ismail bey gasprinski, 1851-1914

8/12/2019 Ismail Bey Gasprinski, 1851-1914

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BY RIZAEDDIN FAHREDDIN

"Ismail Bey Gasprinski," trans. Alan W. Fisher, The Tatars of Crima: Return to the Homeland,ed.Edward A. Allworth, pp. 127-12. !opyriht 1##$, %&ke 'ni(ersity )ress. All rihts reser(ed.)osted with permission.*

Ismail Bey Gasprinski, 1851-191

"Ismail Bey Gasprinski, 1$1-1#1*," Shura, nos 21 +1 o(emer 1#1*, 22 +1 o(emer 1#1*,2/ +1 %e0emer 1#1*, 2* +1 %e0emer 1#1* *1-**, 7/-7, 73-$, 7/7-*1. 4ranslated y

Alan W. Fisher.

4his (ery lon oit&ary 5or Ismail Bey appeared in 5o&r iss&es o5 the 4atar-lan&ae 6o&rnalShura, p&lished in ren&r in o(emer and %e0emer 1#1*. )&lished imonthly 5rom8an&ary 1#3$ to 8an&ary 1#1$, Shura was one o5 the most important literary and politi0al 4atar

6o&rnals in the last years o5 the 9&ssian Empire. Its editor was 9i:aeddin kadi Fahreddin, are5orm-minded reliio&s o55i0ial. As one 0an easily see in the oit&ary that 5ollows, "Shura was

0ertainly, o5 all ;&slim 6o&rnals, the most deeply in5l&en0ed y 9&ssian 0&lt&re." +Ale&el?&e6ay, La Presse et le Mouvement National Chez lesMusulmans de Russie avant 192 +)aris ;o&ton, 1#*1, p. 77. I wish to thank )ro5essorEdward Allworth oth 5or in5ormin me o5 this oit&ary@s e


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(ery 5ier o5 o&r e


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mo(ed to Bahesaray. At this point Ismail Bey was 5o&r years old. When Ismail Bey was ten yearsold, he 5o&nd a irl 5riend named aie who li(ed in Bahesaray. A5ter attendin a militarytrainin s0hool in ;os0ow, Ismail Bey went to Istan&l and then to )aris. A5ter his stay aroad, heret&rned to 9&ssia and to his own homeland. In 1$7* +12#1 Ismail Bey e0ame a tea0her inalta where he ta&ht ;&slim ad&lts the 9&ssian lan&ae. 4wo years later he 0ame toBahesaray and a(e 9&ssian lessons at the Lin0irli medrese.

In 1$7# +12# he was ele0ted mayor C.olovaD. In this position he ser(ed 5o&r years. A5ter thatperiod he ean what wo&ld e0ome his li5e@s work. e wo&ld also make a n&mer o5 6o&rneys inthe 0omin years in 1$$ to Bak&, in 1$#/ aain to Bak& and then on to B&khara, in 1#37 and1#3$ to Eypt, and 5inally in 1#11 to India.

Ao&t his se0ond 6o&rney to Bak&, Ismail Bey wrote a short a00o&nt in Ter-man,a portion o5whi0h we in0l&de here

In 1$#/, I 5o&nd mysel5 5or a se0ond time in Bak&. n my 5irst trip I tra(eled with e5er Ali BeyMelieyo(. I passed thro&h the !a&0as&s on the way to Bak&, that 5irst time. We wereparti0&larly interested in learnin ao&t trade and 0ommer0e as it was 0ond&0ted y ;&slimsli(in there. e5er Ali Bey was a mer0hant and was himsel5 interested in makin some

in(estments in the !a&0as&s and in Bak&. We met with a n&mer o5 the ri0h mer0hants andind&strialists. e5er Ali Bey p&r0hased one lare estalishment and de0ided to ein thep&li0ation asso0iated with it o5 a newspaper. 4hose with whom he dealt 0o&ld not &nderstandthe sense o5 startin a newspaper, whi0h 0o&ld 0ertainly not e pro5itale. And 5ew were willin to0onsider a newspaper that wo&ld e modeled on Ter-man and that wo&ld not e essentially;&slim in nat&re. 4hey were not parti0&larly interested in new 5orms o5 newspapers, o5 ed&0ation,o5 literat&re. 4hey said "For &s it is eno&h to tr&st in God." appily e5er Ali Bey persisted in hisplan and the newspaper was e(ent&ally started.

