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ON THE SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITY OF THE NEW ENLIGHTENERS
J.B.Jumayev
Scientific supervisor: teacher
Norqobilova Shahlo
Student of group 313 of the JDPU
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15472335
The national awakening that arose in the minds of the most progressive
intellectuals of Turkestan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was clearly
visible in the Enlightenment. The Jadids, who were the first heralds of the New
Enlightenment, fought with their large-scale practical activities to consolidate
and stabilize their ideas in the life of society.
The Jadid movement is one of the periods that left a bright mark on our
history. At a time when Turkestan was suffering from colonial oppression in the
late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Jadid enlighteners entered the arena of
struggle. Their main goal was to free the country from colonial oppression and
enlighten the people. Before getting acquainted with this movement, it is
appropriate to pay attention to the meaning of the word "jadid". This word
means "new", "innovation" in Arabic.
In addition to internal factors, there were also external factors in the
emergence and formation of the Jadid movement, the most notable of which was
the teachings of Ismail Gaspirali. Ismail Gaspirali was born in 1851 near the city
of Bakhchisarai in Crimea. He studied in Moscow, later lived in France and
Turkey. In 1875–1881, he worked as a teacher in Bakhchisarai and held
leadership positions in the government. In an article in the newspaper "Tavrida"
in 1881, he expressed his practical program as follows:
- reform the national education system;
- to establish "charitable societies" to financially support the national
education system;
- to establish a general national press of the Turkic peoples;
- to liberate Muslim women;
- to create conditions for the training of national specialists and
intellectuals[3:30], etc.
Ismail Gaspirali describes the field of education as follows: “The urgent
need of the nation is school and enlightenment. Its future depends on school and
enlightenment. Or the nation will be doomed, the doomed nation will perish -
from lack of schools.” He first officially raised this issue in 1881 in his work
“Russian Islam”. [1:12] Later, Ismail Gaspirali’s movement began to spread
widely to neighboring regions. This movement also entered Turkestan. At the
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end of the 19th century, the emergence of new-style schools in Turkestan and
the formation of the national intelligentsia were associated with the activities of
Tatar intellectuals and teachers who came from Russia.
The emergence of new-style schools in Turkestan coincided with the years
of development of Russian-style schools in the country. Such schools began to be
opened by the Tatars in large centers. Academician V.V. Bartold wrote that Tatar
schools in these centers were more successful than Russian schools. In Tashkent
in 1910, there were 8 Russian-style schools and 16 new-style schools. In Kokand
in 1911, there were 2 Russian-style schools with 162 students and 8 new-style
schools with 530 students. In his article published in the newspaper "Turkiston"
by S. Maksudov, a member of the State Duma, wrote that in 1910 there were 20
new-style schools in Tashkent and 16 in Kokand [1:12].
In the Turkestan Jadidism, the role of such scholars as Mahmudkhodja
Behbudiy, Munavvarqori Abdurashidkhanov, Bobookhun Salimov, Cholpon,
Fitrat, Sadriddin Ayniy, Sayyid Ahmad Vasliy is significant. The Jadids,
overcoming the fierce resistance of the Russian colonialists on the one hand and
local ideological opponents on the other, managed to methodologically renew
the school system in the region, accelerate the process of literacy and education
of the younger generation. The renewal movement was not limited to reforms in
the field of education, but also achieved a number of successes in the fields of
literature, science, press and printing.
Intellectuals who studied in Kazan at one time, including Ahmadjon
Bektemirov, Shokir Mukhtoriy, Shokir Sulaymon, Mukhtor Bakir, Qori
Abdurakhmon Taji, Ismail Obidov, and Ghazi Yunus, accomplished great work. In
this regard, it is worth mentioning the four-volume "History of Islam" by Shokir
Sulayman, the "Comprehensive Geography of Turkestan" by Mukhtar Bakir (who
once taught under the Khan of Khiva, Isfandiyor Khan), and a number of
beautiful poems by Abdurakhman Taji (his literary pseudonym is "Tikan")
[3:39].
