statesman Abdürreşid İbrahim published, in an Istanbul
newspaper, an interview he had with a young man from
Turkistan who had come to Istanbul during the years of
World War I via Afghanistan, India and the Hicaz in
Arabia.
Along the way, the big news in early 1915 was whether
or not the Ottoman Caliph-Sultan had declared 'jihad'
(holy war). He had on 14 November 1914, with German
urging, but confirmation took a while to reach
Afghanistan.//
Abdürreşid İbrahim click here for a TNT report about
a part of his remarkable life.
Sultan Mehmed Reşâd, right front, with German Kaiser
Wilhelm II. The Sultan was also the Caliph of the Islamic
world.
German-Turkish Mission to Afghanistan click here for
info on the Niedermayer-Hentig expedition to Kabul that
sought to prod the Afghan Emir into attacking British
India.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jihad and the Islamic World
A journey to Istanbul by way of Turkistan, Bukhara, Afghanistan,
India and the Hicaz during the World War.
A few weeks ago, I met a young fellow from Turkistan named Hacı
Kadir Ali, the son of Kutluğyar, who had come to Istanbul. At the
start of the World War he left Turkistan and then spent quite a bit of
time in Afghanistan, India and, subsequently, in the Hicaz. I asked
him about the things he had seen along the way and he provided
some very interesting information:
"In December 1914 I left Namangan (in today's far eastern Uzbekistan)
in the province of Fergana, in order to go to the Hicaz via Afghanistan
and India. I first arrived at Bukhara and met with some friends who
were discussing the entry into the World War by the Caliph (Ottoman
Sultan Mehmed Reşâd). The consensus was that it was every Moslem's
duty to answer the call to 'jihad' (holy war), if the Caliph declared it.
I thought that for us Moslems in Turkistan, living under the Russian
yoke, it was impossible to take up arms but the elder at the meeting
insisted that we must learn how to use weapons for jihad, Russians or
not. We could not look to the Tatars for guidance since they had long
since joined the Russian army and were currently at war (against
Turkey and Germany).
The next day I left Bukhara and took the train to Charjew (in today's
eastern Turkmenistan and renamed 'Turkmenabat'). From there I went
with great difficulty, by foot and by donkey, to Kabul in 32 days. All
along the way the populace was talking about the Caliph joining the
War with the Germans. Even without mail and telegraphs, the news
had reached every village.
I stayed in Kabul for 9 months. By the second week I was there,
confirmation had still not come about the Caliph declaring 'jihad'
but everyone was sure he would. The populace became very excited
and took up arms, only settling down when a member of the Moslem
clergy announced that everyone would have to wait for the Caliph's
decision.
Both men and women in Kabul were armed, and the women were no
less capable than the men, many times surpassing the men in weapons
training exercises. I was astonished to see this expertise with guns
because we men in Turkestan have no familiarity with them.
Consequently, I felt ashamed and saddened. I blamed the Russian
occupation of Turkistan to ease my conscience but I was tormented,
nonetheless."
Namangan is in the Fergana Valley in extreme eastern
Uzbekistan. Bukhara and Charjew are close to each
other in the center of the map, on either side of the
Uzbek-Turkmen border.
//END of PART I//
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