We also noted then that many o5 the ed&0ated elements o5 that so0iety spoke Farsi, and the lo0alordinary pop&lation 5o&nd it (ery di55i0&lt to speak with them. ow, on my se0ond 6o&rney, I amhappy to report that 4&rki0 is ein &sed y all, the newspaper is thri(in, and the people o5 the

area are enterin a new 5&t&re.

His 0amil%/ Ismail Bey married in 1$7# +12#/, &t a5ter a n&mer o5 years, he di(or0ed thatwoman. In 1$$2 +12##, Ismail Bey married Lahire anim, the da&hter o5 Is5endiyar Ak0h&rin5rom ieria. 4hese two li(ed toether 5or twenty years. +A ioraphy o5 this lady appears in theook Meshhur Hatunlar/ Altho&h a5ter Lahire anim@s death Ismail Bey married one o5 hersisters, it was Lahire anim who was his prime 0ompanion thro&ho&t his a0ti(e li5e.

Ismail Bey had three sons 9ahmet Bey, ;ans&r Bey, and aydar Bey and three da&htersati0e anim, ha5i?a anim, and iyar anim. e had one li(in sister, Leyne.

His eduation/ Ismail Bey st&died 5irst with a0i Ismail. At that tea0her@s death, Ismail Beyentered the ymnasi&m in Akmes0it, and a5ter two years@ st&dy there, entered the Morone:hmilitary a0ademy. From there he ad(an0ed to the ;os0ow hiher military s0hool. It is interestinto note that Ismail Bey, who spent more than thirty-5i(e years ser(in the interests o5 9&ssian;&slims and 4&rkish nationalists, had his 5irst ed&0ational e


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)eople o5ten think that their nation, their ideas and 0&lt&re are &ni?&e to them. 4hey think it wronto minle with other 0&lt&res. ;&slims today are amon the worst in this reard. We 5oret thatlon ao, ;&slims were open to other 0&lt&res and ideas. Al Gha:ali was one s&0h philosopherwho was open to s&0h 5orein ideas. Ismail Bey re0ei(ed his (ery 5irst ed&0ation with Islami0tradition. B&t soon he ran0hed o&t. Amon his est 5riends were the Jatko( 5amily. Ismail Bey0annot e said to ha(e s&55ered 5rom these asso0iations. e may well ha(e ene5ited.

Ismail Bey 5o&nd the strenth to remain 5irm aainst those who were &neasy ao&t 0hane,aainst those "masters" o5 the past who wa(ered on the ?&estion o5 renewal. e &nderstoodetter than they that tr&e ser(i0e to o&r reliion re?&ired an a00eptan0e o5 renewal. e o5tenwrote in Ter-manthat the old stone "walls" were 0r&mlin and that they needed to e re&iltwith new materials. e learned 5rom Jatko( that 9&ssia and 9&ssians also needed renewal, thattheir own "walls" were in a state o5 deterioration. e knew that it was not ne0essary to p&rs&erenewal in e


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0ontin&ed to appear. In 1$$2, he also p&lished a Tur+i 5ear!oo+CSalname*i Tur+iD and aea&ti5&l almana0. In the introd&0tion to the 5ormer, Ismail Bey wrote "We ha(e p&t toether aTur+i 5ear!oo+and an almana0 5or the ene5it o5 all ;&slims in 9&ssia, oth 5or the 5irst time. Weare 0ond&0tin an e


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In another iss&e o5 Ter-man,Ismail Bey wrote the 5ollowin on the matter o5 renewal and re5ormwithin Islam

4hirteen years ao there were inn&merale 5orms o5 re(ol&tionary and re5orm mo(ements a5ootin 9&ssian Islam, many o5 them in opposition to one another. In essen0e, these mo(ementsraised 5i(e or si< types o5 ?&estion +1 ;&slims who are s&6e0ts o5 the 9&ssian o(ernmentha(e to de0ide whether they are loyal to the 0:ar or to some ;&slim o(ernment, or are loyal to

