In the 19th century, as a result of the policy of
colonialism and the political and economic expansion of European
empires, a number of Moslem educators and ideologists realized the need
to reform Islam in the face of the objective superiority of Europe over the
East. These processes have affected many Moslem countries and regions
of the world, including Russia. In the 19-20 centuries a group of
progressive-minded Moslems, the Jadids, conducted large-scale
educational work aimed at improving the level of education of the Moslem population and adapting Islam to modern socio-economic and
political conditions.