "I know the biography, approximate years of life, and the main merits", "I find it difficult to answer".

The answers in the multiple choice grid by companions were distributed according to the statistics shown in Table 1

Table 1.The names of the most

This table shows us that the knowledge about the life of the two closest companions of the Prophet Muhammad roughly coincides.

The following open-ended question also indirectly demonstrates the importance that Umar occupies in the collective memory of believers: "Biographies of which companions of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.S.) are of the greatest interest to you?" Out of 68 answers, Umar is presented in variations most often "10 delighted with paradise" or "4 righteous caliphs" in 22 answers.

And finally, the third question, which demonstrates the value of Umar for the memory of Muslims, is presented in the following group of open-type questions: Whose name of Muslims in WORLD history is the first one that comes to your mind in the presented fields of activity? Muslims had the opportunity to enter names in such columns as ruler, military commander, scientist, businessman, writer, artist and a number of other fields. In the "Ruler" column, Muslims called the Prophet Muhammad 15 times, and Umar ibn al-Khattab 10 times.

DiscussionThe results presented in this article confirm that Umar ibn al-Khattab is one of the most significant places of memory in the collective memory of Muslims in Russia.

On the other hand, the image of this caliph becomes a definite challenge for Russia. The policy of commemoration in Orthodoxy has generated a large number of images of rulers, which are instrumentalized by the Russian Orthodox Church. Prince Vladimir, Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy and a number of other figures suitable for the reproduction of religious identity. However, in the history of Islam on the territory of Russia there are no rulers whose personal appearance could be the basis for the self-identification of Muslim believers.

In the future, it is important to conduct additional research on the memory of Umar ibn al-Khattab and other companions, as well as Muslim historical figures. In particular, it is interesting to conduct a personal interview of the memory of Umar. Curiously, the preliminary short interviews demonstrate that the military conquests of his rule remain in the personal memory of Umar, as well as some parables about how he personally dealt with the problems of individual citizens. There is no room in this memory for an analysis of his administrative, land and religious reforms, which marked the development of Muslim civilization for years to come.

Of course, the number of bearers of this name will grow. In particular, as the statistics of the Moscow open data portal on the most popular names among newborns shows, the number of babies with the name Umar is increasing.

Table No. 2. The number of names of newborns with the name Umar in Moscow in 2015-2021.twothousandfifteen

 It is obvious that the increase in the number of carriers is not only due to ethnodemographic changes in the capital.

Another area of research may be the analysis of the discourse about Umar in the social networks Telegram and Instagram, in which there are a huge number of Muslim channels and public. For many believers today, it is a missionary platform that in a compressed form gives very emotionally rich content for quick consumption. A superficial review says that the figure of Umar ibn-al Khattab becomes the basis for rigorism both against the believers themselves and for the bearers of other ideological positions.

ConclusionOf course, Umar ibn al-Khattab is a testament to the victory of Islam over the rest of the world for believers.

The personal qualities possessed by Umar ibn-al Khattab make him one of the most important figures of self-identification for the Muslim community of the whole world in general and Russia in particular. For Islam, the biographies of companions are an important part of hagiography. The biographies of the companions are sinless, the actions are justified, the Muslims of the first centuries appear to be an ideal society. Sunni historiography is also characterized by a correspondence discussion with Shiites, reflected in the desire to demonstrate the loyalty of Ali ibn abu Talib.

In the biography of Umar ibn al-Khattab, the discussion concerns his pre-Islamic period of life. Some historians attribute to him multiple virtues, others call him one of the most vicious people.

In a certain sense, Umar ibn al-Khattab is a triumph of masculinity in its Muslim dimension, which distinguishes the second caliph from many other companions who were softer and less categorical in their actions. And that's why Umar's "popularity" is so high and the demand for him is so great. Perhaps the personal appearance of Umar ibn al-Khattab influences Muslim culture today even more than the territorial conquests of his period. That is why it is important that the missionary strategy of Islamic centralized religious organizations should be aimed at ensuring that the pages of his biography are interpreted in such a way that the image of Umar ibn al-Khattab becomes the basis for the development of such virtues as religious tolerance, respect for scientists, rejection of abuse for officials, selfless help to people, the ability to accept criticism and admit mistakes, practice meetings, respect for the law, personal modesty.