ORIENTAL ARCHIVE 80, 2012 • 259

An Islamic Perspective in Russian Public Opinion: The Russian Tatar Thinker Abdurrashid Ibrahim (1857–1944)

Mikhail Meyer

An entirely new dimension entered into the realm of public opinion in Russia at the turn of the twentieth century with the appearance of Muslim thinkers in the domain of social and religious activity. Their words and actions were primarily aimed at modernizing the economic, social and spiritual life of their coreligionists. But at the same time, they strove to improve the social and legal status of the Muslim (mostly Turkic-speaking) population in Russia. In this regard, their activities represented a special variant of Islamic-Russian nationalism. This type of concept, i.e. Islam within a national movement, had been mobilized among Asian and North African Muslims since the second half of the nineteenth century. The Young Ottomans in the Turkish Empire and the Arab participants of the Nahda (Enlightenment movement) are different examples of this religious- nationalist combination as well as the Adamiyat Society established by Malkom- khan in Iran and activities of the first Muslim organizations in India and in other countries of South-East Asia. In Russia, the Jadid movement was one of the notable results of such activity.1 However, Jadidism was not a uniform movement and the first Muslim reformers belonging to Jadidism had different ways of expressing associated ideas. If Shihabuddin Merjani (1818–89) and Hussein Faizkhanov (1823–66) were characterised by their interest in reorganizing cultural life, on the other hand, Ismail-bey Gaspıralı (Gasprinsky, 1851–1914) especially related reforms in the sphere of education with the idea of unity for Russian Muslims in addition to the improvement of their social status. In this contribution, we would like to examine the specificities related to Abdurrashid Ibrahim’s life as one of the Russian Tatar thinkers and public men associated with Jadidism of those years. A. Ibrahim was famous for his active

1 Jadid (usūl-i jadīd), a new phonetic principle developed in the realm of education by I. Gasprinsky, was created for studying Quranic and other religious texts. From the end of the nineteenth century, the term, Jadidism, took on a wider meaning to refer to everything which was new in the cultural and social life of Russian Muslims. Within this context of liberal reform movements, the Jadidists worked towards improving the socio-legal status of Russian Muslims. For more details: R. G. Landa, Islam; D. M. Iskhakov, Fenomen; V. Bobrovnikov, “Islam”; E. J. Lazzerini, “Čadidism.”

ArOr – Issue 80.2 ISSN 0044-8699 © 2012 Oriental Institute (ASCR), Prague 260 • MIKHAIL MEYER participation in this mouvement especially as related to the liberation of Muslims in Eurasia from colonialism and who correspondingly found themselves in a situation of national powerlessness. For historians, A. Ibrahim embodies a special interest because his engagement as a representative of Pan-Islamic activity is tightly bound to the participation in political struggles both in Russia and beyond its borders.

The Russian Tatar Thinker Abdurrashid Ibrahim’s Early Years Abdurrashid Ibrahim (Ibragimov), known as Rashid (also called Abd ar-Rashid, Abdarrashid, Gabderashid), was born on April 23, 1857 into a merchant family in the town of Tara in the Tobolskaya province, Siberia. His relatives were immigrants from the city of Bukhara, the most important center of education for Russian Muslims, including the , up until the second half of the XIXth century. Indeed, the first Tatar thinkers belonging to the Enlightenment movement in the area came from this city, namely, Abdurrahim Utuz-Imyani, Abdunnasir Kursavi and Shihabeddin Merjani.2 As for Rashid (Abdurrashid Ibrahim), his primary education took place in a Tara mosque and then afterwards his lessons continued in a Kazan medrese called Kyshkar. During a period of eight years (1871–79), he perfected his knowledge in a Tatarian tekke located in Medine before going on to . In 1882, at the age of 25 years old, Rashid returned to Tara. He was now a convinced adherent of religious reform which included the necessity for instituting new approaches in education. He opened a school in his native town which specialized in the new methods (usūl-i jadīd). According to the sources, from 1885, it seems that Rashid Ibrahim was the in Tara’s mosque and a teacher (mudarris) in the local medrese. In 1892, he was elected to the position of judge (cadı) in the Orenbourg Muhammedan Spiritual Assembly (OMSA).3 His active participation in the Jadid movement led to a conflict with the mufti Mukhammedyar Sultanov who had spoken up against the participation of Muslim clergy in Russian political life.

