Bram (2008), ‘“Re-Islamisation” and Ethno-Nationalism.’
Citation: Bram, Chen (2008) ‘“Re-Islamisation” and Ethno-Nationalism: the Circassians (Adyghe) of the Northwestern Caucasus and Their Diaspora,’ in Gammer, Moshe (ed.), Ethno-Nationalism, Islam and the State in the Caucasus: Post-Soviet Disorder, London: Routledge, pp. 28-49.
Time Period Covered:
Theory, Research Question, Hypothesis:
Seeks to understand the relationship between Islam and ethno-national identities and how this manifested itself in the Circassian case.
Relationship to Other Research/Ideas Contested/Noted Gaps:
Bram (2008:30-31): Notes Northwestern Caucasus understudied and little attention paid to the differences between ethnic groups, such as Adyghe/Kabardinians/Cherkess versus Karachays/Balkars, undermining the validity of conclusions.
Concepts and Definitions:
Method:
Reviews literature on Circassians, data on number of mosques, survey data. Reviews history of Islamisation.
Primary/Original Data:
Argument/Conclusion:
Religion in the 17-19th centuries was a means to sharpen differences between colonising Russians and local Circassians. Re-Islamization occurred as part of a desire by diaspora Circassians to reestablish ties with their homeland. In both cases, Islam is conceived as part of Circassian identity. Patterns of identification are complex and subject to change.
Limitations/Flaws:
Abstract:
Notes:
Bram (2008:29): Argues that Circassian nationalism accelerated by the rise of conflicts with Karachay/Balkars, but also emerged as a transnational movement linking Circassians in the North Caucasus with the diaspora communities. International Circassian Association held five congresses 1991-2000 in three administrative capitals, negotiation Circassian identity and nationalism. Argues this transnational dimension contributed to the nature of the re-Islamisation of region.
Bram (2008:31): By 2000, only 96 mosques in Kabarda and 91 in Karachay-Cherkessia, compared to 400 in Chechnya and Ingushetia.
Bram (2008:33): There is limited information available on Islam in the Northwestern Caucasus in the 1990s, although there is broad agreement among experts that its influence was limited, particularly in comparison to the Northeastern Caucasus.
Bram (2008:39): At the congresses of the International Circassian Association, designed to foster links between Circassians in the North Caucasus and those in the diaspora, Islamic identity “played hardly a role […]. Since the purpose of these gatherings was to stress unity of a kind among the Circassians, the Islamic determinant (when it arose) was mostly a divisive factor that underlined the differences between the diaspora Circassians and the Circassians of the Caucasus who had undergone a strong secularisation process.” Cites example from field work of diaspora delegates struggling to find somewhere to pray.
Bram (2008:42): “The diaspora Circassians who served as ‘agents of Islamisation’ were people with different Islamic backgrounds: some of them had formal Islamic education, some had only general knowledge based on their everyday experience in the Middle East. Still, the notion of Islam brought by most of these agents went hand in hand with the developing discourse of ethno-nationalism.” Islam used to enhance collective identity.
Bram (2008:43): The process of Islamisation challenges “the argument that religious identity determines the fault line between communities or between civilisations.” For example, there were clashes in the late 1990s between Circassians and the Karachay/Balkars, despite both being Muslim.
Bram (2008:43): With regard to both the initial Islamisation of the Circassians in the 17th to 19th centuries, and the processes of re-Islamisation following the collapse of the Soviet Union, “there is a clear hierarchy: Islam and Islamic identity is conceived as part of Circassian identity, even if this identity contains pre-Islamic elements that other Muslims might see as contradicting the shari’a.”
Bram (2008:44): Looks at interaction between diaspora and native Circassians. Views re-Islamisation as a means of re-establishing links between the communities. Islam is part of the Circassian identity, and therefore religion and ethno-nationalism are not exclusive concepts. “The rise of Circassian ethno-nationalism enabled the dissemination and repenetration of Islam and it introduced this religion to people who although nominally Muslim knew very little about Islamic principles.” However, acknowledges that this link relates to the early stages of Islamisation and could change; the Chechen conflict, for example, restricted interactions with and immigration from diaspora communities.
Bram (2008:44-45): “Circassian ethno-nationalism is an expression of a collective identity that transcends national and territorial boundaries. Its cultivation assisted the penetration of Islam into the Northwestern Caucasus, bringing agents of Islamisation who were all at once both foriegners and members of the same ethnic group. The influence of these agents of Islamisation took place in a specific context: the Russian Federation with its laws and power (which Circassian ethno-nationalism accepts as a political framework), mediated by the different autonomous republics and their particular characteristics. This created a complex situation with similarities to, as well as differences from, the Islamic experiences of other groups in the former Soviet Union and elsewhere.” [the influence of agents of Islamisation offers an interesting contrast to the Northeastern Caucasus; in Chechnya, for example, individuals like Fathi al-Shishani played a similar role, but brought with them a much different strand of Islam].