Pacifism and War: the Mission of the Mullahs Among the Requisitioned Kazakhs, 1916–1917

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Kazakhs of the Russian Empire identified themselves as Muslims.In official documents, Kazakhs were recorded as "Kyrgyz of the Mohammedan faith".The specifics of the nomadic society consisted in observing the norms of Sharia law, in the absence of stationary mosque buildings, and the way out of the situation was the presence of mullahs in one (more often -several) villages.That is, one of the sought-after social categories in Kazakh society were mullahs -people who organize fivefold collective prayers, recitation of ayats and surahs of the Koran on various occasions, as well as necessary rituals (weddings, funerals, etc.).The mullahs, characteristically, could participate in military campaigns, inspiring soldiers, calling them to prayer, performing burial rites if necessary.Of course, such activities of the "marching" mullahs rallied the ranks of the militia, set them up for stoic behavior and disciplined their moral foundations.In the face of external challenges, during the period of requisition of foreigners in 1916-1917, the Kazakhs of the Turkestan region were officially sent to the rear work accompanied by mullahs.There were special features in the mobilization of the Kazakhs of the Steppe Region: the intervention of Duma deputies and the Alash intelligentsia was required to direct the mullahs.