Abdurrashid Ibrahim’s Political Activities Abroad and in Russia This conflict forced Rashid Ibrahim to leave for Ottoman Turkey in 1895. In Istanbul, he wrote his first treatise called Morning Star (Chulpan Yildiz) in which he sharply criticized the colonial politics of the Tzarist regime in relation to native Muslim

2 T. K. Ibragim, F. M. Sultanov, and A. N. Yuzeev, Tatarskaya, 138. 3 The Orenbourg Muhammedan Spiritual Meeting (OMSM) was established on the order of Ekaterina II in 1788 as an official institute which acted as the highest judicial agency for Russian Muslims and was supposed to represent their interests in front of the Russian government. The meeting consisted of a mufti and three cadıs (as associate judges) appointed by the tzar’s order and changed every three years. For more details, refer to: D. D. Azamatov, Orenburgskoe. An Islamic Perspective in Russian Public Opinion:The Russian Tatar Thinker Abdurrashid Ibrahim • 261 populations. The main reason for writing this brochure was undoubtedly the attempts by Russian authorities to implement N. I. Ilminsky’s plans to Christianize the indigenous populations of the Middle and Lower Volga regions and simultaneously to undermine Islamic influence in these areas.4 Rashid’s treatise was censored in Russia but it nonetheless illegally spread within the Muslim population. In April 1897, Rashid Ibrahim went on a long trip around the most important centers in the Islamic world from Egypt to East Turkestan and across several European countries. After a short stay in Tara, he took up his journey again and went to India and then, at the end of 1900, he travelled to St Petersburg. He established close relationships during these trips with prominent men in Muslim communities, among them with Jemaleddin al-Afgani (1839–97) but also with many emigrants from Russia.5 According to some information, cadı Rashid contacted Russian socialists while in Switzerland and discussed questions with them concerning the struggle of Russian Muslims for their social and cultural rights.6 These meetings served to strengthen Rashid’s belief in the wide opportunities of Pan-Islamism.7 When he was in St Petersburg and with the help of Ilyas Mirza Boragansky, a teacher in the university and owner of the printing-house Nur which published literature on the subject of Arabic graphics, Rashid Ibrahim started publishing a Tatar- language almanac called Mirat (Mirror). In his articles published in this almanac, Rashid discussed questions related to the autonomy of national institutions and the necessity for the Tatars to undertake reforms based on the European example. In 1902–1903, Rashid went to Japan for the first time after which he settled down in Istanbul to develop activities which advocated Pan-Islamism and Pan-Turkist ideas towards Russian Muslims. Such activity fully fit the trend supported by the Sublime Porte’s politics during the reign of sultan Abdulhamid II (1876–1909) and which moreover defined, according to the opinion of some researchers, the connections of this former cadı with the new Intelligence service Yildiz (Star) created by the sultan’s government. On the other hand, Rashid Ibrahim’s activity obviously did not satisfy St. Petersburg, especially after the beginning of the Russo-Japanese war of 1904–1905. Indeed, in 1904, the Russian Embassy in Istanbul ordered Rashid

4 N. I. Ilminsky (1822–91), a professor at the Kazan Spiritual Seminary, was also a theoretician and active representative of the tzar’s authorities vis-à-vis the Christianization of the native population of the Middle and Lower Povolzhye for the purpose of restricting the role of Islam. His system aimed at preparing local persons for the priesthood and encouraged the wide spreading of Christian literature in the languages of local populations as well as organizing elementary schools for non-Christians. The program also included a transition from an education in the native languages to one which taught in Russian and from the initial religions and cultures to one of Christianity and Russian culture. For more details, refer to: S. Faizov, Islam, 35–37, and V. Bobrovnikov, “Islam,” 211–213. 5 A. N. Kurat, “Kazan,” cilt XXIV, n. 3–4, s. 123–125. 6 N. Devlet, Rusya, 81–82. 7 For a study on Pan-Islamism as seen in the French sources at the end of the XIXth century: A. D’Agostini, Phénoménologie. 262 • MIKHAIL MEYER to leave the and to return to Russia. Immediately after arriving in , he was taken into custody.8 The arrest of this popular publicist and religious figure caused a wave of reaction in support of him and Rashid Ibrahim was soon released and resettled again in the Russian capital. There, he started publishing the newspaper Ulfat (Unity)9 and entered into a close relationship with outstanding representatives of liberal public organizations and the self-administration institutions movement (zemstvo). With their help, Rashid was able to obtain an audience with P. S. Swyatopolk-Mirsky, minister for Internal Affairs, who was famous for his liberal views. During the meeting with this minister, Rashid Ibrahim stated his ideas concerning the problems of the Muslim population after which the minister requested that he prepare an official appeal in the name of all Muslims to summarize their demands.10 This recommendation allowed “Uncle Rashid” (as he was called by the young Jadidists) to visit several regions in Russia. During meetings with intellectuals and religious figures among the Turkic-speaking populations, a decision was taken to convene a congress to which representatives from different Muslim-Turkish communities were invited.11

