Kunta-haji
Encyclopedia
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
- 1867 in Ustyuzhna
Ustyuzhna
Ustyuzhna is a town and the administrative center of Ustyuzhensky District of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the Mologa River. Population:...
, Novgorod Gubernia, now Vologda Oblast
Vologda Oblast
Vologda Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is Vologda. The largest city is Cherepovets.Vologda Oblast is rich in historic monuments, such as the magnificent Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, Ferapontov Convent , medieval towns of Velikiy Ustyug and Belozersk, baroque...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) was Chechen
Chechen people
Chechens constitute the largest native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region. They refer to themselves as Noxçi . Also known as Sadiks , Gargareans, Malkhs...
Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
mystic
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
, the founder of a Sufi
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
branch named Zikrism, and an ideologue of nonviolence
Nonviolence
Nonviolence has two meanings. It can refer, first, to a general philosophy of abstention from violence because of moral or religious principle It can refer to the behaviour of people using nonviolent action Nonviolence has two (closely related) meanings. (1) It can refer, first, to a general...
and passive resistance. He is often referred as the Chechen Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
.
Kunta-haji Kishiev (literally son of Kishi) was born in a Chechen lowland village of Isti-Su, also known as Melcha-Khi. Later the family moved to the mountain village of Ilskhan-Yurt in the heartland of Chechnya . In his youth he was distinguished by his hard work and sharp mental senses . Kunta received a solid religious education
Islamic studies
In a Muslim context, Islamic studies can be an umbrella term for all virtually all of academia, both originally researched and as defined by the Islamization of knowledge...
and was a follower of shaykh Gezi-haji from the village of Zandak. Kunta started practicing Loud Zikr: prayer with dancing, singing, rolling and recitation of divine names.
According to legend, Imam Shamil
Imam Shamil
Imam Shamil also spelled Shamyl, Schamil, Schamyl or Shameel was an Avar political and religious leader of the Muslim tribes of the Northern Caucasus...
was worried by the unusual practice and ordered an examination of the Koranic knowledge of the youth. After Kunta passed the examination, Shamil left him alone. By another version of the same legend, Shamil forbade Kunta Zikr and promised to execute him if he continued. Yet another legend tells that Shamil exiled Kunta to Mekka and did not allowed to come back.
By the end of 1850s Kunta made his Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
(according to Mustafa Eldibiev (Kunta made his first hajj at the age of 18, thus, in 1848). In his travel over the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
Kunta not only visited Mekka but also the tomb of Abdul-Qadir Gilani in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, and became a devoted follower of Qadiriyyah, the teachings developed by Abdul-Qadir Gilani. Kunta became a strong supporter of non-violence and peace. In the midst of the bloody Caucasian War
Caucasian War
The Caucasian War of 1817–1864, also known as the Russian conquest of the Caucasus was an invasion of the Caucasus by the Russian Empire which ended with the annexation of the areas of the North Caucasus to Russia...
he wrote to Chechnya from Mekka:
- War—it is savagery. Remove yourself from anything that hints of [reminds you of] war if the enemy hasn’t come to take away your faith and honor. Your strength is wisdom, patience, fairness. The enemy will not withstand this strength and sooner or later will admit his defeat. No one will have the strength to defeat you and your truth if you don’t turn away from the path of your faith—the TariqahTariqahA tariqa is an Islamic religious order. In Sufism one starts with Islamic law, the exoteric or mundane practice of Islam and then is initiated onto the mystical path of a tariqa. Through spiritual practices and guidance of a tariqa the aspirant seeks ḥaqīqah - ultimate truth.-Meaning:A tariqa is a...
.
and
- Brothers! Because of the constant wars we are catastrophically diminished in numbers. I do not believe in help from TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, that Turkish sultanSultanSultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
wants to free and save us. He is the same despot as RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n tsarTsarTsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
. Believe me: I saw this by my own eyes as well as covering by shariaShariaSharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
despots from ArabArabArab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
countries. Further war is not pleasing GodAllahAllah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
. If they order you to go to the church - go, it is only a building. If they order you to wear crosses - wear them, they only iron things. You would still be Muslims in your heart and soul. But if they would rape your women, force you to forget your culture and traditions, only then rebel and fight to the last man. - Defeat the evil man by your goodness and love
- Defeat the greedy with your generosity
- Defeat the treacherous with your sincerity
- Defeat the infidel with your fidelity
After the fall of Shamil Kunta-hajji returned to Chechnya. His teaching became quite popular among people tired by the almost fifty years of the Caucasian war. The number of his murid
Murid
Murid is a Sufi term meaning 'committed one' from the root meaning "willpower" or "self-esteem". It refers to a person who is committed to a Murshid in a Tariqa of Sufism. Also known as a Salik , a murid is an initiate into the mystic philosophy of Sufism. When the Talib makes a pledge to a...
s reached five thousand. Kunta-haji required his murids not only to perform the five required prayers during the day, but also to repeat the prayer La ilaha ill-Allah (There is no god but God) at least one hundred times during the day and participate in the ritual of Loud Circular Zikr.
