Аңдатпа
The article examines the specific features of Islamic themes on the Eparchial Bulletin -the official newspaper of the Orenburg and Omsk dioceses in the Steppe Region during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.The author considers these publications as an instrument for implementing imperial religious policy, as well as a component of extensive Orthodox missionary literature aimed at limiting the influence of Islam.The analysis reveals an evolution in the content and tone of the publications.In the 1880s and 1890s, they took the style of ethnographic notes and reports by missionaries who sought to prove the superficial nature of Islamization among the Kazakhs and preserve them for potential Christianization.The primary method focused on criticizing "pagan" remnants among the Muslim nomads.With the beginning of the 20th century, due to the rise of the all-Russian Muslim movement, the tone of the publications changed dramatically .They assumed the style of tendentious articles aimed at the direct discreditation of Islam .The focus of criticism shifted toward the personality of Muhammad, the content of the Quran, and Islamic dogmas and social norms .These publications were designed to foster persistent negative stereotypes and phobias among the Orthodox flock.The author also notes a difference in the approaches of the two dioceses: the harsher and more ideologized character of the Orenburg Eparchial Bulletin, conditioned by its proximity to Kazan, and the more liberal and practical orientation of the Omsk Eparchial Bulletin, where the emphasis shifted toward combating schisms within Orthodoxy itself .