their own homeland CvatanD, +2 What sort o5 ed&0ation is proper and ne0essary 5or ;&slimsNho&ld it in0l&de the st&dy o5 modern s0ien0eN I5 so, is it ne0essary to learn 9&ssianN ho&ldthere e ;&slim s0hools that tea0h modern s&6e0tsN +/ What are the est means 5or trainin;&slims to li(e in the modern world o5 trade and ind&stryN ho&ld o&r s0hools ran0h o&t o5 o&rold traditional modes and o55er new methods o5 instr&0tionN Is this sort o5 ed&0ation danero&s tothe preser(ation o5 o&r 0&lt&reN +* Is it ne0essary that ;&slims in 9&ssia e trained in themodern methods o5 ari0&lt&reN Is it possile to s&r(i(e and thri(e e0onomi0ally witho&t a0?&irinnew s0ienti5i0 ari0&lt&ral knowledeN + I5 we estalish o&r own national s0hools, to permit o&ryo&th to a0?&ire an ed&0ation witho&t oin to the 9&ssian s0hools, sho&ld o&r own s0hools emodeled on the 9&ssian onesN ho&ld they o55er the same s&6e0ts and tea0h o&r yo&th the9&ssian lan&aeN + What sho&ld e the role o5 o&r newspapers and 6o&rnals in all o5 thisNho&ld they instr&0t, prod, in0ite, en0o&raeN ho&ld they take positions on these (ario&s

iss&esN +Ter-man,1$#

4oward the einnin o5 1$#, Ismail Bey p&lished an e(al&ation o5 the (ario&s re5ormmo(ements in(ol(in 9&ssian ;&slims

It is interestin to 0ompare the sit&ation o5 9&ssia@s ;&slims at the einnin o5 1$# with thesit&ation in 1$$3. 4oday there are a reat many 9&ssian ;&slims, who 0o&ld not read or writee5ore, who not only read &t 0ontri&te to Ter-man/(er these 5i5teen years, in 9&ssia andespe0ially in the 0ity o5 Ja:an, many ooks ha(e een written and p&lished y ;&slims.

Altho&h some o5 them still remain te


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learned that the 4&rki0 world was not &ni?&e in this reard, that the entire Islami0 world wasra(ely ill. e wrote there an essay that was p&lished in Arai0 and addressed these iss&es. e0alled 5or a plan 5or all ;&slims to 5ollow, to &se new methods in ed&0ation as the remedy 5or itsra(e illness.

4he ma6or osta0le that Ismail Bey 5a0ed in the 4&rki0 world in 9&ssia, and in Eypt, was the0on0ern that many ;&slims, e(en ed&0ated and intellient ones, raised ao&t the 0ompatiility o5

new ed&0ational methods with Islami0 tradition, with Islam itsel5. B&t Ismail Bey was willin to oto Eypt, e(en as 5ar as India, in order to 0arry his messae and 0on0erns.

A reat many people who wished to 0ontin&e to rely on Islami0 traditions as they &nderstoodthem and who resisted 0onsiderin many o5 the new ideas and new methods proposed y IsmailBey p&t osta0les in the way o5 Ismail Bey at e(ery 0han0e they 5o&nd. Books, pamphlets,essays, introd&0tions to other ooks, all were &sed to oppose the new methods. B&t Ismail Bey0o&ntered e(ery osta0le, responded to all 0riti0isms, with his own ooks, pamphlets,introd&0tions, and essays. It is o&r opinion that in the 0ontest, Ismail Bey won, and he a0hie(ed"0he0kmate" CmutD aainst his opponents.

e made a 6o&rney to B&khara to 0on5ront some o5 the most in5l&ential o5 his opponents. 4here

were many there, in the s0hools oth se0ondary and primary, who ar&ed that his ideas andmethods were 0ontrary to Islami0 0&lt&re and law. e &nderstood that e(en in the medreseso5B&khara the knowlede o5 the modern world had to e introd&0ed.

Ismail Bey@s road was lon and di55i0&lt, &t the 0orre0t one to 5ollow. e was a modern manCadid !ir adamD who ser(ed tr&th and reality. e stro(e to 5ree &s 5rom inoran0e, 5rom ideas thatwere oth meaninless and &seless. ;&slim st&dents, he ar&ed, who attended medresesthatremained dea5 to modern ideas were a national waste. e was willin to de(ote all o5 his timeand enery at home and to make lon and di55i0&lt 6o&rneys 5or no personal ain or pro5it, &t onehal5 o5 the possile ain and pro5it o5 all o5 &s. 4he Islami0 world has een restri0ted y thetiht onds o5 an o&tmoded past, o5 o&tmoded methods. e ar&ed that ;&slims sho&ld 5indthemsel(es oliated to reak these onds, to 5ree their imaination, to ad(an0e. E(erywhere

else, it was in the last 0ent&ry CnineteenthD that "modern 0i(ili:ation" was orn. 4he Westernpeoples ean to pla0e knowlede and s0ien0e at the 5ore5ront, to i(e them hihest priorities.4hey were ale to dis0o(er a reat deal ao&t nat&re, and with these dis0o(eries were ale toreatly impro(e the li5e o5 their peoples. 4here ha(e een "a tho&sand" real ene5its to h&manity5rom these dis0o(eries. ;er0hants, 5a0tory owners and workers, artisans, all ha(e 5o&nd newskills, talents, ailities, as res&lts o5 these dis0o(eries. "A tho&sand" reat works ha(e res&lted.

