The Influence of Central Asian Migration on the Islamic Space of Cities in the Urals (the Cases of Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk, and Troitsk)

Abstract

The article focuses on the influence of Central Asian migration on the Islamic space of the cities of the Urals (Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk, and Troitsk). The study is drawn on interviews and ethnographic fieldwork. The concept of the right to the city is used as a theoretical and methodological framework. This research lens helped describe social relations around symbolic power over urban space. I argue that migrants create social infrastructure to satisfy their religious needs (mosques, houses of worship, halal cafes, Islamic fashion shops). Muslim migrants acquire experience in organizational activities and accumulate various resources for the formation and development of religious infrastructure in the cities of the Urals. This infrastructure makes it possible to meet the social and spiritual needs of various migrant groups.