Yusuf Uralgiray and the Epistolary Heritage of Musa Bigiev

   The article presents correspondence previously unknown in Russian historiography by the prominent Russian Tatar Islamic theologian and religious philosopher Musa Jarullah Bigiev (1875–1949), written during his exile in 1930–1949 and addressed to Weli-Ahmed Hakim (1882–1970), his friend and associate, who served as the imam of the Tatar diaspora in Finland from 1914 to 1962. This body of documents was introduced to the scholarly community thanks to the translation and editorial work of Yusuf Uralgiray (1915–1986), a Crimean Tatar scholar, educator, translator, and biographer, as well as a disciple and follower of Bigiev. Uralgiray included the letters in his Turkish- language edition of Bigiev’s work “Fasting in Long Days”, which he prepared and published in Ankara in 1975. The article also provides biographical information on Uralgiray, who was not only a close friend of Bigiev but also one of the few people who participated in the Tatar theologian’s funeral in Cairo. Bigiev’s letters, presented to the Turkish public by Uralgiray, constitute a valuable source of information about his life, activities, social contacts, experiences, and spiritual state in exile. They also refl ect the evolution of Bigiev’s religious and philosophical views, and his assessment of the contemporary socio-political situation in various regions of the Muslim world. The paper presents Bigiev’s instructions and advice to his fellow Tatars living in Finland. The significance of these recommendations is underscored by his eloquent comparisons between the realities of life in Muslim countries and the living conditions of Tatars in this Scandinavian state. In conclusion, the article emphasizes the scholarly value of Bigiev’s epistolary heritage and outlines prospects for further research in this area.

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