The Jadids, Islam and the political movement (1917)

According to the textbook, the Jadids saw Islam as important to a person’s moral growth and to the development of society; in 1909 Behbudiy, in 1910 Avloniy and in 1915 Fitrat wrote works on the history of Islam. They preached that acquiring knowledge is a duty of every Muslim, that alongside religious knowledge secular sciences such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, medicine and history were necessary, and they criticised some clergy who held a negative view of science. The textbook describes them as loyal to Islam and Muslim traditions while opposing harmful customs. In economic matters they considered economic independence a condition of political freedom: they held that land, water and resources should be declared common wealth of the peoples of Turkestan, local specialists trained, and factories built. Youths were sent to study in countries such as Germany; Ubaydullakhoja Asadullakhojayev became the first Uzbek lawyer with a higher education. After the February events in Russia in 1917 the Jadids put forward political demands: wider rights for local people, administrative reform, fair representation in the State Duma, and freedom of the press; organisations such as “Shoroi Islomiya” and “Ittifoq” were formed. In spring 1917 the “Muslim Central Council” was formed in Tashkent (according to the textbook in early March, with 350 delegates at its founding congress). After the October events, on 27 November 1917 (Old Style; 10 December in today’s calendar), an extraordinary congress in Kokand proclaimed the Turkestan Autonomy. It was crushed in February 1918 (19–22 February) by the armed forces of the Tashkent Soviet; in the fighting the city of Kokand was badly destroyed and many civilians were killed. The textbook says the autonomy lasted 72 days. The Jadids were persecuted and many fell victim to repression in 1937–1938.