Spread of Islam among the Adygs began in the XVIII century. In 1717 The Ottoman Empire elevated the cause of the Islamization of the Circassians to the rank of state policy. It was carried out by the Crimean khans Devlet-Giray and Kazy-Giray. ^[1]

Islamization of Circassia
Part of Crimean-Circassian Wars
Date 1717-1830 Location Circassia Result Circassia accepts Islam
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire Crimean Khanate	Circassia
Commanders and leaders
Devlet-Giray Kazy-Giray	Atajuq III Misewestiqo

History

The Islamization of the Adygs is directly related to the strengthening of the role of the Ottoman Caliphate in the Black Sea basin, which from the end of the XV to the beginning of the XIX century sought to subjugate the Adygs or at least introduce them into the orbit of its influence, but did not succeed in this. Obviously, realizing the ineffectiveness of their previous policy, the Turks decided to introduce the spread of Islam among the Adygs into the arsenal of their political methods. Being caused by the political interests of the Ottoman Empire in the North Caucasus, Islamization was, in fact, a process of intercultural interaction between Muslim culture and the traditional culture of the Adygs. ^[2]

In addition, not all Adyghe societies, among their different strata, had a clear attitude towards the new religion. According to the majority of Russian researchers dealing with this problem, Islam initially became the religion of the feudal upper classes, and the broad strata of the masses continued to adhere to their old beliefs. However, this was not the case in all Adyghe societies. A number of authors of the XIX - XX centuries, who wrote about the establishment of Islam among the Adygs, called Kabarda the place where Islam was established earlier than anything, which is not surprising because feudal structures were most developed there.

Islamization proceeded in waves: the new faith was gaining ground, then losing ground. For example, various sources indicate that Kabardians converted to Mohammedanism in the XVII and XVIII centuries. Most likely, the Kabardians declared themselves Muslims under the pressure of the Crimea, but as soon as it weakened, Islam among them declined. It is obvious that for three centuries the Circassians perceived religious innovation only as a simple copy, without trying to organically integrate it into their culture. The religious consciousness of the Adygs rejected the religion imposed by force. The same servants of the Muslim cult, whom the Circassians accepted in order to avoid wars with the Crimeans, initially did not enjoy authority among the local population. The spread of Sharia norms was also difficult, since the Adygs remained committed to local adats. Therefore, Islam in Circassia was gradually included in the stratum of pre-Islamic beliefs, moving away from the Quranic. ^[3]

By the end of the XVIII century, Islam had penetrated almost all the Adyghe lands, but the commitment to paganism, even among those who considered themselves Muslims, remained everywhere, especially among the Shapsugs. At this stage, there was a modification of the religious worldview of the Adygs: Islam adapted to the specifics of the Adyghe culture, which, on the one hand, was ready to accept it, on the other hand, was not going to give it primacy in the hierarchy of spiritual values. However, religion has never occupied a large place in the life of Circassians, and before the outbreak of the Caucasian War, the Islamic factor did not act as a significant element of the spiritual world of this ethnic group. ^[4]

Result

In the 19th century, the socio-political situation in Circassia changed. The outbreak of the Caucasian War and the active ideological propaganda of Gazavat, carried out by Turkey and the Naibs of Shamil, united the Adygs. Under these conditions, Islam began to penetrate the structure of the Adyghe culture. Facing the threat of Russian expansion, Islam, with the active participation of the Ottomans, became the ideological banner of the national liberation struggle and intraethnic consolidation. The mass conversion of Circassians to Islam in the 1830s and 1880s took place against the background of the confrontation of tsarist Russia, when the very existence of the Adygs as an ethnic group was threatened. This countercultural phenomenon has become a mechanism for introducing innovation. The ideological crisis of the Circassia, which failed to consolidate the Circassians during the war, turned the Adygs, who were previously indifferent to the Muslim faith, to Islam. The Adyghe people needed new value orientations that could become a support in conditions of spiritual breakdown.

References