Transregional history of a Muslim family Oral and written testimonies on the descendants of Muhammad Sharīf Al-Bulghārī

The main argument of this article is that familial history of migrants can shed a new life on the dynamics of religious politics on the remote areas of the Russian empire and the Soviet Union. On the basis of manuscript sources (Sūfī hagiographies, genealogies, travel accounts) and interviews with our contemporaries - members of the family of migrants from Central Russia to Kh^wārazm and northern Iran, we demonstrate how the idea of pious resettlement proved to be crucial in the identity of a migrant community, which played a central role in the local religious developments. Our article helps to debunk the prevailing national narratives that underline the ethnic borders and self-denominations, while for our informants religious identity and belonging to a respected sacred family has been much more important.