Despite the fact that Kunta-haji repeatedly rejected the title of imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
he was seen as a threat to the Imerial authorities and the official version of Islam supported by Russian authorities. By the request of the tsar's administration, official Islamic clerics (e.g. Abdulkadyr Khordayev and Mustafa Abdulayev) organized public theological discussions with Kunta-haji trying to prove that his teaching contradicted Islam. Still the influence of Kunta-haji only grew. Considering Kunta-haji as a threat the Governor-General
Governor-General
A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...
of Terek
Terek
The Terek River is a major river in the Northern Caucasus, flowing through Georgia and Russia into the Caspian Sea. It rises in Georgia near the juncture of the The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and the Khokh Range, to the southwest of Mount Kazbek, then flows north through North Ossetia and...
ordered his arrest. Kunta-haji and his brother, Movsar, were arrested and taken to Novocherkassk
Novocherkassk
Novocherkassk is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Tuzlov River and on the Aksay River. Population: 169,039 ; 170,822 ; 178,000 ; 123,000 ; 81,000 ; 52,000 ....
prison in January 1863.
The arrest caused the so-called Dagger Uprising (or delo pod Shali), when three thousand of Kunta-haji's murids armed only with the ceremonial dagger
Dagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a sharp point designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon. The design dates to human prehistory, and daggers have been used throughout human experience to the modern day in close combat confrontations...
s tried to free their teacher in Shali. The rebels were dispersed by the regular troops of General Tumanov. 160 rebels were killed. .
For a long time there was no information about the fate of Kunta-haji. In 1928 documents were found confirming that Kunta-haji died in exile in the town of Ustyuzhna
Ustyuzhna
Ustyuzhna is a town and the administrative center of Ustyuzhensky District of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the Mologa River. Population:...
(then Novgorod Guberniya
Guberniya
A guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
, now Vologda Oblast
Vologda Oblast
Vologda Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is Vologda. The largest city is Cherepovets.Vologda Oblast is rich in historic monuments, such as the magnificent Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, Ferapontov Convent , medieval towns of Velikiy Ustyug and Belozersk, baroque...
).
The fate of his teaching
Despite being originally persecuted and its members often sent to SiberiaSiberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
the Qadiriyyah Tariqah
Tariqah
A tariqa is an Islamic religious order. In Sufism one starts with Islamic law, the exoteric or mundane practice of Islam and then is initiated onto the mystical path of a tariqa. Through spiritual practices and guidance of a tariqa the aspirant seeks ḥaqīqah - ultimate truth.-Meaning:A tariqa is a...
started in Caucasus by Kunta-haji became the religion of the majority of Chechens (exact estimations vary:60% or 70-75%). The followers of Kunta-haji believe that their teacher is one of the 360 saints that keep the world alive and that he would return to Earth at a future time. The tomb of Kunta-haji's mother, Kheda, is considered sacred as the spring nearby that is believed to have been started by Kunta-haji pushing his stick into the earth.
The tomb of Kunta-haji's mother, Kheda, became a major cause of the conflict between Wahhabi and Qadiriyyah adherents in the government of Aslan Maskhadov
Aslan Maskhadov
Aslan Aliyevich Maskhadov was a leader of the Chechen separatist movement and the third President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.He was credited by many with the Chechen victory in the First Chechen War, which allowed for the...
. The Wahhabis wanted to destroy the tomb, (as they consider veneration of Kheda as paganism
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
) yet the Qadriyyahs led by Akhmad Kadyrov
Akhmad Kadyrov
Hajji Akhmad Abdulkhamidovich Kadyrov , also spelled Akhmat, was the Chief Mufti of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in the 1990s during and after the First Chechen War...
(then the Chief Mufti of Chechnya) were able to save the tomb , but the conflict eventually led to Kadyrov's alliance with the Russian government against Maskhadov's government
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is the unrecognized secessionist government of Chechnya. The republic was proclaimed in late 1991 by Dzokhar Dudayev, and fought two devastating wars between separatists and the Russian Federation which denounced secession...
.