Rashid Ibrahim and the Congress of Russian Muslims Rashid-efendi took an active part in organizing this First Congress of Russian Muslims which occurred on August 15, 1905 as well as the next two ones during the following year (January 13–23, 1906 and August 16–21, 1906). These congresses are considered to be the most important expression of social-political movements of Russian Muslims up until 1917.12 Of course, one should not exaggerate the meaning and influence of such events for Russia at that time; this observation also refers to most of the local Turkic population. Nevertheless, without a program of religious and cultural autonomy, the means for creating the political party, Ittifak-i Muslimin (Muslim Union) as well as organizing work in the Duma (Parliament) on behalf of the Muslim population based on developments which occurred during these congresses, it is impossible to explain the phenomenon of the massive inclusion of Muslims in the revolutionary events of 1917. During the discussions launched during these congresses, Rashid Ibrahim repeatedly insisted upon the idea of uniting Muslims’ efforts. During the Third Congress, he claimed that “unity should not only be among Russian Muslims but also among Muslims from the whole world because all Muslims should follow one and the same trend.” He also declared that “…there’s no doubt that I’m a Pan-

8 H. Kırımlı, Kırım, 69–70. 9 About the role of this issue, refer to A. Bennigsen, and Ch. Quelquejay, La presse Bennigsen, 63. 10 A. U. Khabutdinov, Formirovanie, 193–194. 11 A. U. Khabutdinov, and D. V. Mukhetdinov, 20; O. N. Senyutkina, Tyurkizm, 215–229, 245–247. 12 O. N. Senyutkina, Tyurkizm, 249–294. An Islamic Perspective in Russian Public Opinion:The Russian Tatar Thinker Abdurrashid Ibrahim • 263

Islamic advocate for all Muslims.”13 Rashid’s efforts related to the preparation and activities during these congresses quickly raised his authority and influence in the social-political life of Russian Muslims. During the Third Congress, he was elected to be a member of Ittifak-i Muslimin’s Central Committee and he received the highest amount of votes (219) among the 15 members of this leading political body.14

Rashid Ibrahim’s Fascination with Japan At the same time, Rashid Ibrahim received an invitation to visit Japan for a second time. In relation to this trip to the country of the Rising Sun, one questions the reason for Rashid’s attraction to this country which he had already visited in 1902. The answer in fact seems to be quite unambiguous. It is most probable that he, like many of his contemporaries, was attracted by the Japanese success which managed to impose itself only three or four decades following the Meiji revolution. This political success may have been a challenge for Russia. There is, however, perhaps another reason which may be related to Rashid Ibrahim’s acquaintance with the famous scout Akashi Modojiro (1864–1919).15 From autumn 1902 to February 1904, lieutenant colonel Akashi was stationed in St Petersburg as the Japanese military attaché. According to his published report, on Tokyo’s orders, he and his assistant Tanaka Giity were entrusted with creating a networked secret-service system in Russia. Along with his informers, Akashi not only gathered information about Russian military forces but he also supported anti- government demonstrations inside the country. At first, both Akashi Modojiro and Tanaka Giity knew little about Russian Muslims and did not consider them to be worthy candidates for Japanese attention since organization organization among them was not very strong. Nevertheless, Akashi decided to support the Jadidist’s propagandistic activity.16 One of his steps in that direction could have been the invitation to the publisher of Mirat to visit Japan. According to the opinion of some Turkish historians, during his second trip to Japan, with the intermediary of Akashi, Rashid Ibrahim met with prominent Japanese politicians. During their meetings, he apparently supported their anti- Russian stance.17 At the same time, Rashid became acquainted with members of the ultranationalist Japanese organization Kokuryukai (Black Dragon Society) which advocated turning Japan into a Great Pan-Asiatic Empire. On the basis of a book later published by Rashid about Japan, one may assume that the intentions of

