Şihabetdin Märcani

Şihabetdin Märcani (pronounced [ʃihæbetˈdin mærʑæˈni]; Cyrillic Tatar: Шиһабетдин Мәрҗани, Arabic Tatar: شہاب الدین مرجانی, also spelled Shihab al-Din al-Marjani;[1] 1818–1889) was a Tatar Hanafi Maturidi theologian[2] and historian.

Şihabetdin Märcani

He studied in madrassas of Tashkichu (near Kazan), Bukhara and Samarqand. Beginning in 1850 he served as the imam of the First Cathedral Mosque. Later, in 1867, he became a muhtasib of Kazan. At the same time, in 1876-1884 he lectured on religion in the Tatar Teachers' School. Märcani became the first Muslim member of The Society for Archaeology, History and Ethnography at Kazan State University. In his papers he illustrated his ideas about the renovation and the perfection of the Tatar educational system. As a historian, he was the first Tatar scholar to employ a synthesis of European methodology with the traditions of the Oriental scholars. He was the author of more than 30 volumes about Tatar history.