9&ssian ;&slims ha(e tended to e


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less 5rom h&man eins. We ha(e a reat inheritan0e 5rom o&r an0estors, 4&rki0 and ;&slim. &ran0estors 5rom 0ent&ries ao were leaders in the prod&0tion o5 new dis0o(eries and knowlede.4hey de(eloped reat talents and a0hie(ed reat works.

4he Mu6adamato5 ariri is a ood e


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appeared in Ter-mana n&mer o5 years ao

4he 5o&ndations o5 the oral method were estalished in Bahesaray in 1$$/ when the 5irst new-method s0hool was 5o&nded there. For the 5irst 5i(e or si< years, most o5 the people 5o&nd itdi55i0&lt to a00ept the inno(ations. B&t 5inally some ean to noti0e that p&pils were learnin toread and write well a5ter only two years o5 instr&0tion in this s0hool. 4hey ean to see the (al&eo5 the new method. ow there are eiht new-method s0hools in Bahesaray. It is possile to

estalish as many as one h&ndred o5 them in o&r .u!erniiaalone. +Ter-man,no. 3 C1$#D

. A reat deal on the re5orm o5 spirit&al 0onditions has een p&lished in Ter-man/Ismail Bey@sideas on this ?&estion were most 0learly e


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4&rks ha(e remained 5ar too lon &nder the in5l&en0e o5 !hinese 0&lt&re. ne o5 the reatlessins o5 the 4&rks@ e0omin ;&slim many 0ent&ries ao was their lieration 5rom !hinese0&lt&re and traditions. We were paans then, and inorant. Islam a55orded &s the opport&nity toe0ome 0i(ili:ed, and the opport&nity was a(ailale to oth men and women. 4here are thoseamon o&r ;&slim men who 5ear that ed&0ation 5or o&r women will open them to the possiility o5pre5errin 5orein men and their ideas. What they 5oret is the 5a0t that !hinese 0&lt&re andtraditions are 5orein, to &s, and to Islam. 4he 5o&ndations o5 0i(ili:ation are &ilt only thro&h

ed&0ation. )erhaps !hinese women will some day arise and e 5reed 5rom their s&6e0tion. It isao&t time that we en0o&rae o&r own da&hters to arise

7. n the openin o5 so0ial wel5are so0ieties and thro&h them the renewal o5 so0iety, there ha(eeen a reat many arti0les in Ter-manand we en0o&rae o&r readers to 0ons&lt them.

$. In order to estalish 5irm 5o&ndations 5or o&r national literat&re, it is ne0essary that we de(elopa p&re, 0lear, and &nderstandale "4&rki" lan&ae. We ha(e dis0&ssed this s&6e0t, and IsmailBey@s intense parti0ipation in its s&00ess, ao(e. ere we will mention some o5 the prolems, ands&00esses, in this de(elopment, and draw 5rom e


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4hirty years ao Ismail Bey e


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s0hools wo&ld ha(e to e 5o&nded.

It seems to &s that in re0ent years this parti0&lar ?&estion has also een o5 &tmost importan0e tothe 4&rki0 ;&slim world. And it was in his last se(eral years, when he was already e0omin ill,that Ismail Bey ean to 5o0&s more o5 his attention on the reliio&s and spirit&al ed&0ation o54&rki0 ;&slims. e was responsile 5or 5o&ndin a spe0ial s0hool in Bahesaray that wo&ld0on0entrate its e55orts on s&0h renewal o5 reliio&s and spirit&al ed&0ation it &tili:ed the "mother"

4&rki0 ton&e and has set the 5o&ndations 5or 0ontin&ed renewal in 4&rki0 Islam.

1) 4eem!er 191": #smail $e%s ;ourne% to #ndia

In order to p&li0i:e his "phoneti0 method" o5 tea0hin litera0y, Ismail Bey 6o&rneyed to India. ewas prepared to &se whate(er enery was ne0essary and to &ndero 0onsiderale personalsa0ri5i0e in order to pers&ade others o5 the ene5its o5 this tea0hin method. In 5a0t, tho&h, hewas not the 5irst "Ismail" to make s&0h a 6o&rney to India.

