АНТИКЛЕРИКАЛЬНЫЕ МОТИВЫ В ПОЭМЕ АСАНА ЧЕРГЕЕВА «АДЖЫ ИСЛЯМ МОЛЛА» (МУЛЛА АДЖИ ИСЛЯМ)

Introduction

In recent decades, there has been a significant interest in Asan Chergeev’s works. There are a number of objective reasons for tendencies like this in domestic literature. Today, the life and work of the poet and writer are touched upon in the works of D. Abibullaeva, [2], I. Kerimova [5], [6], [7], [8], T. Kirimova [9], [10], L. Asanova [3], L. Memetova [11], [12], and A. Muradosilova [13], [14]. Thanks to them, many previously unknown works of the author were introduced into scientific circulation, the biography and certain aspects of creativity were studied, and attempts were made to systematize his literary heritage as a whole. However, despite such positive dynamics, the particular problems of his poetic creativity remain unexplored. For example, anticlerical motives in the author's poetry have not been the object of special scientific research. Based on the above, the study of anticlerical sentiments in the poetic heritage of Asan Chergeev seems relevant, which defines the scientific novelty of our work. The purpose of this research is to study anticlerical motives in Asan Chergeev's poem, «Adzhy Islyam Molla».

Methods

According to the set goal of the study, various literary methods and principles are used in this research. The material is presented consistently through a descriptive method. The cultural-historical principle contributes to the study of the poet's creativity within the historical chronicle and the aesthetic ideals of the epoch. In the interpretation of a poetic work, priority is given to the basic principles of hermeneutics.

 Discussion

The Crimean Tatar servants of Sharia have been the personification of moral purity and legality for centuries. Their competence included the regulation of moral and ethical norms in society, and they were the conductors of enlightenment to the masses. During the khanate, the servants of Sharia constituted an enlightened stratum. Most of them became famous scientists who gained fame far beyond the borders of Crimea in various religious centers of the Ottoman Empire [1, P.148]. The spiritual mentors ensured the development and harmony of the Crimean society by fulfilling divine prescriptions and exchanging experiences with other widespread areas of Islam.

However, by the turn of the 20th century, due to socio-political reasons, most of the highly intellectual spiritual mentors of the Crimean Tatars were forced to emigrate. Those who remained suffered various kinds of oppression. When the Tauride Mohammedan spiritual government was established «on the model of the millet system that existed among the Ottomans» [15], the Muslims of the peninsula found themselves in a new reality. The two-stage organization was approved in the Tauride muftiate: province – district. The governing body consisted of the chairperson - the mufti, who was considered the spiritual head - and his assistant. The assistant was the qadi asker, and he had representatives in various districts. There were also local parish clergy, which consisted of imams, mullahs, khatibs, and muezzins [16]. Spiritual guides were selected according to their political trustworthiness. People who made a pilgrimage or visited Turkey «were forever prohibited any doctrinal activity or any position» [4, P. 553]. As a result, the people lost connection with the enlightened mentors who were educated in foreign spiritual institutions. This contributed to isolation and the loss of centuries-old cultural ties. «Henceforth, a Crimean who had received education abroad, even a secular, could not become a mullah…the mullahs who graduated from domestic, but the most progressive madrasahs (Galeevskoe or Khusainovskoe) could gain access to the position with great difficulty»[4, P. 553].

Such restrictive activity inhibited the full-fledged life activity and further development of the ethnos. The appointment of a clergyman who was completely incompetent and not interested in the enlightenment and cultural development of his people was a frequent occurrence. «Trustworthy» clerics opposed any progressive manifestations in society. Using their influence on people, they tried to preserve the conservative foundations of the Crimean Tatar society, which was more familiar and convenient for the realization of their own goals.

This phenomenon has received a rather critical assessment in the work of A. Chergeev. The poetry of the author has a negative attitude towards the deliberate misrepresentation of Islamic doctrine.

The most expressive anticlerical sentiments are observed in A. Chergeev's poem «Adzhy Islyam Molla» (Mullah Adzhy Islyam). This satirical work is in the lyric-epic genre, in which the events from the life of the Crimean Tatars of the early 20th century are shown. To display this, the author created the vivid characters of the mullah, his wife, and the muezzin. The main heroes of the story are Mullah Adzhy Islyam and Khislety Ana (Mother Khislety), whose figures are exposed by the monologues and dialogues. The work consists of logically successive narrative parts. At the beginning of the poem, the main character, Mullah Adzhy Islyam, appears as a righteous keeper of God's law.