13 Ibidem, 278; A. Arsharuny, and H. Z. Gabidullin, Ocherki, 30. 14 H. Kırımlı, Kırım, 83; N. Hablemitoglu, Çarlık, 140 15 About him, refer to D. Pavlov , Russko-Yaponskaya, 160–261; E. M. Osmanov, Deyatelnoct, 332; J. A. White, The Diplomacy, 140–141; R. A. Deacon, The History, 42–66. 16 N. Devlet, Rusya, 77. 17 S. Esenbel, “History,” 290. 264 • MIKHAIL MEYER the Kokuryukai leaders were positively viewed by him as they coincided in some ways with his ideas about methods to struggle for the liberation of the Islamic East from the colonial predominance of European powers. For Japanese nationalists, the cooperation with such a famous figure like Rashid-efendi opened another opportunity for widening their influence in the Islamic world.18 Rashid’s acquaintances with both official persons as well as with different public organizations in Japan paved the way for him to collaborate with them in 1906 and afterwards. From the Far East, Rashid Ibrahim came back to Russia where, in August 1907, the Fourth Russian Muslim Congress was supposed to take place. However, after the dissolution of the Second Duma, the situation quickly changed in the country. P. A. Stolypin, the new head of the government, was an absolute opponent of the politics of unity of Russian Muslims. Upon his personal orders, the petition for the convening of the congress was cancelled and arrests and tracking down of Ittifak activists started. Rashid Ibrahim was among them and the newspaper issued by him was closed with the state giving the following reason: “counteraction to the interests of the Russian State”. At this point, together with a number of other persons from the Ittifak movement, Rashid emigrated from Russia. Having crossed Siberia, Mongolia and Manchuria illegally, he once again went to Japan. During this visit to Tokyo (1908–1909), Rashid consolidated his connections with the local radical nationalists. He become close with the leadership of the “Black Dragon Society” and, at the same time, he became acquainted with Prince Ito and Japanese officials of high rank which gave him the opportunity to publicly read lectures about Islam.19 In response, Rashid Ibrahim promised to assist the Japanese in widening their circle of supporters in the Ottoman Empire and his subsequent activities seem to support this. Following this, Rashid Ibrahim made his way back to Istanbul via South and South-East Asia where he tried to strengthen his connections with local Islamic leaders that he had established at the end of the XIXth century. Rashid did not travel alone, Yamaoka Mitsutaro, a member of the Black Dragon Society who had converted to Islam, joined him in Bombay.20 Later on, in Istanbul, with the help of Rashid, Yamaoka lectured about the vital importance of creating close connections between the Japanese people and the Islamic world.19 Upon his return to the Ottoman Empire, Rashid Ibrahim took up his work again as a journalist and began cooperating with the magazine Sırat-i Müstakim (The Righteous Way) which was the main mouthpiece of Pan-Islamic ideas.21 In 1910–11, he published a book, The World of Islam and the Spreading of . In this book, on the basis of his impressions, the author praised the success of the Japanese in the sphere of modernization which had turned their country into “The rising star of the East.” According to the opinion of some

18 Ibidem. 19 Ibidem. 20 About Haci Omar Yamaoka, refer to A.-B. Morimoto, Islam in Japan, 9, 62, 69. 21 S. Esenbel, “History,” 290. An Islamic Perspective in Russian Public Opinion:The Russian Tatar Thinker Abdurrashid Ibrahim • 265 historians, this publication used to be very popular in the Ottoman Empire.22 Its success is quite understandable because when the Young Turks came to power, they strove to emulate the Japanese experience, claiming to turn the Ottoman Empire into the “Japan of the Near East.”

Rashid Ibrahim’s Pan-Islamic Activities From 1909 to 1917, Rashid Ibrahim continued to hold an important position with the Young Turks during which he sharply criticized the actions of the Russian government. The same can be said about other principal figures who emigrated from Russia to the Ottoman Empire such as Yusuf Akchura, Ahmed Agaoğlu (Agaev), Huseyinzade Ali and others. A strong Pan-Islamic orientation was a distinguishing feature among these émigrés, a fact which profoundly troubled St Petersburg. The attention given to him on this account by Russian police officials proves this point. For example, in 1912, the head of Tashkent police’s department sent a translation of two articles published in Sırat-i Müstakim to St Petersburg: one of these was entitled “The Sacred War Proclaimed against the Enemies of the Great Islamic Caliphate” written by Ahmad al-Sharif, a shaykh of the Sanusi tarikat (Sufi order), while the other entitled “Abdu-r-Rashid Ibragimov Effendi” concerned a trip in January 1914 by our hero to this same shaykh.23 A corresponding note from St Petersburg reported that “Abdurashid Ibragimov is an outstanding figure as far as concerns the movement for Islamic unity and that he has personal influence on his coreligionists by direct communication with them and by means of Pan-Islamic literature issued in separate brochures that are being spread everywhere or which are published in contemporary periodicals, in particular, in the magazine Sırat-i Müstakim, published in Turkey in the Turkish language; the importation of this magazine into Russia is prohibited.”24 The attention of the Tashkent police was shows that they were especially aware of the fact that “the heads of the Pan-Islamic movement, concealing the ultimate aim of Islamism, are lulling the vigilance of the Russian government. The movement is trying by all means to convince the government that the Islamic movement in Russia does not pose any danger to Russians and that the mission of the movement, as asserted by its officials, only aims at spiritual and cultural development of the Islamic peoples.” But in reality, the St Petersburg police are alerted to the fact that this literature, published for the enlightenment of Muslims, “suggests ideas of hatred and animosity toward the Russian people and its government and, in the end, prepares the faithful Muslims to an armed rebellion for fighting the existing

