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Islam in the life of the Ingush people today

By Saida Kantysheva, special to Prague Watchdog

INGUSHETIA - One of the major religious holidays for all Muslims, including the Ingush people, has begun: Kurban-Bayram, a sacrificial feast which marks the end of the great pilgrimage to Mecca.

Just before the start of the holiday, a sociological survey was conducted in the republic to in order to ascertain the place of Islam in the life of the modern Ingush nation, and the type of society that people would prefer to see in the Republic of Ingushetia.

Even though Islamic values prevail in Ingush society, where religious issues are concerned the national characteristics of the Ingush, their adats, customs and traditions are none the less very much in evidence. As the survey makes clear, the purely national characteristics and specifics of the Ingush mentality have struck deep roots in society, as a result of which there is a split between the national characteristics of the Ingush way of life, and the demands of Islam.

Everyone considers themselves to be Muslims and everyone outwardly adheres to Islam. But some people put national issues first, while others are guided by Islam in their lives, families and principles.

In general, people’s attitudes towards religion were universally positive. Respondents said things like "life without religion is meaningless", "everyone should be a believer”, “without religion, how are human beings any different from the animals?".

In response to a question about the place of Islam in the family, the dominant preference was for a combination of Islamic and secular life (60%), while a smaller number of people (around 10%) led a secular way of life. An interesting fact that arose from the sample group was that there were no respondents whose entire way of life was built on the principles of Islam.

When asked if they adhered to all the rules of Islam, a majority of 36% said “mostly yes”, 18% said they “fully adhered”, while 10% replied ”mostly no”. It's worth noting that this question had a record number of “don’t knows”.

Most of the respondents said they were followers of the teachings of Kishi Khadzi (known also as Kunta-Khadzhi Kishiyev), an Islamic scholar who brought Islam to Ingushetia in the middle of 19th century. Only a minority said that they thought Islam was an indivisible creed and that “there can’t be any forms of it.”

The need for the introduction of religious education was acknowledged by a majority of the respondents – some 82%.

When asked what type of marriage rituals they observed, 70% stated a preference for the national Ingush marriage rite, while only 30% preferred the Muslim rite. Almost 90% of respondents considered the state registration of marriage both necessary and desirable.

The main criteria for the selection of a life partner differed according to sex. For men, the answers were "iman (religious faith) is the most important thing" , "I will choose my partner for myself", "intelligence", " family-oriented." For women the important elements were "kindness”, “decency”, “courtesy”, “intellect”, and “material security." There were also replies by women who said things like "I didn’t choose, I was chosen."

Most of those who took part in the survey supported monogamous marriage (60%). About 40% supported the polygamous type of family. Of these, 75% of male respondents said such things as "everyone has his own preference, but you can’t prohibit polygamous marriage.”

The survey went on to examine the type of society people wanted, and also the methods that should be used to control it. Opinion was equally divided between a preference for either a secular or a Shariah form of society in the republic of Ingushetia. However, most of those who were in favour of a secular society emphasized that it should not contradict Shariah law.

The most binding tenets of Shariah law were considered to be namaz (prayer), uraza (fasting) and hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca), in that order. These were followed by the observance of Kurban-Bayram, the payment of zakat (tithes and alms) , and moral qualities like reliability, commitment to obligations, honesty and fairness. In general, however, it was noted that Shariah law knows no exceptions – all items are obligatory.

When asked to say which was more important, adats or Shariah law, 55% said Shariah and 33% adats. 10% thought it was 50-50 between the two. Respondents emphasized that all adats were equally important and obligatory.

When asked if they were satisfied with the system of education and learning in the republic, 72% replied in the negative. Dissatisfaction was expressed in phrases like: “It doesn’t even approach average Russian standards, and it ought to."

Separate teaching for boys and girls in schools and universities was considered desirable by 54%, while those who opposed it represented 27% of the sample.

The compulsory wearing of headscarves and Islamic attire by girls and young women was welcomed by 75% of respondents. Only some 20% were against this, half of whom felt that while the national headscarf was a good thing, it was none the less a formality that did not produce any real results – the most important thing was the purity of the wearer’s soul.

When asked if there were enough jobs in the republic, over 90% of respondents noted the almost complete lack of them. It is safe to say that the problem of unemployment is one of the most important and pressing issues in Ingushetia today. The majority of those polled saw it as one of the main factors leading to social tensions in the republic.

37% of respondents said they plan to leave the republic in the future. Of these, 65% intend to go to Europe, while the rest said they would go to other regions of Russia. 62% want to remain in Ingushetia and live there.

With regard to the preferred form of the republic, supporters of constitutional rule and mixed government represented equal proportions of 45%, while only 10% wanted to see the republic governed on the basis of Shariah law.

50% of respondents preferred a secular system of legal jurisdiction for the republic, with supporters of Shariah law, adats and mixed government accounting for 15% each.

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Thus, even though Islamic and secular values are interwoven in Ingush society, there is a noticeable trend towards Islam. But the traditional way of life of the Vainakh people is founded more on adats than on Shariah. Today, just as in the era of the Caucasus War and Shamil, it is difficult to introduce Shariah law in lands where there are strong traditions of national etiquette, hospitality, mutual assistance, military valour, blood feuding, and so on.

People do not even perceive any difference between Shariah and adat, though they actually have very different meanings. Shariah in Arabic means “path” – the means to help the Muslim reach God and enter Paradise. It is a collection of the principles of law that are enshrined in the Koran andare binding on believers. The term “adat” signifies the customs and rules of conduct that have been adopted by this particular ethnic community and have become established there, operating and respected because of habit and tradition.

The problem of the eradication of local customs that were contrary to Islam existed several centuries before the formation of the Islamic societies of the Caucasus. Such customs were most actively combated during the First Caucasus War (1817-64), but they still have an important place in the lives of the people of the Caucasus to this day.

The results of this survey once again confirm the deep rootedness of the national dimension in the Ingush identity. But the seeds of Islam are increasingly growing in society. Ingushetia has a large percentage of people whose lives are dominated by Islam and the Shariah. Even if they are still at present committed to national traditions, people are conscious of the value of Islam and advocate its promotion, hoping that the next generation will educated within an Islamic context. And now they must develop a religious identity, fostering it by education and training.

Taken as a whole, when all the facts are compared, Ingush society can be characterized as mixed, and this corresponds to the interests of the majority of the republic’s inhabitants. There is a general desire to see the enactment of legislation which, if not completely built on Shariah, is none the less in harmony with its laws and standards.

(Translation by DM)

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