The problem of correlation of Muslim law with adat and secular laws is a dark side in the ethnographic studies of Dagestan. Especially unexplored are the Turkic peoples (Kumyks, Nogais, Azerbaijanis), who had their own legal culture and adopted it in their nomadic way of life. In the late Middle Ages and early Modern times, a complex and contradictory process of convergence of adat (customary) law and sharia took place in the Turkic society of Dagestan. In the 19th century, the laws of the Russian Empire became a significant force for them, as well as the Soviet laws after the October Revolution. After the introduction of the system of military-people's management, the Russian administration began to fight such adats as blood feud and ishkil, as well as the removal of women from inheriting real estate. The system of polyjuridism had lasted until 1927, proving its own flexibility and viability. In the begining, the Soviet government actively supported the norms of Islam, even special decrees supporting the clergy and Muslims were published. However, after the final approval of the Soviet legal culture, the struggle against the remnants of Sharia and Muslim rituals began. Despite the strict prohibitions of the secular authorities, the norms of Muslim law have shown their viability and vitality in the Turkic world of Dagestan.
Keywords: Kumyks, adat, customary law, Sharia, Russian legislation, blood feud, Ishkil, polyjuridism
DOI: 10.22250/20728662_2022_1_105
About the authors
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Yusup M. Huseynov – Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Humanities, |
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Yusup M. Idrisov – Candidate of Historical Sciences, Lecturer-Guide of the Historical Park “Russia is My History”; |