DAGHESTAN AND THE WORLD OF ISLAM. Ed. by M. Gammer and D.J. Wasserstein. Vaajakoski: Gummerus Kirjiapaino Oy, 2006. 126 p. (Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae. N 330)*

The peer-reviewed collection of articles consists of reports presented at a conference at Tel Aviv University (February 2001), which was attended by researchers from Russia, Israel, Germany and the Netherlands. Not all articles in the collection are written at the same level, but in general, in my opinion, they give a good idea of the peculiarities of Islam in Dagestan.

Thus, the article by the Moscow researcher V. Bobrovnikov "Abu Muslim in the Muslim history and mythology of the North Caucasus" (p. 23-44) tells about the legendary hero Abu Muslim from Khorasan - a real historical figure, a prominent figure of the early Abbassid era, who was killed in 755. Abu Muslim himself had never been to the Caucasus and, accordingly, to the North Caucasus. However, his name is still associated with a number of sacred relics stored in various places of Dagestan, such as the saber, robe and staff of Abu Muslim, which are located in the Samilakh quarter mosque of the Avar village of Khunzakh. V. Bobrovnikov suggests considering the mythologized image of Abu Muslim as a collective actor in the process of Islamization in the North Caucasus. This approach seems fruitful and allows the author to identify the close ties that existed between Dagestan (at least in its southern regions) and the Middle East, starting from the VIII-IX centuries and later, up to the inclusion of Dagestan in the Russian Empire. According to V. Bobrovnikov, the collective image of Abu Muslim was formed on the basis of the features of various Muslim missionaries, not only Arab, but also local, Dagestani.

The article by Dagestani historian A. Shikhsaidov "Political history of Dagestan in the X-XV centuries "(p. 45-53) examines the influence of Islam and the process of Islamization on the formation of political structures in Dagestan. The author shows that the spread of Islam took place gradually and initially covered only the inhabitants of the Caspian coast, mainly in the southern part of Dagestan. A. Shikhsaidov identifies four components of Islamization in the X-XV centuries: 1) the spread of Islam throughout the territory of the region; 2) the strengthening of rural societies; 3) the formation of metropolitan centers of small states; 4) the creation of the single economic space. The fact is that at that time Dagestan did not have a single state, there were various small state formations and unions of rural mountain societies on its territory, but nevertheless there was a certain balance of forces and interests between them, which, in the author's fair opinion, was guaranteed by a common religion - Islam, in other words, what he calls Islam. "compact Islamization". Unfortunately, the article does not define the geographical territory of Dagestan at that time, or rather, what the author himself means by this, but, as is known, the borders of Dagestan have changed over the course of history.

Article by the Israeli Caucasian scholar M. Gammer " The Emergence of (fraternities) Khalidia and Qadiriya in Dagestan in the XIX century " (p. 55-67) is devoted to new trends in North Caucasian Sufism that emerged in the first half of the XIX century. When analyzing this article, you must first clarify the terms. Khalidiya is an offshoot of the well-known Naqshbandi brotherhood, founded, as M. Gammer rightly notes, by Sheikh Zia al-Din Khalid al-Shahrazuri (1776-1827). In Dagestan, it penetrates in the 1810s, and over time.on its ideological basis, a new state (imamate) is being formed, which achieved the greatest success under Shamil (1834-1859). The title of the article does not accurately reflect its content, since another brotherhood, the Qadiriya, has spread mainly in Chechnya and in the form of an offshoot (virda) of the Chechen teacher Kunta-haji, which is often perceived as a special Chechen variety of Sufism. The author of the article is pretty

* Dagestan and the world of Islam. Edited by M. Gummer and D. J. Wasserstein. Jyvaskyla: Gummerus Kirjapaino Oy, 2006. 126 p. (Annals of the Finnish Academy of Sciences. N 330).

page 202
he tells in detail about the activities of Kunta-haji and the peculiarities of the formation of his wird, which began to take shape in the second half of the 1850s, at a time when the imamate of Shamil suffered one defeat after another in the confrontation with the army of tsarist Russia. The connection with the Qadiriya of Virda Kunta-haji is not entirely clear. Traditionally, it is believed that Kunta-haji became the sheikh of Qadiriya during the Hajj. The exact time of this Hajj is unknown. M. Gammer believes that it was performed in 1848-1849.

Why are there doubts about the connection of Wird Kunta-haji with Qadiriya? The fact is that the performance of dhikr1 by followers of Kunta-haji is very different from what is generally accepted in this brotherhood 2 and is accompanied by loud recitative, singing and rapid movement in a circle, subject to a certain rhythm. It is quite obvious that the wird of Kunta-haji has acquired very characteristic Chechen features. M. Gammer considers several versions of the reasons for the formation of a special Chechen version of Sufism. At the end of the article, he leans towards an explanation based on ethnic motives. All the sheikhs of the Chechen Qadiriya were Vainakhs, i.e. Chechens or Ingush, and accordingly it was easier for them to preach their wird in their native language among the local population. This circumstance, according to the researcher, with which it is difficult to disagree, ensured the success of the Kunta-haji teaching among the Vainakhs and at the same time became a brake on its spread in Dagestan, especially among the Avars.

