Hajj to Mecca of Kazakhstani Muslims (1940-1970)

Abstract

The article examines the little-studied problem of the pilgrimage of Muslims of Kazakhstan to Mecca in 1940-1970. The authors set the following goal - based on a critical analysis of archival sources to study the issues of participation of Kazakh Muslims in the Hajj. The given work uses documents from the funds of the archives of the Russian Federation, of the National Archives of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and regional Kazakhstan archives, which contain materials on the organization and conduct of the hajj of Muslims of the USSR to Mecca. The authors analyze the policy of the Soviet state in matters of Muslim pilgrimage and clarify the role of government bodies and the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Central Asia and Kazakhstan (SADUM) in organizing the hajj. The authors summarize the conclusion that the Soviet state, which actively fought against the traditions of internal Muslim pilgrimage to holy places, permitted, supported and regulated the pilgrimage to Mecca, using it for propaganda purposes about freedom of religious belief in the USSR. The Hajj to Mecca was considered by the country's leadership as a tool for establishing cooperation with Muslim countries in the Middle East. The country’s top party leadership based on the submission of Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Central Asia and Kazakhstan (SADUM) made decisions on candidates for pilgrimage. The conceptual contribution of our study to Islamic thought is to validate the argument that Islam was suppressed in the Soviet state by stringent control and the curtailment of vital spiritual practices for Muslims. The practical value of the study is to synthesize the historical experience of the relationship between state and religion.

Keywords: Hajj, Mecca pilgrimage, Kazakh Muslims, Soviet Union, religious policy