Geoinformation Systems in the Study of Muslim Holy Sites in the Southern Urals

Abstract

In the recent decade, there has been a tendency in the Southern Urals to reconstruct old holy places and to form new ones revered by the Muslims. To date, more than 115 such objects have been recorded. Most of them are revered only by residents of small villages, but some have become important for the Muslims throughout the region.
 
 The purpose of the study is to determine the most popular places of worship for the Muslims in the Southern Urals. Considering that some of the objects of regional importance have been revered by the Muslims since the XIV century, and others, having appeared relatively recently, quickly became one of the most visited places, it is necessary to determine the factors influencing the growth of this popularity.
 
 Historiographical base of the study. The research team analyzed the works of domestic and foreign authors, which mainly describe the conditions of the studied objects, religious rituals, organized events, etc. In addition, it was possible to attract the experience of researchers in implementing projects in geoinformation systems in religious studies.
 
 Materials and methods of the study. Geoinformation methods were used for the study. Based on archival materials, developments of archaeologists, ethnographers, theologians, culture experts, materials of Internet communities and other open sources, as well as the free cross-platform geoinformation system Quantum GIS, we have created the following layers: 1) mausoleums; 2) places of worship according to the data given by Russia’s Central Spiritual Governance for the Muslims; 3) places of worship according to the Internet community in the social network VKontakte Sufi RB; 4) religious tourist routes.
 
 Study results. Thanks to the use of geoinformation systems, it was possible to identify the most popular holy places among the Muslims of the Southern Urals. It is established that the most actively visited objects are the mausoleum of Hussein Bey in Chishminsky district of the Republic of Bashkortostan and the Ilchigulovo-IV burial mound (the sacred mountain Narystau) in Miyakinsky district of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
 
 Conclusions. The results of the study indicate that the popularity of objects is influenced by a number of factors, among which the presence of a monumental structure, representation of the object in the media space and the Internet, as well as availability of objective scientific data about it are of key importance.