Failed Attempt at Religious Subjugation of the Highlanders to the Empire through the Hiring of the Preacher Taj ad-Din Mustafin (1836-1841)
In 1836, the command of the Russian Caucasus Corps under General Rozen put forward a project to subordinate the entire Sunni clergy of the Caucasus to a "spiritual leader" appointed by the empire: for this role they hired the Kazan efendi (Muslim theologian) Taj ad-Din Mustafin and kept him on the treasury's payroll for about six years. The preacher's task was formulated openly: "to turn the highlanders onto the true path, subordinate them to the Russian government, and destroy or hand over Shamil to us alive" (Shamil - imam, leader of the Dagestani and Chechen highlanders' resistance to the Russian conquest)[1]. In Chechnya, Mustafin was sent to the Groznaya fortress to undermine the spiritual influence of Tashu-Hadji (sheikh, imam of Chechnya in 1834-1836, spiritual and military leader of the Chechen resistance). After a letter from Tashu-Hadji, who under threat of death forbade the preacher to appear on Chechen land, he acted only under military escort and did not show himself in the mountains. The project failed: Golovin, who succeeded Rozen, agreed to release the preacher based on a report by Minister of War Chernyshev of 13 November 1841 - "the teaching of Tajudin Effendi over the course of 6 years did not change the highlanders' attitude toward us in the slightest"[1].
Actors
| ID | Name | Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| G0009 | Russian Empire | 2 |
Instruments Applied
| ID | Name | Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| S0010 | Regular Army | 2 |
Procedures Carried Out
In 1836, the command of the Russian Caucasus Corps under General Rozen established under its own control the post of spiritual leader of all the Sunnis of the Caucasus, and appointed to it the hired Kazan efendi (Muslim theologian) Taj ad-Din Mustafin, maintained at the treasury's expense - an attempt to tie the Sunni clergy of the colonized peoples, including the Nokhchi, to a figure subordinate to the empire. The historian N. I. Pokrovsky wrote: "a broad project emerges for subordinating the entire mountain Sunni clergy to a special spiritual person"; the task set was "to turn the highlanders onto the true path, subordinate them to the Russian government, and destroy or hand over Shamil to us alive" (Shamil - imam, leader of the Dagestani and Chechen highlanders' resistance to the Russian conquest)[1]. Only the establishment of the post, the appointment, and the preacher's years-long payment took place; subordinating the clergy did not succeed: "The preacher did not dare to show himself in the mountains"[1]. The empire wound down the project only six years later: Golovin, who succeeded Rozen, agreed to release Mustafin based on a report by Minister of War Chernyshev of 13 November 1841 - "the teaching of Tajudin Effendi over the course of 6 years did not change the highlanders' attitude toward us in the slightest"[1].
In 1836, the command of the Russian Caucasus Corps sent the hired preacher Taj ad-Din Mustafin, paid by the treasury, to the Groznaya fortress to undermine the influence of Tashu-Hadji (sheikh, imam of Chechnya in 1834-1836, spiritual and military leader of the Chechen resistance) - a spiritual track running parallel to the punitive military actions against the villages that had harbored Tashu-Hadji (campaign C1158). The goal was stated in the source: "with the aim of undermining the spiritual influence" of Tashu-Hadji "and reducing the effectiveness of the preaching of ghazawat" (ghazawat - the highlanders' war for independence from the Russian conquest)[2]. The agent "had managed to make a trip to the lowland societies of Dagestan" when Tashu-Hadji, by letter, "under threat of death forbade him to appear on Chechen territory"[2]; the response is cited by the historian Pokrovsky: "I instruct you that you shall not travel about in these lands without our permission, and if you are not foolish, you should withdraw before harm is done to you"[1].