From the History of Muslim Clergy at South Caucasus in the beginning of XIX centuries (Based on archive documents of Russian Federation)

Abstract

Since the 19th century, political and social events in the Caucasus have directly influenced the social lives of the people living in this region. The domestic policy of the Russian state attached great importance to the religion of the local population, the construction of mosques for the Muslim population, and other issues. In this article, the aforementioned tasks were investigated on the basis of documents taken from the State Archive of the Russian Federation. It was found that, at the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian state was planning the construction of two stone mosques in the regions of Georgievsk, Konstantinogorsk, and the estimate of the project was approved. At the same time, the post of "Sheikh-ul-Islam" was established in the South Caucasus to which Akhund Muhammedali Huseinzade was appointed. He was called the "Akhund of the Tiflis Tatars", "the leader of the clergy of the Muslims of Georgia," including the "Sheikh-ul-Islam of the Caucasus." M. Huseinzadeh repeatedly visited Moscow and St. Petersburg, was interested in the Muslim population living there, and raised the issue of building the Juma Mosque in Moscow.