22 Gündoğdu, Sırat-i Müstakim...:, vol. 23–2, 245–260. 23 S. Esenbel, “History,” vol. 1, 154–155. 24 State Archive of Russian Federation (SARF). Fond 102.00, Inventory 912, case 74, part 84, sheet 1–2b. 266 • MIKHAIL MEYER political system in Russia.” As an example, the police cited Rashid Ibrahim’s book published in 1907 in his printing house under the title Bin bir hadith-ı sherif sharhi (Interpretation of a Thousand and One Holy Hadiths).25 The trip to the Sanusi shaykh mentioned above should be understood within the context of the organization of the All-Muslim Congress in which Rashid took an active part. In autumn 1907, the idea of this congress was mentioned by I. Gasprinsky in the pages of his newspaper Tercüman (Translator). A similar congress was also convened in Cairo. It was first decided to convene the congress in September 1908 but disagreements among organizers compelled them several times to change the terms and the place of the meeting. According to the information obtained by the Russian police, it was supposed to take place in Egypt in 1910 but the English government withheld permission for the meeting and, moreover, it forced the participants who had gathered there to leave the country. The informers who sent the report to the St Petersburg police mentioned the names of four representatives of Russian Muslims: Ismail Gasprinsky, Rashid Ibrahim, Giyaz Nauruzov (from Tomsk) and Kudus Gabdulvaliev (Vernyi, since 1921, Alma-Ata).26 The delegates of the cancelled congress arranged to meet in 1911 but this time, the meeting place was to be in Turkey. However, the Italian- Turkish war of 1911–12 prevented the meeting. One more attempt to convene the congress in Turkey in 1913 also failed. Contrary to Gasprinsky, Rashid Ibrahim did not abandon his plans to unite Muslims from different countries. To this end, he continued his active participation by publishing articles in periodicals printed in Istanbul devoted to developing Pan-Islamic and Pan-Turkist ideas, particularly, in Sırat-і Müstakim (which, since 1912, was entitled Sebilürreşad), Taarüf-ul Muslimim (Mutual Acquaintance of Muslims), Hikmet (Wisdom) and Islam Dünyası (Islamic World).27 In the same year, to avoid being expelled to Russia another time, Rashid took Turkish citizenship.28

Rashid’s Pan-Islamic Activities and the Young Turks Rashid Ibrahim’s Pan-Islamic and Pan-Turkist ideas became especially relevant during the years of the First World War since they corresponded to the aspirations of the Young Turks and particularly with Enver-pacha himself.29 Rashid-efendi’s cooperation with the organization Teshkilat-i Mahsusa (Special Formation), created on Enver’s initiative, fit into this logic. It should be recalled that Teshkilat-i Mahsusa did not have official status, nonetheless, during the First World War years,

25 Ibidem, sh. 9–10. 26 Ibidem, sh. 21–21b. 27 O. N. Senyutkina, Tyurkizm, 363–365,388. 28 See: Y. Sarinay, Başbakanlık, s. 215–216. 29 Enver Pasha (1881–1922), a prominent member of the Young Turks’s party Union and Progress, was an organizer of the military coup d’Etat in 1913. An Islamic Perspective in Russian Public Opinion:The Russian Tatar Thinker Abdurrashid Ibrahim • 267 the organization specialized on gathering intellegence and carrying out punitive operations. Outside of the Ottoman Empire, its agents encouraged the sympathy of Muslims in the Entente countries as a means of fomenting disturbances in those countries. Judging by the documents in the Turkish archives, studied quite recently by Turkish historians, Rashid Ibrahim visited Germany in 1915–16 upon the instructions of this organization. There, he carried on work among the captive Russian Muslims (mainly Tatars), persuading them to fight on the side of the sultan- caliph. Due to his attempts and those of his assistants, the famous “Asian battalion” was formed by summer 1916.30 In 1915, The Committee (later called Society) for the Protection of the Rights of Muslim Turko-Tatar peoples of Russia was created in Istanbul with the assistance of Teshkilat-i Mahsusa. Among the founders: Yusuf Akchura, Rashid Ibrahim, Ahmed Agaoğlu and Ali Huseinzade. In spring 1916, this society joined with The League of Alien Russian nationalities which was founded with the active participation of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the summer of the same year, this League took part in the Third Congress of Nations in Lausanne. Another important activity of this League was the appeal of its participants to Woodrow Wilson, president of the United States of America, to oppose the Russified politics of the tsar. At the request of the German embassy, the text of this appeal was signed by Abdarrashid-efendi who was the first among the Turkish Russian emigrants to sign the appeal.31

