2014-03-17
Reviewed by: Ml. Ashraf Dockrat on Radio Islam – 17 March 2014
No of pages: (212)
Price: (R160.00)
EBook: (Preview available)
Genre: Biography/Combat/Islamic History/Culture/Jihad/Travel/Caucasus/Russia
Target Audience: Those interested in the Muslim freedom fighters of the mid 19th century and the warring by Tsarist Russia, especially relevant now as the Crimea has been seized by Russia from the Ukraine.
Suitability: All
Synopsis: Imam Shamil was an Avar who hailed from present-day Dagestan. He united the entire warring North Caucasian tribes to defend themselves against Russian expansionism. He also led the Caucasian Imamat from 1834-1859 removing certain aa’dat or bid’aat which crept into their culture.
The author seeks to draw resemblance between him and Syed Ahmad Shaheed (1786-1831) who waged Jihad against the Sikhs.
Imam Shamil exercised a combination of meritorious religious, administrative, and military powers. He was an outstanding horseman and marksman and his manner of trust in Allah and commendable Islamic methods of leadership are renown throughout Russia, the Caucasus and Chechnya.
He made effective use of guerrilla warfare tactics and the resistance continued under his leadership until 1859. In 1859 Imam Shamil and his family surrendered to Russian forces and were jailed. After his capture Imam Shamil was sent to Saint Petersburg to meet the Tsar, and then was exiled to Kaluga, then a small town near Moscow. In 1869 he was given permission to retire to Makkah. He passed away in Medina in 1871 and was buried in Jannatul Baqi.
While it makes for interesting reading, the book would benefit from a more clear and concise updated layout. Various chapters are dedicated to actual battles and aspects of their geographical locations.
Publisher: First edition 1977, Lahore. Revised edition 2007, The Other Press, Malaysia.
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