IRAK ÇERKESLERİ - orsam

IRAQI CIRCASSIANS (Chechens, Dagestanis, Adyghes)
ORSAM
hammad Ali, Yunis Mohammad Ali, Mustafa
Necip Timur, Mohammad Asker and Beshir
Ahmed who are also the residents of Leklek
Village. In addition, there are also Chechen
families migrating from Jordan to Carshlu to
settle in the area. However, the majority of
them returned to their former settlements.
The only exception is the Bedirhan Beg Khan
family who carry on living with Chechens.
A Circassian house in Carshlu village of Havije
District in Kirkuk
1.3. Yengice (Bablan) Village / Seladdin
Researcher and Historian Salahaddin Nacioglu
states that Chechens living in the central
district of Tuz Khourmatu district of Seladdin
were split from the Chechen families
who settled in the Karadag district of Sulaymaniyah
in 1890s. The eldest sibling known
as “Chechen” of first families arriving from
here to the village was born, and then his
brothers Bayram, Hlu, Mohammad and Fettah
migrated. Tuz Khourmatu turned out to
be the last stop for 27 families who migrated
from Chechenya to Iraq through Azerbaijan
and Iran. Afterwards, those families became
relatives with the Mujala tribe living in Tuz
Khourmatu. 14
In addition, 40 Chechen families, member of
the Besli family, settled in Yengice (Bablan)
Village under the administration of Tuz
Khourmatu and approximately 50 km away
from Tuz Khourmatu. 15 Some 72 families live
in the village.
1.4. Fallujah District / Anbar
The Fallujah District, where Circassians live
densely, is under the administration of Anbar
Province located on western Iraq. Circassian
Mustafa Ismaili is the first one who settled in
Fallujah. Circassian Mustafa Ismail migrated
from North Caucasus to Iraq. The Ottoman
Sultan gave him and his family the agricultural
lands in an area called “(Obeg/Adyghe)
Destroyed Lands”. Today, the aforesaid lands
are still included within the Hadise district
of Anbar. Circassian Mustafa Ismail, who is
both a gendarme officer and a religious scholar,
is also the father of Hussein, Ali and Vejih
Hasan Beg, a rich businessman from Fallujah.
One of the first buildings constructed in Fallujah
is Kazım Pasha Mosque. Kazım Pasha,
who is the son-in-law of Sultan Abdülhamid
II, built a house and an animal shelter across
the mosque which was named after himself.
Circassian Mustafa Ismail worked with Kazım
Pasha. 16 After the U.S. soldiers intruded into
their houses, gardens and set all their properties
on fire, the family had to settle in capital,
Baghdad.
1.5. Sulaymaniyah
In settlements located within the borders of
Iraqi Kurdistan, the background of North
Caucasians dates back to the Caucasian-Russian
War. After Imam Shamil ended the war
against the Tsardom of Russia in 1859, Chechen
families had to migrate from Chechenya
to Iraq through Iran and Azerbaijan along
with their animals. First of all they arrived in
Büyüke Village of Berzenci district in Sulaymaniyah,
then they were split into other districts
and villages seeking trust, stability, food
and water resources. It is told that there are
Chechen families ranging from 200 to 300 in
the Sayid Sadik district of Sulaymaniyah. The
major villages in the aforementioned district
might be listed as; Siyan, Zar, Mekel, Svera,
Chinara, Gozekore, Shira, Berderesh, Suleimana,
Sehbora and Kani Miran villages. Be-
ORSAM
Report No: 134, November 2012 13