Махалля: должен, значит можешь
Mahallah: You Must Means You Can

Summary/Abstract: This paper considers the problems of communitarian ethics by the example of mahallah, a traditional social and territorial association of local residents in Arab countries. It is typical in Asian and Eastern countries, as well as in Tatar rural settlements. Mahallah, as a specific social institution, is characterized by the distinctive ethics and etiquette of interaction between people. The etiquette of Mahallah is not a mere set of ceremonies, being rather a reflection of the national history, culture, and way of life; the moral wisdom is embedded in its norms that determine the routine life and behavior of local residents in the community. The ethics and etiquette of Mahallah have been the Code for Asian Confucians and Muslims. This Code was earlier called “adabnoma”. Adabnoma is not equal to what is understood by European ethics, because it synthesized the norms of national philosophy, ethics, pedagogy, rhetoric, and way of life. The ethics of Mahallah community, called communitarian ethics in this paper, has been described through the criticism of the concepts of naturalism and rational selfishness, i.e., by the analysis of the views expressed by Richard Dawkins, Marc Hauser, and Ayn Rand. The experience of Uzbekistan in restoring the system of mahallah may be useful to Russian researchers due to the growing interest in such territorial associations in some regions of the Russian Federation.

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