Colonization
This
country, with its natural beauty, fertile lands, dense forests, and
mineral wealth (mainly oil), was always a temptation for various
empires, which usually need access to all forms of wealth and ways
to divert their people's attention from their own problems. The
wealth of Chechnya and Ingushetia has been sought after for
centuries. The only real problem the colonizers faced was that the
people were "too proud" and refused to accept gestures of
"friendship" from greedy growing empires.
The
Russians called us barbarians; in their opinion we did not know how
to live, and so should be directed and controlled. The so-called
barbarians witnessed their own destruction at the hands of those who
professed to guide them to what is better. Our historic identity was
shattered. Many of our best people were murdered, as their existence
stood as a silent threat to a mind-set that could tolerate no
contradiction or individuality. As a nation, we were humiliated and
constantly threatened, forced to live a miserable life. Any
resistance was crushed without deference for heart or soul. Peace
could only be attained through submission, but submission was never
an option for the Vainakh. When the Russian version of "peace
through submission" was wrung from the nation, it was always
followed by chaos. Since the days of the Russian Tsars, the Russian
Empire has refused to leave the northern Caucasus in peace.
Stalin labeled the Vainakh as traitors, and ordered them to be collectively punished. |
|
Sheikh
Mansur, one of our most famous historical leaders, fought the
Russian Empire for more than twenty years. Abrek Zelimkhan, whose
name inspired fear in Russian soldiers, struggled for many years
until he was betrayed and killed. Many other heroes refused to
submit to colonization.
In
1917, Tsar Nikolai was dethroned and later killed with his family by
the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks started the bloody era of Communism,
their own religion, which they forced onto everyone in their power.
Communism
Even
during the time of the Russian Tsars and constant conflict with
Russia, there were many Islamic schools in both Chechnya and
Ingushetia, where the children would study the Arabic language and
Islamic fields of knowledge. Islam flourished, and a lot of Islamic
scholars appeared. People started to perform the Hajj pilgrimage.
However, the Communists did their very best to put an end to Islam
throughout the entire northern Caucasus. The best scholars were
either killed or sent to Siberia. Schools were forcibly closed. It
was totally forbidden to practice Islam. But many people, mostly in
the villages, continued to secretly learn the Qur'an, despite the
threat of horrific consequences if they were caught.
With
the coming of blood-thirsty Stalin, the suffering of the Vainakh
increased. However, the Russians themselves had started to live in
terror as well. Stalin initiated a campaign of mass-killings and
deportations to concentration camps. People could be put in prison
for no reason at all. It was the bloodiest period in Russia. People
lived in terror and under great pressures. It is difficult to count
just how many of his own people Stalin killed or sent to
concentration camps in Siberia. However, it is known that the number
of victims was more than the number of Russians killed by Nazi
Germany in World War II.
In
1934, Stalin ordered that the Chechen and Ingush republics be united
into one republic: Checheno-Ingushetia, with Grozny as the capital.
The previous capital of the Ingush people, Vladikavkaz, was give to
the Ossetians, a predominantly Christian North Caucasian nation, who
were Stalin's favorites at that time. As a result, the Ingush lost
their lands and much of their identity. But still, the worst was yet
to come.
 |
General Alexei Yermolov, the brutal Russian administrator of the Caucasus.
|
February
23, 1944 was the most terrible day in the history of the Vainakh.
Stalin labeled the Vainakh as traitors, and accused them of
collaborating with the Nazis, ordering the nations to be
collectively punished. The two nations were forcibly loaded onto
trains and simply sent to Kazakhstan. In one day, both nations were
sent into forced exile. One million Russian soldiers participated in
this operation. Many people who were incapable of undergoing the
arduous journey, the old, the sick, and children, were gathered in
far off mountainous areas and burned alive.
How
could such a thing happen?
Until
today, if you look at the passport of any Chechen-Ingush person
roughly over 45 years of age, you will find Kazakhstan written as
the place of birth. One whole generation was born in Kazakhstan.
They lived separately from the other nations Stalin had exiled, in
special isolated camps. The penalty for leaving the camp for any
reason without permission was twenty years hard labor in a Siberian
gulag.
Many
people died in the trains on their way to Kazakhstan. Their bodies
were just thrown out of the trains. They had been labeled traitors
even though 32,000 of their sons fought in rows with the Soviet Army
defending Russia from the fascists.
In
1944, those Vainakh soldiers returned home from fighting against the
Nazi invasion of Russia and were shocked to see other people settled
in their homes. In fear, helplessness, and dismay, they left
to Kazakhstan to search for their loved ones.
In
1955, the Chechen-Ingush Diaspora living in the US presented a plea
to the United Nations, requesting that their people be allowed to
return to the Caucasus. In 1957, the government of the USSR issued a
law allowing our people to return to their motherland. It was then
that the Chechen-Ingush republic slowly started to develop. Many of
our people became Communists; religion was forbidden and not
practiced by many.
The first war in Grozny opened our eyes, and we started to ask ourselves what it means to be Muslim. |
|
I
still vividly remember one day in my school in Grozny. Our teacher
was telling us how much we owe our Communist Party, which had made
us happy. She then asked me to tell my class that God does not exist
and explain why—exactly as the Party had taught us. Standing and
looking at the faces of all my classmates, I decided not to tell a
lie, because although I was not from a religious family at all, I
knew that Allah was always near to me. I could not understand why I
believed in Allah, but just the idea of His existence brought such a
warm, sweet feeling to my heart that I could not lie. So I said that
I believed in Allah and that Allah exists.
I
was very small at that time, but I still remember how my parents
were called to the school; how they tried to explain my behavior to
the teachers, how I was humiliated in front of my classmates. I was
told never to talk about it again.
War
with Russia
In
November 1994, the first war in Grozny somehow opened our eyes, and
we started to ask ourselves what it means to be Muslim; what is
Islam, and what should we do?
Grozny,
by then the capital of Chechnya only, was the most beautiful city in
the Northern Caucasus. It had a university, several institutions,
and factories. It was agriculturally and industrially developed. The
people enjoyed a comfortable life. But it was an empty life without
Islam. We Muslims had abandoned our religion, partly due to the
regime of that time, and partly due to our own weakness. In the wars
of 1994 and 1999, we lost our sons and our homes. Grozny became an
ugly city, full of ruins.
Visiting
Grozny in 1997, just before the second war, I could not recognize
any place in the city where I was born and had spent most of my
life. I asked people for directions. When I saw all the destruction
that had befallen us, I could not help crying. The Grozny that I had
known before the war was just a memory.
We
lost everything, but we became more aware of our religion. I never
saw so many people in my country interested in Islam. The mosques
were filled with worshippers. Filled with sadness, the people
started to realize that they were Muslims. There are, of course,
many people who do not practice their religion, but the Islamic
awakening is there. You can feel it in the air.
**Umm
Malika is a Chechen medical practitioner and social activist,
and can be contacted at youth_campaign@islamonline.net