Rashid Ibrahim’s Final Years The next sixteen years of Rashid’s life were full of great disappointments. The news about the February revolution in Russia should have raised Rashid Ibrahim’s hopes and those of his associates regarding the realization of their plans which developed during the first three Russian Muslim congresses. This can be judged by looking at the number of Turkish-speaking emigrants who returned to Russia (except for Muslim Ayaz Ishaki, Ali-Merdan Topçubaşi and others) at this time. As for Rashid Ibrahim, having settled in Kazan, he found himself at the center of events related to the awakening of a national consciousness among Turkic-speaking peoples of the former . In the summer of 1917, the Second All-Russian Muslim Congress, the First All-Russian Muslim Military Congress and the conference of Muslim clergy all occurred nearly simultaneously in Kazan. During a meeting which gathered together delegates from these three forums, a project called “The Basics of National-Cultural Muslims Autonomy of the Inner Districts of Russia” was approved. The project called for the development of the Turko-Tatar national movement, the development of ideas concerning their national-cultural autonomy

30 V. Keleşyılmaz, “Tatars,” 449–454. 31 About this refer to D. M. Usmanova, “Musulmanskie,” 261–263; H. Kırımlı, Kırım, 245–247. 268 • MIKHAIL MEYER and a proclamation of the Turku language as an official language together with the Russian language.32 Sources do not give information about the participation of Rashid in the above conference-related activities but it is most likely that he attended these meetings. In November 1917, the National Conference of Turko-Tatar Muslims of Inner Russia and Siberia (Milly Medjlis) assembled in Ufa. Rashid Ibrahim participated in this conference which elected a National Executive Committee (Milli Idare) responsible for the creation of the Committee’s infrastructure. One of the Committee’s aims was to struggle for the territorial autonomy of Ural-Voljsky (i.e. Ural-Idel). However, this decisition was doomed to fail. As a result of the Bolshevik’s overturn in October 1917, the movement containing the radical elements of the Russian Muslims were combined within the Muslim Socialists Committee (Mullanur Vakhitov, Mirsaid Sultan-Galiev and others). The government of V. I. Lenin did not accept the competence of Milly Idare and disbanded its structures.33 As a result, many liberal leaders of the movement were forced to emigrate abroad. In 1921, Rashid Ibrahim himself once more left for Turkey. In Istanbul, he witnessed the formation of the new Turkish Republic born on the ruins of the Ottoman Empire. But here, yet another disappointment was waiting for him. The reforms started by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, among which included measures to restrict the influence of the Muslim clergy, essentially narrowed the scope of Rashid Ibrahim’s activity. His previous connections with the crème de la crème of the Young Turks and his status of an important religious figure, an alim, that is, a representative of the “turban-wearing” opposition to Ataturk, was not conducive for an active participation in the life of this new Turks society. It is indicative that his name had not been mentioned among those representatives of Tatar emigration at that time who, in 1924–31, continued playing an important role in the structures of Türk Ocağı (The Turkish Hearth) as this organization, like others in the time of the Young Turks, focused attention on promoting the unity of all Turkic-speaking peoples. The end of Türk Ocagı in 1931 and the inclusion of the principle of secularism in the program of the ruling Republican People’s Party persuaded Rashid Ibrahim to accept the invitation in 1933 by the Japanese military attaché concerning a trip to Japan. Significantly, the same offer was accepted by other figures among the Tatar émigrés, including Ayaz Ishaki (1878–1954).34 One may suppose that these personalities relied on the support of the Japanese ruling circles to attempt to gain the liberation of the in the USSR from Bolshevism with the hopes of creating an independent Turko-Tatar state. On the Japanese side, the Tatars’ knowledge of Central Asia and their influence were used by the militarists

32 S. Faizov, Islam, 41–46. 33 T. K. Ibragim, F. M. Sultanjv, and A. N. Yuzeev, Tatarskaya, 186–187. 34 O. N. Senyutkina, Tyurkizm, 44; S. Esenbel, “History,” 291. An Islamic Perspective in Russian Public Opinion:The Russian Tatar Thinker Abdurrashid Ibrahim • 269 in the course of the Japanese aggression against China but also to help with the organization of the puppet state of Manchukuo in China’s Northeast.35 In contrast to A. Ishaki who concentrated on the Idel-Ural association, Rashid Ibrahim participated in implementating Tokyo’s foreign politics, above all, in those Asian countries where Muslims composed a considerable part of the population. In 1938, he became one of the founders of Day-Nippon-Kaykiokay (The Great Japanese-Muslim Association). He combined his propagandistic work with missionary activity to create a Muslim community in Japan. According to information from the Japanese Islamic Center, Rashid succeeded in converting about 100 citizens in Japan to Islam. Yoshio Sadik Imaizumi, founder and first president of the Association of Japanese Muslims, figured among those who converted to Islam.36 With the assistance of several military-industrial enterprises, Rashid Ibrahim obtained the opening of a mosque in Tokyo. He became its imam until his death in 1944.37

