Bulgharist historians who were close or compliant to the Orenburg Spiritual
Assembly, Vaisov fiercely opposed to it. He asserted that official Islamic leaders
were ìTatarsî and not real Muslims, while real Muslims, including himself
and his followers, were ìBulghars.î He and his followers viewed Volga Bulgharia
as the place and time when Islam in its pure form had been practiced, and
they sought to resurrect the Bulghar state.1