Just as the national progressive movement in Central Asia was divided into
regions according to its nature, in our country this movement is also divided into
the Turkestan, Bukhara and Khiva Jadid schools. The development of the
progressive movement took place in two stages. In the first stage, this
movement, which began as an enlightenment movement, by 1917 turned into its
second stage - a political movement.
In the Bukhara Emirate during this period, movements such as the reform
of Islamic ideas and the desire to change the madrasah education system began
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to emerge. In this regard, the services of such prominent Tatar scholars as Abu
Nasr Kursavi (1776–1812) and Shihobiddin Marjani (1818–1889) are
particularly commendable. The famous scholar and enlightener Abu Nasr
Kursavi was born in 1776 in the city of Kursa, Tatarstan, into a merchant family.
He received his early education in the famous madrasah in the village of
Machkara, Malmij uyezd. One of his first teachers was Muhammadrahim Yusuf,
who said about Kursavi: “I see signs of a true mentor in this boy. If he had been
given a long life, he would undoubtedly have become a person of high qualities.”
Abu Nasr Kursavi was distinguished by his unique memory and his
unwillingness to be satisfied with the superficial answers of his teachers. After
the death of his father (in 1790), his brother Abdulkhaliq took over the business
of trade. When he came to Bukhara for trading purposes, he met one of the
famous sheikhs, Niyazkul Turkmani, and attended his meetings [2:18].
Shahobiddin ibn Bahaiddin ibn Subhan ibn Abdulkarim al-Marjani (1818–
1889) was a famous Kazan enlightener, philosopher and historical scholar. He
was born on January 16, 1818 in the village of Yapancha near the city of Kazan.
He initially studied at an old school. From the age of 15, Shahobiddin studied at a
madrasah in the village of Tashkechuv, where his father, Bahaiddin ibn Subhan
Marjani, was a teacher, where he studied Persian and Arabic grammar under
Mulla Badriddin Tusi.
After two years of study, his teachers recommended that he continue his
education. Then, with his father's permission, in 1838, he went to Bukhara. The
20-year-old Marjani took a private room in one of the Bukhara madrasas and
studied under such famous scholars as Salih Nadir Abdullah al-Khojandi,
Muhammad Safar al-Khojandi, Domla Fazil al-Gijduvani, Abdulmumin al-Afshani,
Khudoyberdi al-Baysuni, Baba Rafi’ al-Khojandi, and Sharifata haji al-Bukhari.
He continued his studies at the Kukaldash madrasa, where he studied under
Mirza Salih al-Khojandi, one of the most famous scholars of Bukhara. Marjani
independently studied in the libraries of Bukhara[2:22,23].
The Jadid movement also emerged in Turkestan, and in the second half of
the 19th century, such enlightened figures as Abbosquli Oga Bakikhanov, Mirza
Fatali Akhundov, Khoji Sayyid, Ashur Shirqawi, and Hasan Malikov Zardobi
emerged. These intellectuals set themselves the goal of implementing reforms in
the fields of education, the press, and theater, and achieved certain successes in
this direction.
In conclusion, the Jadids who worked in Turkestan became the main
propagandists of the national revival movement in the late 19th and early 20th
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centuries. The Jadids' main focus was on developing the education system,
organizing the national press, and activating socio-political life. Jadids such as
Muhammadkhodja Behbudiy, Munavvarqori Abdurashidkhanov, Abdurauf
Fitrat, Mahmudkhodja Behbudiy, Abdulla Avloniy sought to open new schools
and introduce a modern education system. However, their reforms encountered
certain obstacles. Many Jadids became victims of repression. Despite this, the
Jadid movement made a significant contribution to the path of national revival
and development in the Turkestan region.
References:
1. Abdurashidov Z., Ismail Gasprinsky and Jadidism in Turkestan. – Tashkent,
2008.
2. Jamolova D., The activities of Jadids and Qadimists in the Bukhara Emirate
(end of the 19th century – beginning of the 20th century). – Tashkent 2021.
3. Sharipov R., From the history of the Jadidism movement in Turkestan. –
Tashkent, 2002.