Conclusion Rashid Ibrahim, as a Muslim missionary, did not correspond with the image of a revolutionary figure, neither by way of his parentage nor his education and, for that matter, neither by his ideas nor his personal interests. Nevertheless, he devoted his entire life to this struggle. At first, this struggle was in contradiction with the tzar’s ideas of Russification and those of the Orthodox clergy. Added on to this, his efforts which aimed at awakening the self-consciousness of Tatars and other Turkic- speaking peoples towards a spiritual unity for the sake of attaining equal rights and opportunities within Russian society also failed to come to fruition. Alhough his efforts at protecting “alien peoples,” i.e. Muslims, caused him to interact with the younger generation of the Jadidists, the orientation of their attempts was different. If most of the Jadidist leaders supported political methods of confrontation, Rashid Ibrahim, as an alim, advocated above all the necessity of religious unity. This position ensured him the support of the wealthy tier of the Turkic population in Russia which did not want an open confrontation with tzarism. It was not accidental for him to be called vechevoy kolokol (the bell of a medieval town’s community) of Tatar entrepreneurs.38 Nevertheless, by the time of the 1905–1907 Russian revolution, the social base of the socio-political movement of Russian Muslims was very weak since it was mostly represented by the educated sector among the urban population. This is the reason for which Stolipin’s repressions turned out to be so effective since they

35 S. Esenbel, “History,” 291. 36 A.-B. Morimoto, Islam in Japan, 57–58. 37 Ibidem, 23–28, 57–58; S. Esenbel, “History,” 291. 38 T. K. Ibragim, F. M. Sultanjv, and A. N. Yuzeev, Tatarskaya, 146. 270 • MIKHAIL MEYER repressed activities of those organisations which claimed to represent Muslims in the political life of Russia but which, in reality, concerned only a limited part of the Muslim population. The restricted opportunities and the ineffectiveness of Muslim unity movements pushed activists, including Rashid Ibrahim, to look for possible allies both inside and outside the country. For many of them, allies would be sought among the adherents of liberal reforms who, in 1905, had constituted the party of the Cadets (that is, the Constitutional Democrats). After all, this party supported the abolition of all political, religious and estate restrictions, however, the failure of the Cadets to win seats during the elections for the Second Duma showed that support from this sector was illusionary. After the dissolution of the Second Duma, Rashid-efendi started relying more and more on foreign support from the Islamic world. During the years of his emigration, the theme of the unity of all Muslims occupies a major place in his publications and public speeches. Based on this, his decision to cooperate with the Japanese government seems, on first glance, to be contradictory and illogical. At this stage of our investigation, it is in fact difficult to estimate the influence of Rashid’s long Japanese connection on his activity up until his final departure to Japan. It seems impossible to imagine this grey-bearded and respectable alim in the role of elusive staff-captain Rybnikov.39 Yet, Rashid Ibrahim’s steady orientation for the land of the Rising Sun is undoubtedly connected with the deep impression which the victory of Mikado’s army in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904–1905 exerted on him. Indeed, since that time, he saw in Japan a power which was able to successfully oppose the colonial empires which subjugated Muslim peoples to which the tzar’s Russia and then, the Soviet Union, belonged. Another circumstance is also interesing to consider here. In the beginning of the XXth century, Japanophilia was characteristic not only of Rashid Ibrahim but was also very popular among many Russian liberals and radicals. A. Tyrkova-Williams, as an important member of the Cadet party in those years, recalled the following attitude among the emigants’ circles. In this respect, she wrote: “The worse, the better – was one of the most ridiculous expressions of the intelligentsia left. Port- Artur gave up. Frenchmen express their condolences to us but some Russian emigrants congratulate each other with the victory of the Japanese weapon.”40 In support of Tyrkova-Williams’s words, one can refer to the Bolshevik M. Pavlovich’s brochure about the Russian-Japanese war which was printed in 1905 in Geneva. Its author claimed: “…That Far Asian country, desolated among the waters of the Pacific Ocean and seemingly totally separated from Europe, nonetheless was able to mobilize powerful blows towards the menacing forces…”41 Contemporary researchers believe that one can clearly see in V. I. Lenin’s works the

39 Staff-capitan Rybnikov – the main personage of novel by A. I. Kuprin. The name of this officer became a synonym in those years to designate Japanese spies in Russia. 40 A. Tirkova-Williams, Vospominaniya, 345. 41 M. Pavlovich, Russko-Yaponskaya, 65. An Islamic Perspective in Russian Public Opinion:The Russian Tatar Thinker Abdurrashid Ibrahim • 271 same underlying admiration which characterizes Japanophilia. In light of Lenin’s expressions, one can understand that his adherents who, together with other radicals during the Russo-Japanese war, were not reluctant to turn towards the Japanese government for help.42 This is why Rashid Ibrahim’s position to accept to cooperate with the Japanese intelligence service should hardly be separated from the position of other participants who struggled against tzarism: in both cases, the aim of the revolutionaries justified the means.