In the year 171, another Ismail, a B&kharan y irth, and a 5ollower o5 aid Biste, le5t ren&r5or a similar trip to India. It was one h&ndred si


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the 5irst "phoneti0-method" s0hool was 5o&nded amon the reat Indian ;&slims, and we 0antake reat pride in the 5a0t that it was a 9&ssian ;&slim who initiated this re5orm.

Ismail Bey said the 5ollowin ao&t his 6o&rney to India, as reported in #+dam:

I went to India to 0ond&0t some resear0h on a pro6e0t on whi0h I ha(e een workin 5or threeyears, to e


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in order to e ale to make ad(an0es in knowlede and ed&0ation, a so&nd system o5 primarys0hoolin was ne0essary. Finally, he elie(ed that 5or the 5&l5illment o5 a so&nd national identity,9&ssia@s ;&slims needed a 0ommon lan&ae. 4oward all o5 these oals, this man de(oted hisli5e. Ismail Bey miht well ha(e 0ome to the 0on0l&sion that these oals ore too hih a pri0e. Areat many people do&ted the ene5its o5 renewal and &nity. B&t the warrior Ismail Bey was(i0torio&s in these str&les and was ale to o(er0ome all sorts o5 slander and 5alse a00&sationswhi0h his detra0tor prod&0ed.

2. !e(det Bey. 4his person, who was the leadin 6o&rnalist and one-time editor o5 the newspaper,#+dam,wrote a lon arti0le ao&t Ismail Bey, portion o5 whi0h we p&lish here

Ismail Bey is a man whose name one day will e a national mon&ment. e 0omes 5rom the tr&e4&rki0 sto0k +o5 the 9&ssianPnorthern-4&rki0 ro&p. We ha(e a n&mer o5 ill&sions ao&to&rsel(es Cwe 4&rksD, and he reali:ed what they were. In order to ein to address theseill&sions, he 5o&nded a s0hool with per5e0tion in mind. We seldom 5ind amon o&rsel(ess&00ess5&l &sinessmen. We still li(e in a world o5 ill&sions and spe0ters. 4his man had an ideathat may well 0&re o&r dea5ness and insensiti(ity. 4here are many people who are 5atalists, whoare resined to a00ept whate(er God has planned 5or their 5&t&re. e de0ided to 0hallene s&0hpeople. 4hirty years ao there was asol&tely no one in o&r p&lishin world who wo&ld not ha(e

0onsidered his ideas itter tastin. We had no one who was willin to apply reat e55orts to sol(eo&r di55i0&lties. We had no prolem in 0reatin osta0les 5or people s&0h as Ismail Bey.I know theoodness o5 this man I ha(e seen his works. othin has een p&lished yet in modern Islami0lan&aes that mat0hes the works he has p&lished to awaken ;&slims to a0hie(e moderns0ien0es and knowlede. It is the 0&stom amon the people to pla0e hih (al&e on inheritedhaits and ideas. A00ordin to this 0&stom, ;&slims tend to 0onsider their own traditional ideass&perior to all else. therwise intellient people tend to 0all those who prod&0e new ideas nonelie(ers. B&t there is a i di55eren0e etween new ideas and &n-Islami0 ones, 6&st as onesho&ld distin&ish etween iots and :ealots. E(en the an0ients who pro(ided 0ommentary onIslami0 law and traditions ar&ed that one sho&ld e &ided y more than what ideas oneinherited 5rom the past. 4here is no do&t that there are some people who now think otherwise,&t most o5 o&r leaders still elie(e that there sho&ld e no tea0hin o&tside o5 what the >&r@an

o55ers. Ismail Bey has presented to &s a way to o(er0ome o&r lindness to the present and 5&t&re.e has asked o&r people to awaken.

