IRAK ÇERKESLERİ - orsam

IRAQI CIRCASSIANS (Chechens, Dagestanis, Adyghes)
ORSAM
ing social, scientific and vital details, “Al-Tadamun
Society of Iraqi, Chechen, Dagestani
and Circassian Tribes” was created in 2004.
The headquarter of the aforesaid society is
Kirkuk, where the population migrating from
North Caucasus is dense and which is located
at the center of Circassian settlements.
1. Population Volume and Geographical
Distribution
As the problems of the Chechen, Dagestani
and Adyghe people were not dealt with
throughout the 20 th century, no census was
conducted to detect Chechen, Dagestani and
Adyghe settlements in Iraq and the accurate
number of population. On the other hand, it
is known that the Circassian people lived in
Iraq. Circassians, who lived dispersedly, are
known to have lived especially on a line going
from Fishabur, which is the far northwestern
border of Iraq, towards Iraq passing through
Mosul. It is also seen that this area is on the
same line where Turkmens lived in Iraq. In
this respect, it is possible to suggest that Circassians
felt themselves closer to Turkmens in
Iraq and shared the same living areas. Therefore,
most of the Iraqi Circassians are called
“Turkic” or “Turkmen”.
The Chechen population constitutes 75
per cent of North Caucasians living in Iraq.
Chechens, who firstly settled on the opposite
shore of Tikrit, on the left of Tigris River,
then settled in other regions. It is known that
Chechens, who progressed until Baghdad,
gathered around a neighborhood. The neighborhood
where Chechens lived in Baghdad is
still known as “Chechen Neighborhood”. 5 In
fact, it is known that Yusuf Akay, who served
as Baghdad Governor by proxy in 1911, was
also Circassian. Besides, Ekrem Fehmi, who
is a member of of a well-known Circassian
family in Baghdad, served as Director of National
Education during the monarchy period
in Iraq. 6
An image from a Circassian village in Iraq
ORSAM
Report No: 134, November 2012 9