References

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Keywords: Kawsen – Tuareg revolution – central Sahara – Niger – Aïr – French colonial military politics – anti-colonial resistance movement

Mikhail Meyer An Islamic Perspective in Russian Public Opinion: The Russian Tatar Thinker Abdurrashid Ibrahim (1857–1944) .. 259–272

The life of Abdurreshid Ibrahim was eventful and turbulent, similar to the life experience of many Russian Islamic public figures involved in revolutionary events in the early twentieth century. Tatar by birth and a native of Tobolsk (Siberia), Abdurreshid Ibrahim received his primary religious education in Kazan before studying in Istanbul, and . Upon his return to Russia, he became an ardent advocate of the Jadidi movement, visiting major centers of the Muslim world from India to Egypt with a goal towards popularizing pan-Islamic ideas. He also spent two years (1902–1903) in Japan for this goal where the local intelligence group, Black Dragons, contacted him with the objective of obtaining secret information about Russia. After his return to Russia where he was jailed for his anti-state activities and then released during the Russian revolution of 1905, Abdurrashid participated in the organization of congresses of Muslim populations in Russia and, in 1906, was elected president of the central executive committee. He also played a central role as cheif coordinator in Russia of the intelligence service of the Young Turks. This contribution focuses on these and other aspects of Abdurrashid Ibrahim’s life.

Keywords: Abdurrashid Ibrahim – Jadidi movement – Russian Revolution – Young Turks – Russia – Turkey – Japan – India – Egypt

Dimitry R. Zhantiev Making Opinion at the Summit. A Northern Caucasian Nobleman in the Ottoman-Turkish Ruling Elite: Bekir Sami-bey Kundukh (1865–1933) ...... 273–276

The dramatic life of Bekir Sami-bey Kundukh reflects the contradictory situation in which many Ottoman officials of North Caucasian origin found themselves during the pivotal period between the demise of the Ottoman Empire and the birth of the Turkish Republic. It was during this period that Bekir Sami-bey Kundukh, a prominent figure in the history of Turkish diplomacy of the early Kemalist period (before 1923) and, later, one of the first ORIENTAL ARCHIVE 80, 2012 • 337

Dr. Mikhail Meyer is professor of history at Lomonosov Moscow State University, Institute of Asian and African Studies which he has directed for the past 15 years along with directing the Middle East Department in the same university. He is also honorary professor at Dagestan State University where he frequently participates in seminars and research programs. A specialist of Turkey and of Turkic peoples, he has published widely on the modern and contemporary cultural and political history of the Turcophone regions. Some of his more recent work focuses on Tataristan. e-mail: offi[email protected]

Dr. Dimity R. Zhantiev, a specialist of the social and political transformation of the Ottoman Arab provinces in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is a historian and an associate professor at Lomonosov Moscow State University, Institute of Asian and African Studies. Part of his work focuses on social and religious thinking and the role of the intellectual elites in the late Ottoman Arab provinces as well as on the elites of the Caucasus during the same period. He has also published on the Islamic factor in the consolidation of Ottoman rule in the Arab provinces during the reign of sultan Abdulhamid II. e-mail: [email protected]

Dr. Götz Nordbruch is a specialist of Islam with a PhD from Humboldt University, Berlin. In 2007, he received a research prize from the Danish Institute of International Studies. He held a post-doctoral grant from 2008–2009 at IREMAM and from 2009–11, he was adjunct professor at the University of Southern Denmark. He has published on the role of Nazism in Syria and Lebanon during the 1930s and 1940s, on questions related to anti-Semitism, on the analysis of school textbooks in Palestine, on the culture of Islamic youth in Germany and on other topics. e-mail: [email protected]

Dr. Philippe Bourmaud is associate professor at the University of Lyon 3 and a member of LARHRA. A historian of the modern and contemporary Middle East, part of his research focuses on the history of medicine and education in late Ottoman Palestine. He also works on issues related to the sociology of professions, law and medicine, medical anthropology, public space and private spheres in Ottoman Palestine and on interreligious exchanges and sociability, especially as associated with the idea of sharing religious festivals and space. e-mail: [email protected]

Baudouin Dupret, a research professor with the CNRS, currently directs the Jacques Berque Center in Rabat. An anthropologist of law, his research focuses on sociological praxiology of juridical norms, ethnomethodology and conversation analysis as well as on theoretical, sociological and anthropological approaches to the study of norms and law. From the perspective of social sciences, he has published extensively on juridical transformations in the Arab world, on contemporary sharia,