/. &seyin KsnK. e is a sheikh o5 the 9&5aiyah der(ish order and has written a lon arti0le onIsmail Bey in the 6o&rnal 4he ile Cal*NilD

In an arti0le p&lished in Bahesaray in the newspaper Hizmetre0ently, the 5o&nder and 0hie56o&rnalist o5 the newspaper Ter-man,the :ealo&s, eminent, and 5amo&s Ismail Bey Gaspirali isreported to ha(e died and to ha(e 0ome 5a0e to 5a0e with his &ltimate destiny.We are deeplysaddened e0a&se Ismail Bey and his asso0iates ha(e een tr&e ser(ants o5 o&r millions o5reliio&s rothers in 9&ssia. We all pla0e o&r tr&st in tr&e ser(ants o5 God s&0h as Ismail Bey.4he death o5 one who is also a tr&e ser(ant o5 o&r reat nation CmilletD rins &s a reat sense o5

loss. We are (ery rate5&l to Ismail Bey 5or ha(in done what he did 5or o&r reliion and 5or o&rpeople.We take reat pleas&re in the 5a0t that Ismail Bey was ale to str&le so e55e0ti(elyaainst the lies and mis&nderstandins that ha(e pla&ed &s ;&slims. 4he entire ;&slim world israte5&l 5or Ismail Bey@s praiseworthy ser(i0e.

Ismail Bey possessed a taste 5ree 5rom de5e0t. e lo(ed simpli0ity and 5or this reason woresimple 0lothes and ate and drank simply. is writin re5le0ted this simpli0ity. e now is simplyseparated 5rom &s and is at rest. e eats his simple 5ood there, drinks his 0o55ee there, andremains at rest there.


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e &sed to a00ept &ests with hospitality at his home. e wo&ld arise early, at si< or se(en,wo&ld drink la0k 0o55ee, and a5ter that wo&ld ein to write. A5ter the mail arri(ed, he wo&ld readhis letters and daily papers. e took notes 5rom his daily readin, and marked &p the papers witha 0olored pen. e did m&0h o5 his work while stret0hed o&t on his ed C +erevetD. e wrote (ery?&i0kly and was writin &p to the time o5 his death.

e smoked toa00o. Aro&nd ten in the mornin he wo&ld lea(e his room and walk to the editorial

o55i0e o5 Ter-man/In his last days, he still (isited his o55i0e, talked with the newspaper@s sta55, &two&ld soon ret&rn to his home and stret0h o&t on his ed. We know that now, a5ter his death, hewill still "e present" in the o55i0es o5 Ter-man/

Both his room and his o55i0e were 0heer5&l, ni0ely 0olored, with 5lowers. e liked ea&ti5&l m&si0.e &sed to say, "4he world is 0olor5&l and ea&ti5&l so too sho&ld o&r press e 0olor5&l andea&ti5&l."

For Ismail Bey the reatest pain and worst p&nishment wo&ld ha(e een to ha(e no work to do,to e idle. 4h&s he ne(er spent a day witho&t some prod&0ti(e work to e a00omplished. e was0onstantly &sy with writin or readin or speakin or thinkin.

o matter how reat the di55i0&lty, Ismail Bey@s spirit was ne(er da&nted, and he ne(er lost hope.owe(er 5rail he miht ha(e appeared, he had reat oldness and 5irmness inside. e a(e spiritto those witho&t spirit, hope to those witho&t hope. o one 0o&ld e(er say that he e(er waswitho&t oal or aim. e had a sensiti(e and 0ompassionate heart. e 0onstantly prea0hedmoderation in the midst o5 deep 0risis. e a(e 0onsolation to those e


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was hoped that these in 0omination with the wonder5&l !rimean air wo&ld restore him to health.&s&5 Be Ak0h&rin ret&rned to e with him in the !rimea. is 0ondition 0ontin&ed to deteriorate.

et he was still ale to et aro&nd. e had a photoraph taken o5 himsel5 with the sta55 o5Ter-manand aain with the memers o5 his 5amily. E


17/17

Ismail Bey was o&r master tea0her. We sho&ld not weep &t now sho&ld take reat pride in whathe a00omplished. Amon 9&ssian ;&slims, Ismail Bey was one o5 o&r reatest. While we, atShura, ha(e re0ei(ed statements o5 0onsolation 5rom a reat many people, the 5ollowin list i(essome indi0ation o5 the reat (ariety and readth 5rom the (illae o5 !hakmak, the imam andmudarris;ehmed hakir Ahmed Meli l& Fey:i 5rom 4ashkent, ;&hsin E5endi hiir ;ehmedol& ani5a Asimet in Jerki, Ad al air Adallah in amarkand, idi?i in Irk&tsk, ai&llahGarido( in Ja:an, 8elal and so 5orth. !learly, Ismail Bey meant a reat deal to e(eryone. We

will miss him B&t we will 0arry on.

ismail bey gasprinski, 1851-1914

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