What were the relevant factors in the ‘Islamic transformation’ in the Qazaq Steppe in the

eighteenth and nineteenth centuries? Was one of these factors more significant than
others? Why or why not?

The “Islamic transformation” or “Islamization” was a part of the strategy implemented by the
Russian Empire in the 18-19th centuries within the Qazaq Steppe to transform nomadic Qazaq
society to a more sedentary one and, consequently, set greater control to further expand into the
Qazaq territories. Russian authorities chose the most efficient path to propagate religion over the
Qazaq population because Islam was already existing among the people of Central Asia and
rooted in their society due to the previous exchange of goods, cultures, and beliefs within the
trade centres along The Silk Road. To assist and accelerate the spread of Islam, several factors
were used and prioritized by the Russian Empire. These factors include the building of the
mosques, assigning scholars of Islam from the Russian side, the implementation of Hajj,
sedentarization, and increased literacy of the Qazaq population. Although all of these factors are
connected with each other and together contributed to the success of spreading Islam over the
Qazaq Steppe, the most important was the impact of Muslim scholars from the Russian Empire
on Qazaq society because of the direct relationship between people.

The institutionalization of Islam began with the mosque-based policy - the process of building
the main spiritual institutes to spread Islamic knowledge among people. Due to the existing and
developing relationships between Qazaqs and the Russian Empire initiated by the Qazaq
authorities such as Abul-Khayr Khan’s submission, there was a large number of fortresses built
by the Russian Empire, the construction of which was in some cases requested by Qazaq leaders
(Kirilov, pp. 3-4). By the end of the eighteenth century, they formed long fortress lines within
Qazaq territory. Thus, the Russian Empire allowed the foundation of the Islamic institutes
including mosques, madrasas, and maktabs all over these lines, which gradually attracted more
and more people near them. The first mosques were built within the territory of the Russian
Empire, in the city of Kazan; Quickly, the building of mosques was continued over the fortresses
like Petropavlovsk, Troitsk, Semipalatinsk and others. Moreover, local authorities were granted
an opportunity to take a part of the Islam knowledge, becoming imams and akhuns in the Islam
institutes. Consequently, fort cities have been transformed into the big Islamic centres that also
attracted Muslim merchants from Central Asia, which further increased the integration of the
Qazaq society into the Russian’s economy. Therefore, by starting spreading Islam via the new
institutes that never existed in the Qazaq Steppe before, Russian authorities were able to extend
their control over the Qazaq population and strengthen the centres for further expansion to the
Qazaq Steppe.

The other factor following the building of the mosques was the integration of the Tatar and
Bashkir scholars of Islam into the Qazaq society. It was the most influential factor among others
because of the close relationships between people involved in the transfer of Islam education
from the authoritative and intelligent Islamists provided by the Russian Empire to the almost
entire Qazaq population. Achieved the certified Islamic education in the Russian cities like
Orenburg and Ufa, Tatar and Bashkir imams were sent to the Qazaq Steppe to further spread
Islamic education. Within the Qazaq community, they were known as “Chala Kazakhs” which
means “partial Kazakhs”, indicating that they were seen by Qazaq people as someone close and
relative to their nature. According to the Qurbal-Ali Khalidi, this status was significantly
beneficial to the Tatars and Bashkirs because of the privileges and benefits they received both
from the Russian Empire and Qazaqs. Khalidi’s main work, “Islamic Biographical Dictionary of
the Eastern Kazakh Steppe 1770-1912” focuses on the roles and personalities of the Tatar
Islamists in the conversion of Qazaq people to Islam and the overall development of Islam over
this territory. For the ordinary Qazaq family, it was a great opportunity to receive education for
themselves and their children. Therefore, this source is the starting point where Qazaqs finally
begin to write their own history due to the increased literacy achieved through Islamic education.
Another important source from the Tatar scholar Ahmad al-Barangavi, compared to Khalidi’s
work, focuses more on the impact of Islam on the everyday life of Qazaq people. In his work, the
author highlights the importance of Islamic education for Qazaqs, how diligent they were as
students of the Islam scholars and how the principles of Islam were important to them. Historian
Allen Frank noted that “it was very common practice in the 19th and early 20th centuries for
Tatar madrasa students to spend summers among nomads as instructors” (Allen Frank,
introduction to al-Barangavi’s text, p. 260), which supports the importance of the cooperation
between the Tatar scholars of Islam and nomadic population of the Qazaq Steppe. Thus, the
introduction of Islam educators by the Russian Empire was the most significant factor within the
“Islamic transformation” over the territory of Qazaqs.

Hajj was another tool provided by Russians to accelerate the “Islamic transformation” within the
Qazaq society. The Russian government made everything to assure the safety and security of this
route for the Qazaq population. Moreover, they even sponsored the transportation of every
Qazaq Muslim that wanted to participate in this pilgrimage (Lecture: Islam On the Kazakh
Steppe, Part 3). Because the Hajj is one of the most important principles in Islam, it was highly
appreciated within the Qazaq community, which allowed to further spread the Islam knowledge
within the Qazaq Steppe. Such interaction not only provided the further extension of Islam on
Qazaq people but also contributed to the creation of the shared Muslim identity.

The spread and institutionalization of Islam over the Qazaq Steppe were successfully managed
by the Russian Empire via the mosque-based policy, integration of Islamists of Tatar and Bashkir
origins into Qazaq society, and the provision of the safe and free Hajj. All of this allowed to fort
cities become large centres of Islam education and trade, which resulted in the main goal made
by the Russian government – to settle the Qazaq population. The impact from the Tatar scholars
of Islam was the most significant among other factors because it involved a direct relationship
between Qazaq nomads and Islamists. It is important to say, that the further expansion of the
Russian Empire into the Qazaq Steppe was not the only one outcome of the “Islamic
transformation”. From the perspective of the Qazaq people, it was a way to literacy, unity, and
the creation of the Qazaq identity, as it was previously important within the great Mongol
Empire or for the Ablai Khan. Therefore, the ‘Islamic transformation’ in the Qazaq Steppe not
only contributed to the further expansion of the Russian Empire into the Qazaq territories but
also significantly transformed the whole Qazaq society from the fragmented nomads to the
shared identity.