|
In the so-called new work on regional integration the scientist
suggests our returning of nationalistic and chauvinistic terms
"Turkistan" and "Tiurcs or Turkic people"
into wide usage instead of the expressions "Central
Asia and Central Asian peoples" which occupy an established
place in our vocabulary being free from these shades of meaning.
Contrary to the statements of some experts I don't see any
novelty here. These are old forgotten nations of the time
of efflorescence of the Panturkic movement on the territory
of Central Asia. These notions suggest the principal ideology
of Panturkism spread especially widely at the beginning of
the previous century. Panturkism was an expansionistic movement
which inflicted an irreparable harm upon the friendship of
Central Asian peoples. Just the ideas of this movement resulted
in such situation in the region when ones peoples dictated
their terms to others inducing the latters to refuse from
their historic appurtenance, territory, customs and traditions.
In our case we mean the authority of the members of the Panturkic
movement who after the October revolution found themselves
at the top of the Bolshevistic party and their sway over the
state policy in reference to Central Asian republics. If to
speak about "the seeds of discord" sowed in due
time by Bolsheviks, as the Master considers, and which we
have to reap today, the initiation really belongs to Panturkists;
their influence has told upon the territorial distribution
of Central Asia. In the outcome the primordial Tajik areas
were transferred to Uzbekistan and other republics. In spite
of the fact that under the present demarcation and delimitation
of frontiers the states of Central Asia remain factually in
the boundaries of the territories determined by Bolsheviks-Panturkists
the relations between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan will be constantly
darkened by the idea of illegitimate transference of such
big cities of Central Asia as Samarkand and Bukhara, forced
Uzbekization of Tajiks on their own land.
The democratic changes which took place in the life of the
former Soviet republics enable people to speak freely. Regretfully,
this freedom is also used by those who being exposed in the
attempts of implementation of nationalistic and hegemonistic
purposes couldn't open their mouths for a long time. They
don't give up their ideas; disguising under a masque they
try again to obtrude them upon the society under diverse pretexts
adapting these ideas to the processes taking place, declaring
about "close integration", "blackened tensity
between the Turkic peoples" and removal of "divergences
widening the gap between them".
Mister Master Odil Ruzaliyev proposes to use both another,
much stronger factor: "… to revive the existence of
the Theological governance of Muslims in Central Asia and
Kazakhstan using Islam as one of the mechanisms of rapprochement
between the peoples. Taking into consideration passive interrelations
between Moslem institutions in the region and the disturbance
of the leaders of the countries of the region on the score
of Islam being utilized by some groups to terroristic and
anticonstitutional effect this idea should be, first of all,
perceived with attention by the heads of the countries of
Turkistan, insomuch as only by virtue of a regional, centralized,
Islamic institution it will be possible to revive Turkic Islam
with its deep Sufi traditions full of tolerance, encouragement
of enlightenment and harmony. A unified Islamic center in
the region with the headquarters in Bukhara might to a considerable
extent contract cultural-spiritual enlightenment with radicalization
of population, as for a separate country it would be a fairly
uphill work. A miftiy of a unified regional governance of
Muslims of Turkistan might be elected in turn once in several
years from each of the republics. It would promote a reinstatement
of Bukhara as one of the Islamic world centers".
Being a man of Islamic persuasion and tracing attentively
the utterances of the representatives of the clergy and theologists
irrespective of the nation they belong to I never heard about
Islam being divided according to ethnical principles. Islam
is a unified and indivisible religion - and let Mr. O. Ruzaliyev
bear it in mind - that it penetrated into Central Asia in
the VII-IX-th centuries not as "Turkic Islam",
but as a tenet uniting all the Muslims irrespective of
their national appurtenance. On the beneficial social foundation
represented by settled ethnoses Islam reinforced further on
to such an extent that it became a dominating religion namely
by virtue of uniting elements in this progressive tenet but
not disuniting ones. The big cities of Bukhara, Samarkand
and Khiva converted into spiritual centers belonging to the
entire Islamic world equally with such shrines of Islam as
Mecca and Medina. It was not for nothing that a locution of
the Moslem world turned into a proverb in society: "That
one who didn't do a pilgrimage to Mecca should go twice to
Bukhoroi Sharif" ("The Noble Bukhara"). If
Samarkand was considered the most beautiful city of the world
Bukhara was looked upon as a pillar of Moslem religion. And
in those years Bukhara was not a capital of Turkistan but
of the first Tajik state - that of Samanids. For the first
time in the world ayats and surs of the Koran - that sacred
book of Muslims - were translated into Tajik in Bukhara. And
it was thanks to the endeavors and labors of Tajik and Persian
scientists and thinkers that Islam consolidated in the region
not only as religion but it started to be spread among the
peoples of the world as a spiritual culture. And it is not
occasional that up to nowadays Turkic-speaking Muslims begin
their five times namaz namely in Tajik. History can't be crossed
out. And it is impossible to convert Bukhara into the center
of "Turkic Islam" rebirth though the latter doesn't
and shouldn't exist not only out of historic considerations,
but proceeding form today's reality because the residents
of this ancient city preserved their Tajik mother-language
communicating in it.
The great genius of the Orient Sadriddin Aini wrote that Tajiks
are the ancientest people of Middle Asia. The utterances in
regard to Arabs being ancestors of Tajiks are radically erroneous.
If it were so, Tajiks would read the Koran and namaz (prayer)
in Arabic, but not in Tajik. In 713 the Koran was translated
from Arabic into Tajik for the first time in the world. But
it doesn't permit us to announce about an existence of "Tajik
Islam". By the way, Islam as religion calls for mutual
respect, kindness, reciprocal reverence, unity but not for
division of peoples according to national signs as the Master
proposes.
Mr. Ruzaliyev declares also the following: "Creation
of the Academy of Sciences of Turkistan and Turkistan University
would promote frequency of contacts and rapprochement of scientists
and students of the region. It is of no less importance either
that the Turkic peoples might be proud of the great historic
forefathers equally with separate titled nations which appropriated
the history and merits of historic figures".
It is not difficult to guess whom the scientist means speaking
about "titled nations". The world long ago acknowledged
the deserts of Tajik and Persian peoples, their thinkers,
insofar as human civilization is concerned. The titles were
granted to the most ancient peoples in conformity with their
merits before history. Should one accuse today the same Greeks
and Italians, Arabs and Chinese of their ancestors who enabled
the descendants to be proud of their names and deeds? Can
one rebuke them of having appropriated somebody's deserts?
It is impossible to depict the entire picture of development,
culture, science, religion and the history of the Tajik people's
civilization upon the whole within the frames of one article,
but still we decided to offer the Master a brief historic
excursion concerned with this most ancient nation hoping that
it would withhold him in future from slap-clash inferences
and provocative ideas.
|