I would like to draw readers ' attention to another article in the collection - "Dagestani sheikhs and Scholars in Russian exile: Sufi connections, fatwas and poetry" by German researcher M. Kemper (pp. 95-107). It covers the contacts, activities and epistolary work of Dagestani Muslim scholars( alims), who were often expelled from Dagestan in the second half of the 19th century, after the end of the Caucasian War and the Dagestani uprising of 1877. The consequences of expulsion were not always negative and often contributed to the establishment of new fruitful contacts between Dagestani Alims and Muslims in other parts of the Russian Federation. empires, in particular in Kazan, and especially in Astrakhan. Relatively little is known that the Naqshbandi lineage (Naqshbandiya-Makhmudiya) of the most famous sheikh of modern Dagestan, Said-Efendi Chirkeevsky, is not directly related to the silsila (chain of spiritual transmitters of the brotherhood) of the most prominent Naqshbandi teachers-Khalidiya Muhammad Yaragsky, Jamaluddin Kazikumukhsky and Abdurrahman Sogratlinsky. In addition, Said Efendi and the late Sheikh Tazhuddin Khasavyurt are both known as followers of the Shaziliya brotherhood, whose teachings are becoming increasingly popular in Dagestan.

Although Sufism flourishes in Dagestan, today it is dominated by other trends, and not those that were leading for most of the XIX century. A German scientist explains how this happened. The new branch of the Naqshbandiya-Mahmudiya brotherhood dates back to Sheikh Mahmud al-Almali (1810 - 1877), originally from the village of Almaly in the Jaro-Belokan district (present-day Northern Azerbaijan). Mahmud was exiled twice, and during his exile he visited Kazan and Astrakhan, where he managed to gain many new followers. Among his followers was Sheikh Sayfullah Qadi Bashlarov (1850-1919) from the Lak village of Nitsovkra. He, too, was exiled for some time in Astrakhan, and in the early 1910s received permission from Sheikh Salih bin Abdalmalik al-Hanafi to distribute (ijaza) the teachings of Shazilya. Thus, through Saifullah Qadi, the teachings of the Shaziliya brotherhood, which are mainly spread in North Africa, penetrate Dagestan. This explains the mystery that I encountered while conducting field research in Dagestan in 1998-2002, when it suddenly turned out that the teachings of the Shaziliya brotherhood are gradually becoming the most popular and attractive in the republic, and well-known sheikhs preach it along with the Naqshbandi teachings. According to M. Kemper, the primary role in the emergence of new trends in Dagestani Sufism in the second half of the XX century was played by the author.

Dhikr 1 (Arabic. "memory, remembrance") is a ritual remembrance of Allah, performed by Sufis according to a special formula aloud or to themselves, accompanied by certain body movements. Sufis generally chant the following prayers during Dhikr: "Allah Hai" (Arabic. "The Lord lives"), " La ilaha illa-Lla "(Arabic. "There is no god but Allah"), " Allahu Akbar "(Arabic. "Allah is Great"), " Al-hamdu li-Llah "(Arabic. "Thank God"). The practice of dhikr is based on the statements of the Qur'an: "O you who believe, remember Allah with frequent remembrance" (Sura XXXIII, 41) and "And, indeed, in the remembrance of Allah one finds rest of the heart" (Sura XIII, 28) (translated by A. Sadetsky).

2 See, for example: Catalog of Sufi works of the XVIII-XX centuries from the collections of the Abu Rayhan al-Biruni Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Stuttgart, 2002, pp. 137-138.

page 203
The inclusion of the region in the Russian Empire and the strengthening of contacts between Muslims within it played a role in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

At the end of the collection is published the article " The Dargin Code of Customary Law and its significance for linguistics "(p. 109-125) by the Dutch researcher Helma van den Berg (1965-2003), who died suddenly in Derbent during the preparation of the peer-reviewed publication. It contains the text of the 17th-century adat law monument in the Darginian language, its translation into English, and linguistic commentaries. The publication of this code provides a new confirmation of the existence of a certain historical tradition in the existence of literature in Dagestani languages, in this case in Darginsky, using the Arabic alphabet.

In conclusion, I would like to note that the initiative of Israeli scientists with the support of the Finnish Academy of Sciences now provides an opportunity to get acquainted in English with the results of recent achievements in the study of the past of Dagestan, which attracts the attention of researchers from different countries.

Permanent link to this publication: