
Zoltan
Bolek:
The History of
Islam in Hungary
I. History of Islam in Hungary
from the beginnings
About the Kabar, the Bechene
and other tribes
Those who wish to analyse the
history of Islam in Hungary have to go back to the
Levedia period, prior to the occupation of Hungary.
Hungarian tribes made up part of the Kazar Empire or,
perhaps better said, they were their vassals. Kazaria,
had a large number of Muslim traders and Kazar
notables, not taking into account the majority of
Kazan soldiers of mainly Hvarezm origin. In unknown
circumstances, these Hvarezmis appeared in the union
of Hungarian tribes in the 9th century. Some sources
claim that three Kabar tribes, who fled from or were,
separated from Kazaria, joined as allies the
association of the seven Hungarian tribes. Constantine
the Purple-Born says in this respect: “It is said that
these Kabar tribes are related to the Kazar family.
... an anti-government revolt broke out among them and
it ended in a civil war. The previous government came
back to power and some of the rebels were killed while
others escaped and settled with the Turks i.e. as
Hungarians on the Bechenes’ land, and they made
friends and started to call themselves Kabars.” After
having been marginalized in the Kazar Empire and
having attained their independence, the Hungarians
integrated themselves with the rebel Kazars, and the
Kazar ruler, also called “Kagan”, set the Besenyő
against the Hungarians. The Emperor’s statements show
that, after the occupation of Hungary, the Hungarian
leadership united the three Kavar or Kabar tribes into
one and delegated one leader to them. This leader was
responsible for keeping in contact with the head of
the Hungarian tribes. The Kabars, as a subjugated,
inferior tribe, were responsible for the front and
rear defence - so they were the first to start
fighting, and were the last to be withdrawn. Kabars
became a bilingual language nation - they spoke
Hungarian along with their own Turkish language. By
950, the Turkish language disappeared. 20-30% of the
conquering Hungarians had Kabar origins. Along with
the Kabars, other Muslim nations, like Hvarezmi, also
joined the tribal union.
According to Latin sources,
"Saracens" equals to Islamic or Muslim. The Hungarian
equivalent of this concept is Bechene (böszörmény) or
Saracen (szaracén). The majority of the three Kabar
tribes were of Islamic faith. Sámuel Aba, a king of
Hungary, was also of Kabar origin. His ancestors were
the heads of the three Kabar tribes. The Emperor
Constantine the Purple-born, referred to the Kabars as
Kavars. The Gesta Hungarorum of Anonymus says that the
Kabars received lands in the area of the Mátra-hills
to settle on. 13-14th century sources affirm that the
lands of the Aba clan were also located in this area
(for example, the name of the village Abasár reflects
this fact). Samuel Aba’s marriage to the youngest
sister of King Saint Stephen goes back to this era.
The natural stipulation for this marriage was that
Sámuel Aba embrace Christianity. This union also
implied a stronger alliance with the Kabar tribes.
The eventual inauguration of Abasár Monastery occurred
at the time of his wedding. This marriage and the
embracing of Christianity happened at the end of
Sámuel Aba’s reign, and he became integrated into King
Saint Stephen's court and became a member of the
advisory body responsible for Hungarian politics. As a
royal relative, he must have exerted much influence
over it. Based on a German model, Stephen conceded him
the privilege of palace lieutenant, which later became
an equivalent of palatine. Stephen was aware that
Sámuel Aba’s Christian faith was superficial so after
his son’s death (Prince Emery he did not appoint
Sámuel Aba as his heir but the truly Christian Peter.
King Stephen obliged the Kabars or "Black Hungarians"
to serve as border guardians.
Owing to the shortage of proper
and secure sources, there are several opposing
theories on the early presence of Islam in Hungary.
However, as a Muslim and the researcher of Islam in
Hungary, I shall make reference to the theory that
underlines the significance of Islam.
In the period after the
Foundation of Hungary, all Muslim immigrations
occurred on a voluntary basis. This immigration was
related to Maghrib and Hvarezm areas. Under the rule
of Árpád’s dynasty, the status of Hungarian Muslims
was defined by two different legal positions - they
either had the opportunity to freely practice their
religion (which referred mostly to soldiers) or they
were forced to embrace Christianity, though secretly
practised their Islamic faith.
The reports of the Arabic
traveller, Al-Masudi, state that the Hungarians
recorded the number of Muslim traders in the
neighbouring country of the Bechene, and they also
indicate that the number of those embracing Islam was
also recorded. When fighting broke out against the
Bulgarians residing at the River Danube, these
Muslims were charged to lead the Turkish forces,
instigating the ex-Muslim soldiers of the enemy to
re-embrace their Islamic faith. If they asked for
Turkish protection, they would be settled in Muslim
areas.
These four groups also had
members who, regardless of their Muslim origins, took
part in Turkish Royal wars against the enemies of
Islam. This also shows that Muslims could freely
practice their original faith prior to Christian
times. This freedom was also typical of nomadic
states. Al-Barki writes about this fact as follows:
The Turks "rescued hostage Jews and Muslims from
surrounding provinces. The Hungarians treat their
guests well.” The Kaliz, of Hvarezmi origin,
constituted a significant group. Based on the
certificate issued by Coloman, the Booklover, the
royal treasury is tax collector: "Institores autores
autem regii fisci, quos hungarice caliz vocant".
The locality names keeping
their memory alive exist on the map of Hungary: Káloz
(Fejér county 1326: Kaluz, Kálófa, Zala county 1426
Kalozfalva, Budakalász, Pest county, 1332-1337,
Kaluz). Hungarians had contacts with the Kaliz before
they occupied the Carpathian Basin, too. The Hvarezmi
spoke the Iranian language and many of them lived in
Kazaria and in the city of Bulgar. The Old Iranian
language was later changed via the use of Turkish. We
have had more information about the Kaliz people since
the 12th century. Kinnamos, a Byzantic historian,
tells of the battle of 1150 between the Hungarians and
Byzantine Empire, and he also refers to another ethic
group, of a faith equal to that of the Besenyő but
different from the Hungarians’, who fought on the
Hungarians’ side. These groups were the Kaliz and the
Bechenes. The Byzantine author refers to them
again as to a nation having the same fate has the
Persians’. This statement goes back to 1165. The
trade road of the Danube-Tisza region evokes their
memory. ("Kaliz Road")
The documents of the 10th
century allude to the Alan and Uz tribes, who arrived
in Hungary along with the second wave of Bessenyő
immigrants - and they are often referred to as “Black
Cumans’. The Hungarian denomination of the Alans was
"Varsány". It is presumable that the origins of the
locality or personal names that incorporate the word
Varsány go back to the Alans of Islamic faith. The
number of these localities is all together 25 Varsány
and 25 black Vuman.
Bulgarians by the river Volga
Under the rule of Prince
Taksony (960-972), a large number of Muslim Bulgarians
of the Volga region (pertaining to the existing
Russia) moved to our country with their leaders, Billa
and Bulcsu. The name of Billa possibly derives from
the Islamic name Bilal. The Bulgarians of the Volga
region fled to Hungary owing to an internal political
conflict. They settled in the area of today's 15th
March Square, located in Central Budapest. The minor
group settled in other parts of Pest County (Bille and
Bácsapuszta).
The Gesta Hungarorum of
Anonymus relates: Due to the mercy of Taksony, many
guests of various origins were welcomed in his court,
where a large number of Ishmaelite came along with the
aristocrats Bilal amd Baks. The leader granted them
lands in different regions along with the Castle,
Pest, which was conceded to them in perpetuity. Billa
and Baks, ancestors of Etej, summoned a council and
made the resolution to assign 2/3 of the population to
the Castle, while 1/3 were at the service of their
successors. In the meantime, a nobleman, Hetény,
arrived from an identical region and he was given much
land and livestock. The Etyei clan comprised their
successors. In 962, Prince Taksony delegated Salek, a
Muslim Bulgarian, whose name probably originates from
Saleh, to Italy. In this period, an armed auxiliary
nation of Muslims settled in the area of Orsova by the
river Danube (in the existing Romania). Contemporary
accounts speak of a Hungarian Muslim tradesman who
lived and worked in Prague in 975. Ibn Rusta and
Gardezia, Arabic travellers, describe the state and
lifestyle of the Volga Bulgarians as follows:
"Bulgarians live close to the Slavonic and Kazar
tribes, along the river Atil (Volga), which flows into
the Kazar (Caspian) Sea. The Bulgarian king is called
Almus and is a Muslim. The majority of Bulgarians are
also Muslims. They have mosques and Quranic schools as
well as muezzins and imams. They dress like Muslims
and their cemetries are identical to those of the
Muslims." These reports date from the 10th century.
Ibn Fadlan writes that the Bulgarian prince asked the
Baghdadi caliph to send religious scholars to give
assistance his nation. The delegate of the Bulgarian
prince was a Kazar Muslim, Abdallah Ibn al-Hazari. I
would also like to note here that the direct
neighbours of the Kazars were the Eastern Hungarians,
whom were later identified later by Julianus, a 13th
century Christian monk.
The Bechen tribe (Besenyők)
Many Bechens also arrived in
this country. In the period prior to the occupation
of the Carpathian Basin, they were regarded our
ancient enemies but were defeated by the Byzantine
Empire and the Princes of Kiev, so their state was
weakened and they disintegrated. Under the rule of the
kings of the Árpád dynasty, the Bechens were
one-generation Muslims and they settled in the Pest,
Moson, Fejér, and Szepes regions. Some of them worked
as soldiers, but there were also some who continued
their nomadic life as traders and farmers. The
founders of Hungary knew this name when they arrived,
for it appears as both a personal- and geographical
name in our certificates. All relating data comes from
Bechen immigrants. The oldest known data goes back to
1086 and the 13th century. It’s worth mentioning also
the Bechen Prince, Tonzuba, who came to the country
with his nation during Saint Stephen's rule.
Regardless of the fact that he belonged to the early
Bechene migrants, most probably he did not practice
the Islamic faith. Some of his dependents, however,
were able to have the Islamic faith. When Tonzuba
rejected it, to embrace Christianity, he was buried
alive, close to the pier of Abád, along with his wife.
Saint Stephen ordered that his soldiers were settled
in different areas. After 1100, a vaster Byzantine
immigration commenced owing to their defeat by the
Byzantine Empire and the Hungarian Kings welcomed them
as auxiliary soldiers. In the meantime, we also fought
against Byzantine hegemony. The Bechene assimilation
was longest owing to, on one hand, their military
services rendered to our kings and, on the other, to
their lifestyle, one based on a closed social set-up
that also rendered difficult their conversion to
Christianity. Regardless of the fact that in the 15th
century they spoke Hungarian, dressed like Hungarians
and embraced Christianity, they were still aware of
their origins. In the Árpád era, the number of Bechene
localities was around 150.
Bechenes (Böszörmény)
According to Anonymous, the
famous 13th royal notary, priest and historian, the
Bechenes arrived in the country in the 10th century.
Bechenes, known as Böszörmény, actually referred to
all Muslims - and Anonymus affirms - that they were
Bulgarians of the Volga region or "Black Hungarians".
The most ancient part of our database comprises
personal names and its oldest nominal appearance is
Bezermen, Buzermen; the geographical names of the
13-14th centuries are Buzermen, Bezermen, Bozermen.
Nowadays, we still know places that incorporate their
names, such as Berekböszörmény (Hajdu-Bihar region,
since 1291) and Hajdúböszörmény (Hajdú region, since
1246).
Professor Melich regards these
Muslims as descendants of the Bechene, Kuman and Palóc
tribes, whilst others say that they are of Kazar or
Bechene origin. Some scientists say they are
individually or collectively of immigrant Turkish
ethnicity, of Muslim origins.
Prior to the Tartar invasion of
Hungary, many travellers, like Carpini Plano, allege
that the Bechenes are a Cuman-speaking nation which
practices the Saracen religion i.e. Islam. The real
origin of the word "Böszörmény" is Muslim. All
Turkish variants of this name such as Büsürman,
Bisirman, Büsürmen and Böszörmény (Bechene) derive
from a Turkish word implying Muslim.
The Muslim ethnicities
aforesaid were great archers, light horsemen and
traders. Their settlements usually extended along
important trade routes. They lived in large numbers in
the area of Mezőföld and Mátra, in the Southern part
of the country and close to borders, where they had
defensive duties. Smaller colonies were scattered all
around the country, and traders lived in almost every
settlement.
The Kazar Empire and Islam
As prior to their arrival in
Central Europe, Hungarians lived under Kazar
Occupation and had strong ties with them later on -
though this time frame will be more specifically
analysed. As Constantine writes: "The Hungarians
lived together with the Kazars for three years, and
they fought in all battles with them." Several
researchers divert from a literal interpretation of
the text for contextual reasons, saying that the
Hungarian-Kazar alliance was approx. between 200-300.
This leads us to the conclusion
that the Hungarians depended on the Kazars. Typical of
this relationship is that the Kagan, their leader,
gave Levedi, the Hungarian leader, a wife of noble
origins “owing to her fame and background, and so that
she give birth to a child from him".
After the occupation of
Derbent, on the Northern edge of the Caucasus
mountains, the troops of the Muslim Caliphate moved on
towards the north, where the Kazar Empire was having
its golden age - the Kazar Empire, a typically
nomadic state whose territory extended from Middle
Asia to the Crimean Peninsula. Owing to the
Islamization of Central-Asia, the Empire had contacts
with this Islamic religion and gave place to Muslim
traders, too. The first unsuccessful attacks date back
to the period of 642-652. The Muslim Arab troops
attacked Balanyar, the Kazar capital, in 642. Smaller
battles also took place but in the same year, a larger
Muslim troop attacked the Kazár capital. The fortified
Kazar capital resisted; the arriving Kazar cavalry
defeated the besiegers and the leader of the Muslims
also died. The Kazar Empire first saw victory, but,
later, it was defeated in the second Kazar-Arabic war
(722-737). In 722, a Kazar troop with 30,000 members
inflicted a serious defeat on the Arabs. Yet Jarah,
the Arabic leader, launched another attack against
Derbent. The Kazars, headed by Barcsiq, son of the
Kazar, were waiting for the siege, having numerous
troops there. However, the Arabs occupied the
Kazar positions and invaded Balanyar after fierce
fighting, and the Kazar defender of the town escaped
to Semender. Jarrah, the Arabic military leader,
turned back just before Semender and launched his next
military expedition only the following year i.e. 725.
First he went against the
Alans, but before anything decisive might have
occurred, he was ordered to withdraw and was replaced
by Maslamah. Maslamah, the legendary leader, occupied
one of the main channels of the Caucasus, Dariel, in
727. After initial success, he was also told to
withdraw by the Caliph. Jarrah appeared again in the
Caucasus and he set off towards the new capital,
Sarijin, through the Dariel channel,
but without any decisive
success. In 730, the war restarted between the Kazars
and Arabs. An army of 30,000 Kazar soldiers, headed by
Bartchik, son of the Kagans’ leader, set off against
the Arabs through the Dariel channel. On the third day
of desperate fighting, the Arabs were finally
defeated. Jarrah died on the battlefield, his wives
and children were taken hostage by the Kazars, who
took advantage of their successful position and got
close to Mould while chasing the escaping enemy. This
was probably the time when the Kazar military power
reached its peak. The Arabs could not accept their
defeat. Said began leading the fights against the
Kazars, whose smaller success was coloured by Arab
traditions. His role of leading the fighting against
the Kazars was passed on to Malaga. He crossed over
Derben, and reached Semendery without any major
trouble. However, the Arabs also appointed Marwan, a
new leader, to the Arab troops (732). After
traditional, local battles, he began the final
campaign in 732. He unexpectedly crossed the Dariel
and Derbenti channels. The Kazars escaped to the north
under unbearable pressure. The Arab troops destroyed
everything on their way on the land of the Burtas
whilst chasing them.
The Arabs caught up with the
Kagan by the Volga river. The Arab leader decided to
negotiate instead of a risking a decisive defeat. His
hard position forced the Kazar king to accept
Marwan’s conditions - which meant embracing Islam.
After this, the Arab troops withdraw from the Kazar
Empire. This happened in 737. The Kazars survived the
military catastrophe that threatened their state, and
they lead the lives of the nomadic nations of the area
for almost 100 years. In the meantime, Islam’s
popularity was growing in the region.
It must be noted, however, that
the Kazar king and his most intimate friends later
embraced Judaism, but that religion was restricted to
this smaller group, and it was expanded only by those
Jewish immigrants who left the Byzantine Empire owing
to persecution. While the Hungarians lived with the
Kazars, they organized the institution of a dual
principality based on the Kazar set-up.
Masoudi writes about the Kazar
Empire as follows:
"(The capital city) has a Grand
Mosque with a minaret over the royal castle and there
are also several smaller mosques completed by schools,
where children learn how to read the Holy Quran. If
once the Muslims agreed with the Christian, the Kazar
king would not have power over them."
The leading class of the Kazar
Empire is made up of Muslims who belong to the king's
bodyguards. They come from the region of Khvarezm and
fled to the Kazar kings territory after the wars and
epidemics that inflicted the region soon after the
spread of Islam. Their leader, Ahmed ben Kovaiah is
also Muslim, as are their judges.
Ibn Haukal writes about them as
follows:
"Their living places are felt
tents and they only have some mud brick houses. They
have market places and baths and half of the
population is Muslim. It is said that they number
approximately ten thousand and they have over 30
mosques."
From Ibn Fadhlan's writings:
"Lots of Muslims live in this
city. The Kazar population is composed of Muslims,
Christians and pagans; Jews are few in number, but
their king is one of them, and the majority of them is
Muslim or Christian."
There were Muslims even among
the Hungarians, as stated in Ibn Fadlan's writings:
"One arrives
in the land of a people of Turkish origins, called
Bashgurd. One of them, who embraced the Islamic faith,
was with us as a servant."
The Cumanes
and Tatars settled in Hungary, mainly as an Islamized
population, after the Tatar invasion in 1241.
About the Cumanes
In the East, the Cumane-
Kiptchak tribes expelled by the Mongols founded a new
nomadic state, one that extended from the Caspian-sea
to the borders of the Hungarian Kingdom.
The Cumanes were both
Christians and Muslims, yet its majority had a
Shamanic faith until the Mongol invasion. The words
“Satan” (Arabic Sheitan) and “Prophet” may derive
from the Arabic vocabulary of the Islamic faith. These
concepts would differ from those used in Islam if they
had been adopted from the Christian missionaries. We
have no data regarding the conversion of the Cumanes
to Islam, for they had a large number of Muslims,
prior to the Mongol Era. Cumane diplomatic activity
had major importance for the Mongol invasion.
The purpose of the delegation, headed by Kunarmys
Kolcy, son of the Köncsek leader, in Bagdad might be
in the creation of a defensive alliance against the
Mongols and an embracing of Islam in the years prior
to 1223.
An identical delegation
preceded the conversion of the Cumanes of Havasalföld
(……) in 1223. The Cumanic areas had intense trade
relations with Egypt and Syria. Living humans were the
most important commercial products of this era and
they were often purchased by Muslims. The Ayubbids
trained the Turkish slaves of the Northern areas as
soldiers and bodyguards. These slavers became the
’mameluc’ (the Arabic ’mameluc’ means purchased
slaves). The Mongol appearance on the Kipchac deserts
called on the Russians and Cumans to make an alliance.
However, their efforts were useless. Jebe and Subotay,
Mongol leaders, defeated the joined army in a battle
by the city of Kalka. Upon this defeat, the Prince
Kuthen withdrew to the area of Havaselve along with a
significant ethnic group. As neither the geographic
conditions nor the number of the Cumanic population
made possible their successful defence against the
Mongols, the Cumanic prince sent delegates to King
Béla IV. He asked him to invite him and his nation to
Hungary and grant them his protection. Meanwhile, he
also offered him a military force against eventual
external attacks.
I do not wish to describe the
Tartaric invasion or how the Cumans left Hungary. The
Prince Kuthen was murdered by furious masses and the
Cumans left the country at the Southern borders,
creating destruction. The Tartar invasion left the
country in a disastrous condition, and Béla IV, also
called the Second Founder of the country, invited
settlers, so-called hospes, to the country. This
brought the arrival of new Turkish immigrants of
Islamic faith to the country, and the Cumanes
retreated to the Balkans, returning upon the king’s
invitation. The number of immigrants with Islamic
faith was around 40,000. The king settled them in the
Danube-Tisza region and by the rivers Maros and Temes.
They were able to keep their nomadic lifestyle, old
customs and dress in these areas. As free persons,
they were obliged to join the Army in times of war, if
requested by the king and, in return, they had the
same rights and privileges as nobles. In return, they
had to embrace Christianity - and this duty was
undertaken by ten Dominican monks. Conversion,
however, went slowly as the Cumanes held onto their
ancient religion and the Muslims to Islam. King Béla
IV gave special attention to his relations with the
Cumans. He also attained for his son, and heir to the
throne, a wife from the Cumans. The Cumane wife was of
noble origin, and many said she was the daughter of
Prince Kuthun. This noble marriage increased Cumane
influence at the Royal Court. The nomadic, Cuman light
horsemen played an important role in royal military
campaigns. The king defeated the troops of the
Austrian prince, Ferdinand, several times, with their
help. However, the king’s and his son’s, Stephen V’s,
good friendship with the Cumans angered Papal
delegates. The Islamization of the Cumans can also be
proved by the fact of polygamy, as a Cumane soldier
was able to have four wives; this is evident in the
case of king Leslie IV, too.
As mentioned before, the mother
of Leslie IV - or Leslie, the Cuman - was of Cuman
noble origin. Leslie IV was born in 1262, and he was
engaged to the daughter of Charles of the Anjous, king
of Naples and Sicily, in 1269. The first years of
Leslie’s rule was characterized by conflicts among
Hungarian nobles. Leslie sometimes got into difficult
situations, as he was captured and imprisoned by the
nobles several times.
Internal difficulties were
aggravated by the conditions of the German-Roman
Empire. Leslie IV supported the elected German king,
Rudof Habsburg, against the Czech Ottocar, and also
fought by his side. The Cumans inflicted a defeat on
Ottocar’s troops, the Czech king also died on the
battlefield, in Durncrut, Moravia, in 1278. Leslie
the Cuman attained internal political and military
support from the Cumans and he also took on Cumane
traditions. He dined with them and dressed like a
Cuman. He also married three Cumane women: Ayduna,
Kupchech and Mandola. All of these acts were much
disapproved of by the Church - and a Papal delegation
came to the country to stop the king. The two major
Cumane leaders, Uzur and Tolon, also participated at
negotiations, which ended in a resolution that
specified that the Cumans must settle on a constant
basis, embrace Christianity, stay away from violence
and that all hostages (except those captured abroad)
must be Rescued. The king promised everything - yet
these promises, however, were not kept: Leslie went
back to the Cumans and continued his previous
lifestyle. He even had the Papal delegates captured
and passed on to the Cumans. No violence occurred
because the king was also captured.
After this episode, new
negotiations and promises had no effect, a final
decision was made. The king was compelled to attack
the Cumans. The arrival of the Cuman Aldamur and his
troops of Havaselve to help the Cumans against the
king was useless as their defeat turned out
devastating in the Battle of Hód in 1280. A part of
the Cumans stayed here, they were forced to settle
down and embrace Christianity, however, their vast
majority withdrew to Havaselve. This was the period
that the Cumans were also given the name of nioger
(Hungarian nyögér). Leslie the Cuman defeated the
Tartar invaders who reached Pest and succeeds in
settling them down. This story is part of another
chapter. The behaviour of Leslie the Cuman, head of a
European Christian Monarchy, indicated identity
problems. Regardless that he liked the Cumans and the
later settled Tartars and his lifestyle had
similarities with their one, there is no proof that he
embraced Islam. Leslie loved a Cuman woman, his
mother, friends, fellow soldiers were Cumans and even
his murderers were Cumans. As usually, he went to
visit the Cumans even in the spring of 1290 and he was
killed for unknown reasons on 10 July. The murder was
revenged by Mizse, the Cuman palatine of the monarchy
who became a Christian, along with his brother and the
brother of Leslie’s mistress, Edua.
The Eastern trip of monk
Julianus
The monk Julianus mentions the
Muslim who lived close to the Hungarian as follows:
„They went to another place
from here, to a Muslim’s house, who gave them and the
ill monk aforesaid shelter in the name of God. This
monk deceased and he was buried here. Then, Julianus,
who got lonely and did not know what to do, became the
servant of a sheik and his wife who were getting
prepared for a journey to Great Bulgaria.”
Here he makes a hint to the
location of Suvar whose population is Muslim and a
city on the borderline with Great Bulgaria: „The
Tartars are neighbours to them (the ancient
Hungarians)”. So, they became fellow soldiers. This
monk also met the delegate of the Tartar leader, who
also spoke Hungarian, Russian, Cuman, German and
Arabic, on the land of the Hungarians. It also proves
that the Eastern-Hungarians resident on the ancient
land had more information on the Islamic fait has they
lived in peace with the Muslims and some of them also
reverted to Islam.
The Tartars
Prior to examining the Tartars,
whose vast majority was Muslim, settled down in
Hungary, we give you a brief summary on the Mongol
Empire and the Golden Horde.
The Mongol Empire
Genghis Khan, originally called
Temujin, had already turned 40 by 1206 when he
succeeded in unifying all the Mongol tribes. Temujin,
then, was elected as Great Khan and took the name
Genghis Khan. Genghis organized his nomadic military
state made up of tithe, company, regiment and set off
to conquer the world. In 1219-1221 he sacked
Central-Asia, broke into India and overcame the nomads
of the South-Russian deserts, Alans and Cuman-Kipchak
tribes. In 1223 the Mongols also defeated the troops
of the Russian monarques and returned to their
original residence. Genghis Khan died of the internal
injuries he received when, at the age of 70, he was
dropped by his horse in one of the campaigns. After
his death, it was not the first-born Jochi, but the
third son, Ogodey, who was elected as Great Khan. In
1236 Batu, son of Jochi, lead the Mongol troops
towards the West. They balked the Cuman and the
Bolgars by the river Volga. It must have been the time
when also Magna Hungaria, the state of the
Eastern-Hungarian who lived by the Volga, got
eliminated. The Mongols invaded and destroyed Moscow
and Vladimir. The Russians were again defeated by the
river Sity in 1238. They set of fin direction of
Hungary under Batu and Subotay’s leadership and they
also occupied Hungary for some years after Béla IV.
defeat. This time, the vast majority of the Army was
constituted by Turk nations and the Tartars had more
prestige, for which, the invasion was called Tartar
invasion. Berke, the other son of Jochi and the
grandson of Genghis Khan, was the first who, as the
Khan of the Golden Horde, embraced the Islamic faith.
By this time, the majority of the Mongol aristocracy
that got adapted to Turkish culture and of the Army
was Muslim. The original residence of Berke khan was
the Northern area of the Caucasus at time when his
brother was alive. The Muslims who came from the
Iranian and Minor-Asian areas could enter the
territory of the Golden Horde only by passing Berke’s
residential areas. However, Islam had contacted
Berke’s area from Southern direction and there were
rumours on Batu’s younger brother’s conversion of
Islam when Batu was still alive. Halych and Lodomeria
rebelled against the Tartaric invasion but this revolt
was easily beaten by Berke Khan. After they were
brought under, Berke khan came up with the terrible
idea of a Tartaric invasion to Béla IV.
Upon the subjugation of Halych,
Berke had made an offer to Béla about the marriage of
their children. The condition set was that István,
Béla’s son, grant military support by the forth part
of the Hungarian Army to the Tartar campaigns in
return, he could keep the fifth part of the booty.
Berke, in return, would not have claimed tax payment,
thus, he also promised peace. It is also true that he
promised to annihilate Hungary int he event the
Hungarian king rejects his offer. In this grave
situation, Béla IV. turned for help to the Pope who,
did not make any promises and, hence, granted him his
moral support and forbade him to make an alliance
with the Tartars. Béla tried to delay the resolution
but the attack did not occur. Berke’s attention was
probably more focused ont he Southern borders, thus,
he had neither time, nor energy for the Hungarians and
the Polish resident ont he areas to the West of
Halych. After Berke, the following khans and an emir
are to be mentioned: Mengu-Timur (1267-1280) and the
khan Telebuga (1281-1291) and emir Nogai. Their names
are related to the Muslim Tartar immigration in
Hungary. In 1285-86 the Tartars, lead by Nogay and
Telebuga, were marching towards the West. They were
probably call upon by Leslie the Cuman in secret. The
invasion of Nogay’s Tartars did not bring about
another national catastrophe. First, they attacked
Hungary and reached Pest. They invaded the country
from the North, destroyed the Nothern-Eastern regions
and left the country via Transilvania shocked by the
fierce resistance of the Transylvanian chief officer
called „vajda” and the seklers. Two years later, Nogay
made an alliance with Leslie and set off towards
Hungary again but turned back when informed on the
king’s captivity. As several Tartaric ethnicities had
immigrated to the country who had also settled down
thanks tok ing Leslie, many of Nogay’s Tartar troops
were captured. Their number was estimated as several
thousand and most of them followed the Islamic faith.
They had similar privileges as the Cumans but they got
integrated to the Cumans owing to their linguistic
relationship.
Notes of Abu Hamid al-Andaluszi
al-Garnati on the Muslims of Hungary
Al-Garnati was born in the
Andalusian city of Granada in 1080. He travelled
around the major part of the world known in those
times. He visited Egypt, Syria, Arabia, Persia,
Hvarezm, Bulgaria by the Volga, Kiev and he lived 3
years (1050-1053) in Hungary at king Géza II.’s Court.
He speaks about Hungary as Basgird or Unkurija in his
descriptions and the Hungarians are referred to as
Basgird. He speaks about his period in Hungary as
follows: I lived among them for three years. I
purchased a slave girl as mistress born in slavery.
She’s a 15-year old girl, more beautiful than a
flower, with black hair and eyes and her skin is as
white as snow. She’s good at cooking, sewing and
counting. I also purchased another girl from Rúm, she
is 8-year old and cost 5 dinars. I had a baby boy from
the first girl but he died. I liberated her and called
her Maryam. I would have liked to take her to Sadsin
where I lived on a constant basis. He writes about the
Muslims resident in Hungary as follows: There are
countless Magrebs here as well as Hvarezmi. Those of
Hvarezm origins serve the king (note they could be
kaliz and ismaelits), they pretend to be Christians
and keep their Islamic faith in secret. On the
contrary, those of Magreb origins serve the Christians
only in wartime and they proudly profess their Islamic
faith (note: it must refer to the Bechenes and other
Turk peoples).” When I visited the descendents of the
Maghrebis, they hosted me with much respect. I taught
them about the science of religion.” „…and I made
efforts with much persevereance that they repeat and
put in practice the rules of prayer and other
religious duties.”
One can make several
conclusions from the above: A part of the Muslims in
Hungary are baptized and they profess their original
faith in secret. While others, dedicated to military
duties, are openly Muslims and they probably obtained
their privileges from the King.
The majority of Muslims in
Hungary are not educated in the Islamic faith. There
must just few of them who could have taught the
followers after having attended an Islamic school.
However, Islam had taken root
in their soul and, hence, Christian missionaries had a
hard task with Muslims. It shall be noted that
Al-Garnati also teaches the Islamic legal regulations
with regard to inheritance.
Thus, we can make the
conclusion that those ethnic groups who openly profess
Islam has opportunity to apply the specific, legal
heritage regulations much related to religion among
themselves. Another proof of the aforesaid is: „…they
did not know the prayer of Friday before, but now they
have learnt it along with the Friday sermon.”
The descriptions on the royal
archers and their origins i.e. the armed Muslims are
also impressive: „ The Basgir king often destroys the
Byzantine areas. I told the Muslims there: Do all you
can for the holy war along with the (Basgir) king
because God will take the virtue of the holy war into
positive account for you on the Judgement Day. They
also accompanied him to the region of Constantinople,
and defeated the twelve troops of the Byzantine king
and they took a large group of (Muslim) Turks as
hostage (by capturing them) from the Army of Kunia. I
asked some of them: Why did you come to serve the
Byzantine monarch? All of us received 200 dinars of
allowance and we did not know that there were Muslim
on this land i. e. Hungary-they replied.” So, I
arranged that they be taken back to the Byzantine area
and return to Cunia.
Cunia could be the nomadic
Kipchak Empire comprised of the South-Russian
deserts, Havaselve and Moldavia where many Bechenes
lived together with the Cumans, as well.
All this underlines that
islamization was relevant in this region even prior to
the
Mongols.
Al_garnati could be much
appreciated by the Hungarian king, if the captured
Muslim Cumans were released upon his intervention.
Al-Garnati says that the Muslim in Hungary are making
jihad against Byzantine and the victims of war are
’sahid”’, i.e. are dignified to go to Paradise. The
Byzantine Emperor settled Turk nations of Islamic
faith of Anatolia for armed service into the valley of
the river Vardar and these Muslims also often had
fights against Hungary in return of allowance, as they
also played some supervising duties at the borderline.
In this era, a large number of Muslim Turk ethnicities
escaped to Hungary with the argument of having been
forced to embrace Christianity, whilst they could
practice their Islamic faith freely in the Kingdom of
Hungary. These soldiers were settled down as boarding
officers.
Al-Garnati’s description
renders it possible to compare the situation of the
Muslims in Hungary with those residents in the
Byzantine Empire: „The monarch of Byzantine came to
ask for peace by taking numerous Muslim captives /as
gifts/ with him.
One of these ex-Byzantine
captives who came back /to Hungary/ told me as
follows. The Byzantine Emperor asked: What’s the
reason why the Basgir king invaded our country and
sacked it? He had not done it before. The Basgir king
possesses a large number of Muslim soldiers whom he
left to keep their religion and they were the ones who
convinced him to invade your country and destroy your
lands. The Byzantine Emperor then replied: I also have
Muslim subjects but they do not provide me any help
for war. Then, he was given this reply: It is because
you force them to profess Christianity. Then, the
Emperor said: From now on, I will not impose my
religion on any Muslims, yet, I will build them
Mosques so that they fight by my side.”
Al-Garnati is partial towards
his brethren. However, this description reflects that
the soldiers of Islamic faith had a privileged
position in Hungary; they could freely practise their
faith and habits. These facts also underline that
Hungary was an ideal place for the immigration of
Muslim ethnicities. It further enhances that the
leaders of the Muslim population had direct personal
contacts with the Hungarian king.
Al-Garnati had a personal
contact with king Géza II. He describes it as follows:
„…he follows the same religion
as the Franks, regardless; he leads a conquering war
against the Franks and takes war hostages among them.
All nations fear his attack because he has lots of
soldiers and much bravery.”
„When he came to know that I
prohibited Muslims to drink wine and allowed them to
have mistresses and four free women /as wives/, he
told me: it is not reasonable because wine strengthens
your body but many women weaken your body and eyes.
Regulations on the Islamic faith are not in compliance
with common sense. I relied to the interpreter as
follows: Tell the king: the regulation of the Muslims
differ from the Christian ones. Because Christians
take wine instead of water when dining and they don’t
get drunk, so, it really strengthens their body. A
Muslim, however, only desires drunkenness when
drinking wine, it dulls his mind and will be like a
fool, will fornicate, kill, speak and do unrighteous
things. He loses all goodness within himself, gives
away his weapons and horse to anybody, wastes all his
property by chasing pure pleasure.”
These Muslims are you soldiers
and if you gave them the order to attack, they would
have neither weapons, nor property: they would spend
it all on alcohol. If you came to know about it, you
should have them murdered, beaten or born them, you
should eventually give them new horses and weapons
that would be wasted again. With regard to mistresses
and wives, polygamy is most convenient for Muslims as
they are of heated nature. And do not forget that they
are your soldiers and if they have many children from
several wives and mistresses, you will have more
soldiers. Then, the king answered: Listen to this
elder man, because he is wise, get married as many
times as you like and do not object him in any
matters. It was Géza who, opposing the Christian
priests, consented mistresses /to Muslims/, this king
likes the Muslims.”
The great enemy of the
Byzantine Empire was Islam but in Hungary Islam became
an ally. The strength of the Muslim troops helped the
king against all his internal- and external enemies as
this population was exclusively subject to the king.
Géza II. and his predecessors benefited from the
economic professional knowledge, the military strength
and competence of the Muslims in Hungary. Besides, he
found the proper balance to keep the internal peace of
the country. It is obvious that the kings of the
Árpád-dynasty could allow the observance of the
Islamic religious legal practice by separating Muslims
from the legislation of the Christian Church. In the
meantime, it also specified the duties they hold in
terms of the king. It is sure that the Muslim nations
incorporated were equal to the Hungarians and had
privileges in return of some duties in the period
prior to the Tartar invasion that lasted till the
reign of András II.
Al-Garnati’s reports are
exceptionally complemented by the notes of Yaqat,
Arabic lexicographer, on the Muslim in Hungary. Yaqut
met a Hungarian Muslim group that made Islamic
studies, in Aleppo around 1220. When he enquired about
Hungary, the Hungarian Muslims replied: „With regard
to our country, it is located off Constantinople, in
the Empire of one of the Frank nations called
al-hunkar i.e. Hungarian. We, Muslims, are subjects to
our king and we constitute around thirty villages at
the edge of the country and each of them equals to a
smaller country i.e. city but the king of Al-Hunkar
does not allow us to pull a wall around it because he
is afraid of our revolt against him. We live among
Christian countries… Our language is that of the
Franks, we dress like them, serve them int he Army and
launch campaigns against all the tribes by their side
as we wage war only to those who are enemies to the
Muslims.”
Descriptions affirm that the
vast majority of the Muslims in Hungary belonged to
the Hanif Muslim legal school.
The clothing of the Muslims in
Hungary were that of their Hungarian compatriots and
they used the Hungarian language. The difference only
regarded religion. It is most probably that the
integration of the Muslims scattered around the
country had already been finally completed.
Era of the gradual religious
assimilation and decline
Prior to the description of the
facts and additional information that proves the
assimilation process of the domestic Muslim
population, I must give you a summary on
the golden age of Islam of this
period. 5-8% of the population professed Islam openly
and the rate of apparently Christians but Muslims in
reality was around 3-4% compared with the whole
population. The Hungarian kings intended to follow an
assimilatory policy but the relative regulations were
just partially observed or completely ignored. As one
cannot talk about a Muslim minority settled down in
one block, it was easy to assimilate the ones living
within the country opposite to the borline officers.
This legislative process was started under the rule of
St. Stephen. It was not accidental as Christians were
called on to take the cross to get hold of the Saint
tomb in this era. St, Leslie, prevented from death,
was to be the Papal delegate to lead the soldiers of
the Crusade.
One of the regulations of St.
Leslie says: „Those who are called Uzbeks,…”
This ethnic group aforesaid
must have been the Turkish military servants of
Islamic faith who were at the exclusive service of the
king. In the event of providing private service to
anybody, they were obliged to make an allegation on it
to the king. Then, the king ordered the „Uzbeks” back
to his own service.
The Legal Code of Saint Leslie
specifies as follows:
Act no.9. On the traders called
Ishmaelite:
If the traders called
Ishmaelite turn out to have re-embraced their
previous regulations based on circumcision after
their baptism, they shall be separately settled down
to other villages. Those who turn out to be innocent
under investigations shall stay at their original
place of living.”
It is obvious that King
Leslie’s legislation only punishes those baptized
Muslims who secretly still hold on to their Islamic
faith. Muslims could go on practising their faith
openly.
The first Crusaders set of fin
direction of Jerusalem, some of the also crossed
Hungary, under the rule of king Coloman the Booklover.
The king who, as an Illuminated person, declared that
„there are no witches” was the first Hungarian king
who intended to integrate the Muslims to the Christian
majority.
The first Crusaders set off in
direction of Jerusalem, some of the also crossed
Hungary, under the rule of king Coloman the Booklover.
The king who, as an Illuminated person, declared that
„there are no witches” was the first Hungarian king
who intended to integrate the Muslims to the Christian
majority.
From the First Legal Code of
Coloman the Booklover:
„On the punishment of the
Ishmaelite who hold on to their religion. If anybody
are caught on fasting or abstaining from pork meat
while eating or doing ritual washing or any other
sinful acts, these Ishmaelite shall be sent over to
the king and the accuser shall participate in their
property.”
Fasting referred to the fasting
in Ramadan and, as we can see, the legislators were
aware of Islamic traditions, as they even knew the
prohibition of pork meat to Muslims. They did not
confuse the followers of Islam with those of Judaism.
Washing implied to the ritual washing required to
prayers. As we know, people of the Early-Middle Ages
were not used to bathing on a regular basis; hence, it
was more than striking if one washed himself several
times.
„On Ishmaelite’s resettlement.
We give order to all the
villages of the Ishmaelite to build a Church and
provide it with donations from the area of the same
village. After the construction of the Church, the
half of the Ishmaelite shall move from the village
and shall settle down somewhere else. As they will
have identical traditions during living together, you
shall also be equal to us in terms of religion.” It
all shows a well-thought and planned assimilation
policy with a simple message: the Catholization of
Muslims by dividing Muslim villages, building
Churches, forcing them to live in new environment
among Christians. These Muslims differed from
Hungarians only in terms of traditions and religion as
they spoke the same language, being Hungarian the
first language and, if they used a second language, it
was a linguistic combination that also included
Hungarian words. Naturally, all this is based on
fiction as these ethnic groups also mixed many Arabic
words in their conversions owing to their religion.
On Ishmaelite women’s marriage
. None of the Ishmaelite should have the courage of
marrying their daughters to a man among themselves but
just to one from our people.”
Coloman thoughtfully intervened
again int he lives of Muslims as Muslim women can only
marry Muslim men, while Muslim men may get married to
women of the people pf the Book. As the social setup
was male-oriented, this regulation granted that
new-born babies have a Christian education and the
Ishmaelite woman will become Christian on effect of
the environment and the family sooner or later.
„On the dining of the
Ishmaelite. If any Ishmaelite has guests or invites
you to dining, you all shall eat only pork meat.”
The king must have thought that
the Ishmaelite would be morally destructed, if forced
on the consumption of pork meat and it may accelerate
assimilation. Hence, it is prohibited to eat pork meat
for the followers of the Islamic faith. All these
rules did not apply to the Jews.
A summary of Coloman’s
regulations:
He forbade the Jews to contract
mixed marriages and that Jews have Christian servants.
His contemporary legislation in terms of the
Ishmaelite, however, reflects the policy of complete
assimilation. The first entity to attack the Muslim
privileges was the Church and exerted a continuous
pressure on the sovereigns to stimulate the embrace of
Christianity. The Church claimed the Muslims the right
of collecting taxes and royal revenues and their
transmission to the Christians. Consequently, Many
Muslims in economic positions got baptized but held on
to their previous religion in secret. The Church
intended to take over the right of judgement over the
Muslim and the Jews from the king. A larger conflict
was formed between the king and the Church for this
purpose.
One thing is striking: neither
the regulations, nor any later royal documents mention
any implementation or specific retaliation or
punishment. It might have also implied that the strong
royal power needed economic specialists and
light-horsemen that were both independent from the
Roman Catholic Church. Hence, this was the reason why
Géza II. could send 500 Saracen warriors to help
Frederic Barbarossa.
As seen above, royal power
prevailed in the case of several Hungarian sovereign.
However, int he decades prior to the issuance of the
Golden Bull, the central power had weakened to the
extent that the aristocracy and the Church forced the
king to gradually reduce and, then, deprive Muslims of
their economic power and positions.
Andrew II. (1205-1235)
implemented a new economic policy step by step in
1208.
It was comprised of the further
division of land properties and the implementation of
a rental system instead of direct tax payment. So, the
royal revenue was made up of the rental fees paid in
cash (rent of salt, Customs and coinage). This new
system deprived the Church of some of its revenues,
while the non-Christian, i.e. the Muslim and Jewish
renters became completely protected from the
ecclesiastic threat. Andrew II. was subject to much
pressure and it shall also be noted that those
entitled to coinage could also apply the means of
inflation. However, the majority of the country’s
aristocracy and the Church forced the king to withdraw
prior to his Crusade in 1217. Meanwhile, the Church
gave even more attention to the Muslim and Jewish
inhabitants and the Pope was also informed on the
Hungarian situation. The Church also noticed a slow
increase even among those of Islamic faith owing to
peaceful conversion.
The national Islam always
preserved religious tolerance that features the basis
of Islam.
Herein, I would quote the 256
verse of the second Surat of the Holy Quran: No force
in religion.
The Muslim population grew
thanks to marriages, too as the contemporary royal
privileges granted them polygamy. Our kings adopted
regulations several times that order the punishment of
those who embrace Christianity but practiced their
ancient faith in secret. The first important
regulation to curtail the Muslim economic power was
the Golden Bull which also denied that the Ishmaelite
and the Jews have office at the Chamber. The head of
Administration, the money-changers, salt vendors and
tax-collectors of the Chamber must be aristocrats and
these duties cannot be fulfilled by the Ishmaelite or
the Jews.”
This was a real attack to the
king’s loyal tax-collectors and chamberlains. The
Aristocrats and the Church of the 13th century,
opposed to the central royal power, judged it well who
represented the king’s interests and started a
religious war against the Muslims by making an
alliance with the Pope of Rome. They also attained the
sympathy of the gentry and servants to be
anti-Islamists as tax-collectors and money-changers.
Christian Churches became the centre of the anti-pagan
campaign. To illustrate the importance of the
Hungarian Muslims’ economic influence, we cite a part
of Pope Gregory IX: Saracens and Jews rule over
Christians there and many Christians, overwhelmed by
the unbearable burden and seeing that the Ishmaelite
live in well-being and have much luck, join them
and embrace their faith. The Christians marry
Ishmaelite women a vice-versa…
Andrew II did not fulfil the
ecclesiastic order thoroughly and the relative
provisions of the Golden Bull with regard to Muslims.
Hence, Muslims appear in the renewed version of the
Golden Bull issued in 1231:
‘against the Jewish and
Ishmaelite officials’. Neither Ishmaelite nor Jews
shall fulfil duties related to the mint, salt chambers
or other state offices.”
The Golden Bull had to be
proclaimed again for re-affirmation and its text has
also been changed. The Archbishop of Esztergom,
Róbert, of foreign origins used his disciplinary power
and applied the most sever ecclesiastic punishment: he
issued an ecclesiastic order all over the country. He
supported the cause of his procedure in his letter to
the Bishop of Veszprém as follows: „ … The king,
collecting his sons around himself,…issued a
regulation on the observance of some of the articles
and promise to observe them by all means. It also
declared that neither Jew, nor Ishmaelite will be
assigned as head of the Chamber or officer. However,
this regulation was ignored and aberration is bigger
then ever… Even Christians revert to Islam for
noticing that they have a better life than Christians,
so, many souls are lost in the region…His counsels who
convinced him to favour the Ishmaelite will be
excommunicated. It also refers to the palatine Dénes
for other reasons as well.”
Samuel, previous head of
Chamber who was charged with heresy and also supported
and protected the Muslims, had the same destiny. The
prelate says about the Muslims:”We prohibit Christians
to keep in contact via trade or any other ways with
the Ishmaelite until all the Muslims dismiss the
baptized, those willing to get baptized and the sons
of baptized, may they be Hungarians, Bulgarians or
Cumans or any other nations who work for them as
servants or free men.”
It’s striking that the Jews, to
whom the regulation applies the same as to Muslims,
are not mentioned as the causes of the religious
edict, whilst it decreed the complete isolation of the
believers of Islam.
The breakup of all contacts
with the Christians would have been equal to their
total destruction and empowerment, if they had met
these strict and unreasonable requirements. However,
the bishops of the Hungarian Church were not satisfied
with it and inflicted even more calamities onto the
followers of Islam. The ageing and widowed king
approves the so called Agreement of Bereg, prepared by
the Papal delegate, in August of 1233. This agreement
equalled to the peak of the ecclesiastic power in the
history of the country.”
-Against the possession of
Jewish and Ishmaelite official functions
In future, neither Jews, nor
Ishmaelite can lead our Chamber, be assigned as head
of coinage and offices related to salt and tax. They
cannot pursue any proxy duties and do any harm or
oppress via these functions the Christians.
-Distinction of the Jews with a
symbol
In the meantime, we will give
order to differentiate the Jews and Ishmaelite from
the Christians with a symbol for separation purposes.
It will also be forbidden to them to possess Christian
slaves. It will not be consented that the Jews and
Saracens or Ishmaelite purchase or possess slaves in
any way.
-On the annual supervision of
these regulations:
thus, we promise that both we
and our successors will order and send the palatine or
any person assigned who devotedly follows Christianity
and we will make him take an oath to fulfil our order
with commitment.
On the Bishop’s request, whose
ecclesiastic region has or will have Jews, Pagans and
Ishmaelite inhabitants, Christians were removed from
the control or the Saracens or from the cohabitation
with them.
-On the punishment of the
Saracens and Jews who live along with the Christians
Regardless this regulation, if
there are Christians living along with Saracens or
the Saracens have Christian slaves and the Christians
of Ishmaelite origins or Saracens who live along with
Christian women in form of marriage or other
cohabitation form shall be punished with the
confiscation of all their properties and become the
slaves of the King and the Christians for ever.”
I believe that these Draconic
laws prove that the Church and king, owing to
ecclesiastic pressure, favoured the complete
assimilation and baptism of Muslims who had two
choices: baptism or exile. The laws also suppose that
the Ishmaelite had relevant properties as the informer
was interested to obtain property in this way. The
Church played major role in exercising control and it
was excluded that any Ishmaelite could
evade the regulations. It must
also be noted, though, that king Béla IV. requested
the Pope to make exception and give royal offices to
some Ishmaelite at the Royal Chamber. He was
compelled to make use of their economic knowledge.
The first sentences of the
Articles state that the king shall not assign any Jews
or Ishmaelite to official duties, shall not grant them
any proxy positions and shall prevent them from
oppressing the Christians. He shall not consent them
to purchase or possess slaves. He shall order their
external distinction. The Jews, Ishmaelite or Pagans
who have Christian servants or are married to a
Christian woman will lose all their properties and the
king will sell them to Christian servitude. Regardless
that the king grated protection to the Muslims at his
service, he could not the resist the constant attacks
after the implementation of the Bereg resolutions. 51
Articles out of the 61 incorporated in Bereg
legislation deals with the disbelievers. The strict
restrictions were adopted in a period when the small
Christian states of the Holy land were fighting for
their persistence against the Muslim states of the
Middle-East.
It seems striking but the
Crusaders expected the Mongols to assist them against
the Muslims. It sounds strange but it’s a historical
fact.
The Muslims of Hungary got
integrated to the Hungarian society after centuries.
When they had no chance to operate their religious
communities, the population assimilated to the
Hungarians and embraced Christianity. In 1266 the
Ishmaelite Mike, lord of Tömörkény village in
Arad-region, is mentioned. Transylvania also had a
Muslim population in Küküllő region which had a
settlement called Böszörményszancsal. (One of its
inhabitants was called Bazarab.)
The Ecclesiastic Council of
Buda, held in 1279, ordered that the Böszörmény must
not collect ecclesiastic revenue or Custom fee. The
Islamic religious life must have ended forever in
Hungary under the reign of Leslie I. (the Great). It
is known that the last jami was destroyed int he
Nyírség-region around 1350. The Muslims, who reverted
to Christianity, became the devoted supporters of
Protestantism when it appeared. There was a long way
from Saint Stephen’s Admonitions to his son, Prince
Emery, on the settlement of foreigners and their
freedom to the assimilative laws. Although the
followers of Islam had already become completely
Hungarians in terms of language and dresses, only
their religion was different. Certainly, their wealth
raised the envy of the Church and the aristocracy.
Saint Stephen wanted the Pagan Hungarians get
integrated to the Roman Catholic Church but Jews and
Muslims were not considered. Naturally, the Crusades
were not started yet. The contemporary Muslim group
could persist and get rich thanks to this policy for
centuries. Hungary was the most Western country,
except Andalusia where the followers of Islam were
present in large number. Hungary is at crossroads of a
cultural line where Roman Christianity met the
Byzantine Christianity and Islam. Here Jewish had much
more freedom than in any other countries and the
number of persecutions was also lower than in other,
more developed Christian European countries.
Hungarian memories of this
period
There are several settlement
names from the period of the kings of the
Árpád-dynasty, legal texts and coins of the era which
all prove Muslim presence. Let’s take a look at the
settlement names I mentioned above. The majority of
the Muslim population was of Turkish origins but there
were also Iranian nations among the Muslims settled
down here. In case of the settlement names, the
expressions Kovar-Kasar, Kosar-Kasar and Kabar,
Bechene, Boszormeny and Kalyzians also demonstrate
ancient Muslim origins. Prior to the Tartar invasion,
there were 210 known Muslim settlements. László Réthy
makes a very interesting statement in his book,
Hungarian Ishmaelite coiners and Bessarabia, published
in 1880: The Saracens or Ishmaelite traders did not
disappear from the country after the Tartar invasion
but got integrated and went on with their activity
until the reign of Ladislau the Great I. (1387-1437)
with major splendour than in the era of the Árpád
dynasty.
The statement is based on the
fact that a document of 1352 mention the Saracens
brothers, Jacob and John, as the chamberlains of
Pécs-Szerém and Buda. As it is known, the word
Saracens equals to the actual Hungarian word
’szerecsen’ that indicated those of Muslim origins.
The shield of the Szerecseny dynasty of Meszteng shows
a Saracens’ head which appears on many coins issued by
Luis the Great. The silver coins of the 12 th century
shows much Oriental influence. Thanks to the activity
of the Ishmaelite coiners the old, traditional coin
designs are of Oriental character: half moon
delineations appear along with word „Illahi” i.e. God
(Allah) is One engraved with Arabic orthography.
Stephen IV.’s brazen coins also have the inscriptions
as follow: the first line of the first Surat
(Al-Fatiha) of the Holy Quran (Biszmillah al-Rahman
al-Rahim, int he name of God, Most Gracious, Most
Merciful) can be seen. I would like to detail you the
results of some excavations done in Hungary whose
coins prove our relations with Islam: the cemetery
finding of Szeged-Királyhalma where the Ismael ben
Ahmed Balkhban’s (906) coins were found. The
inscription of the coins says: „There is no God but
Allah and he has no partners.” The circle inscription
says: ‘…after (this) defeat of theirs, will soon be
victorious, within a few years. With Allah is the
Decision, in the past and in the Future: on that Day
shall the Believers rejoice, With the help of Allah.’
The finding of Galgócz where the coins of Naszr ben
Ahmed (918-919), made in Samarcand, were found. These
are coins of Samanid origins which were often used int
he Central-Asian region. They could also be called the
liquid assets of the 10th century because they were so
widespread from Central-Europe to the Altai Mountains.
They were called dirhem. Its inscription says: „There
is no God but Allah, the Only One, He has no
partners.”
The grave of Bodrogvécse
cemetery also híd Sammanid coins. These dirhams were
made on the order of Ismael Ahmed (892-907) and Nasr
ben Ahmed (913-993) in Balk and Samarkand. Dirhams
were found even close to Kecskemét. From the end of
the reign of king Ladislaus the Great Muslim traders
and delegates just travelled through the country for
150 years but the Osman-Turkish Empire appeared along
our Southern borderline.
The names or references to the
Muslims in medieval Hungary: Kavar, Kasar, Kabar,
Black Hungarian, Turk, Böszörmény, Ishmaelite, Káliz,
Saracenus, Bechene, Úz, Varsány, Alán, Tartar, Cuman,
Bulgar, Hetény, Khvaresmi, Black Cuman.
After the new negotiations and
promises had no effect, a final decision was arrived
at. The king was compelled to attack the Cumans. The
arrival of the Cuman Aldamur and his troops of
Havaselve to help the Cumans against the king was
useless - their defeat was devastating in the Battle
of Hód, in 1280. A part of the Cumans stayed here,
they were forced to settle and embrace Christianity,
yet the vast majority withdrew to Havaselve. This was
the period that the Cumans were also given the name
Nioger (Hungarian Nyögér). Leslie the Cuman defeated
the Tartar invaders; they reached Pest and settled
there. (This story is within another chapter.) The
behaviour of Leslie the Cuman, head of a European
Christian Monarchy, indicated identity problems.
Regardless of the fact that he liked the Cumans and
the later-settled Tartars and that his lifestyle had
similarities with theirs, there is no proof that he
embraced Islam. Leslie loved a Cuman woman; his
mother, friends, fellow soldiers were Cumans - even
his murderers were Cumans! As was usual, he went on a
visit to the Cumans (in the spring of 1290) and he was
killed, for unknown reasons, on 10 July. The murder
was revenged by Mizse, the Cuman palatine of the
monarchy, who became a Christian (along with his
brother and the brother of Leslie’s mistress, Edua).
The Eastern trip of monk
Julianus
The monk Julianus mentions the
Muslim who lived close to the Hungarians as follows:
“They went to another place from here, to a Muslim’s
house, who gave them and the sick monk aforesaid
shelter in the name of God. The monk died and he was
buried here. Then, Julianus, who was lonely and did
not know what to do, became the servant of a sheik and
his wife, who were preparing for a journey to Great
Bulgaria.” Here, he hints at the location of Suvar,
whose population is Muslim, being a city on the border
of Great Bulgaria: “The Tartars are their neighbours
(the ancient Hungarians)”. So they were fellow
soldiers. This monk also met the delegate of the
Tartar leader, who spoke Hungarian, Russian, Cuman,
German and Arabic, on the land of the Hungarians. This
proves that the Eastern-Hungarians residing on the
ancient land had more information on the Islamic fate,
for they lived in peace with the Muslims and some of
them reverted to Islam.
The Tartars
Prior to examining the Tartars
- whose vast majority was Muslim - and their settling
in Hungary, we will give you a brief summary of the
Mongol Empire and the Golden Horde.
The Mongol Empire
Ghenghis Khan, originally
called Temujin, had already turned 40 by 1206 when he
succeeded in unifying all the Mongol tribes. Temujin,
then, was elected as Great Khan and took the name
Ghenghis Khan. Ghenghis organized his nomadic
military state - made up of tithe, company, regiment -
and set off to conquer the world. In 1219-1221 he
sacked Central-Asia, invaded India and overcame the
nomads of the South-Russian deserts, the Alans and
Cuman-Kipchak tribes. In 1223, the Mongols also
defeated the troops of the Russian monarchs and
returned to their original residence. Ghenghis Khan
died of internal injuries received when, at the age of
70, he was thrown by his horse during one of the
campaigns. After his death, it was not the first-born
Djochit, but the third son, Ogodey, who was elected
Great Khan. In 1236, Batu, son of Jochi, led the
Mongol troops towards the West. They halted the Cuman
and the Bolgars by the river Volga. This must have
been the time when Magna Hungaria, the state of the
Eastern-Hungarians (living by the Volga), was wiped
out. The Mongols invaded and destroyed Moscow and
Vladimir. The Russians were again defeated by the
River Sity in 1238. They set off in the direction of
Hungary under Batu and Subotay’s leadership and they
occupied Hungary for some years after Béla IV’s
defeat. This time, the vast majority of the Army
comprised Turkish nations; the Tartars had more
prestige, for which reason the invasion was termed a
Tartar invasion. Berke, the other son of Jochi and the
grandson of Ghenghis Khan, was the first figure who,
as the Khan of the Golden Horde, embraced the Islamic
faith. Now, the majority of the Mongol aristocracy,
adapted to Turkish culture, and of the Army, was
Muslim. The original residence of Berke Khan was the
Northern area of the Caucasus at the time when his
brother was alive. The Muslims who had come from the
Iranian and Minor-Asian areas were able to enter the
territory of the Golden Horde only by passing Berke’s
residential areas. However, Islam had come to Berke’s
area from a Southern direction and there were rumours
about Batu’s younger brother’s converting to Islam
while Batu was still alive. Halych and Lodomeria
rebelled against the Tartar invasion but this revolt
was easily defeated by Berke Khan. After they were
brought down, Berke Khan came up with the terrible
idea of a Tartar invasion to Béla IV.
After the subjugation of
Halych, Berke had made an offer to Béla about the
marriage of their children. The condition set was that
István, Béla’s son, grant military support via a
quarter of the Hungarian Army to the Tartar campaigns
– and, in return, he could keep a fifth part of the
booty. Berke, in return, would not claim tax payments
- and he also promised peace. It is true that he
swore, nonetheless, to annihilate Hungary should the
Hungarian king reject his offer. In this grave
situation, Béla IV turned for help to the Pope, who
did not make any promises but granted him his moral
support and forbade him to make an alliance with the
Tartars. Béla tried to delay any decision-making
resolution, but the attack did not occur. Berke’s
attention was probably more focused on the Southern
borders, thus he had neither time nor energy for the
Hungarians and the Polish residing in areas to the
West of Halych.
After Berke, the following
khans and an emir need to be mentioned: Mengu-Timur
(1267-1280) and the khan Telebuga (1281-1291) and emir
Nogai. Their names are related to the Muslim Tartar
immigration in Hungary. In 1285-86, the Tartars, led
by Nogay and Telebuga, were marching towards the West.
They were probably called upon by Leslie the Cuman, in
secret. The invasion of Nogay’s Tartars did not cause
another national catastrophe. First, they attacked
Hungary, and reached Pest. They invaded the country
from the North, destroyed the Northern-Eastern regions
and left the country via Transylvania, shocked by the
fierce resistance of the Transylvanian chief officer
“Vajda” and the székelys. Two years later, Nogai made
an alliance with Leslie and set off towards Hungary
again but turned back when informed of the king’s
captivity. Several Tartaric ethnicities had come to
the country and had settled here, owing to king
Leslie. Many of Nogai’s Tartar troops were captured.
Their number was estimated to be several thousand,
and most of them followed the Islamic faith. They had
similar privileges as the Cumans, yet they had become
integrated with the Cumans owing to their linguistic
relationship.
Notes by Abu Hamid al-Andaluszi
al-Garnati on the Muslims of Hungary:
Al-Garnati was born in the
Andalusian city of Granada, in 1080. He travelled
around the major part of the world known in those
times, visiting Egypt, Syria, Arabia, Persia, Hvarezm,
Bulgaria by the Volga, Kiev; he stayed 3 years
(1050-1053) in Hungary at king Géza II’s court. He
speaks about Hungary as Basgird or Unkurija do in his
descriptions; the Hungarians are referred to as
Basgird. He speaks of this period in Hungary as
follows: “I lived among them for three years. I
purchased a slave girl as a mistress born in slavery.
She’s a 15-year old girl, more beautiful than a
flower, with black hair and eyes and her skin is as
white as snow. She’s good at cooking, sewing and
counting. I also purchased another girl from Rúm: she
is 8-year old and cost 5 dinars. I had a baby boy from
the first girl, but he died. I liberated her and
called her Maryam. I would have liked to take her to
Sadsin, where I lived on a constant basis.” He writes
about the Muslims resident in Hungary as follows:
“There are countless Magrebs here as well as Hvarezmi.
Those of Hvarezm origins serve the king (note they
could be Kaliz or Ismaelits); they pretend to be
Christians - and keep their Islamic faith in secret.
Yet those of Magreb origin serve the Christians only
in wartime, and they proudly profess their Islamic
faith (note: this must refer to the Bechenes and other
Turkish peoples).” When I visited the descendents of
the Maghrebis, they hosted me with much respect. I
taught them about the science of religion. ... and I
made efforts, with much perseverance, that they repeat
and put in practice the rules of prayer and other
religious duties.”
One can come to several
conclusions from the above: one part of the Muslims
in Hungary is baptized and they profess their original
faith in secret. While others, dedicated to military
duties, are openly Muslims and they probably obtained
their privileges from the King.
The majority of Muslims in
Hungary are not educated in the Islamic faith. There
are a few who might teach followers after having
attended an Islamic school. Yet Islam had taken root
in their soul. Christian missionaries have a hard task
with Muslims. It should be noted that Al-Garnati also
teaches Islamic legal regulations with regard to
inheritance.
Thus, we are able to come to
the conclusion that those ethnic groups who openly
profess Islam had an opportunity to apply the
specific, legal heritage laws related to religion
among themselves. Another proof of the aforesaid is:
“…they did not know the prayer of Friday before, but
now they have learnt it along with the Friday sermon.”
Descriptions of the royal
archers and their origins, i.e. the armed Muslims, are
also impressive: “The Basgir king often destroys the
Byzantine areas. I told the Muslims there: Do all you
can for the holy war along with the (Basgir) king
because God will take the virtue of the holy war into
positive account for you on Judgement Day. They also
accompanied him to the region of Constantinople, and
defeated the twelve troops of the Byzantine king and
they took a large group of (Muslim) Turks hostage (by
capturing them) from the Army of Kunia. I asked some
of them: Why did you come to serve the Byzantine
monarch? All of us received 200 dinars of allowance
and we did not know that there were Muslims on this
land i.e. Hungary - they replied.” So I arranged that
they be taken back to the Byzantine area and return to
Cunia. (Cunia could have been the nomadic Kipchak
Empire comprising the South-Russian deserts, Havaselve
and Moldavia, where many Bechenes lived together with
the Cumans.)
All this shows us that
Islamization was relevant in this region also prior to
the Mongols.
Al-Garnati was obviously much
appreciated by the Hungarian king if the captured
Muslim Cumans were released upon his intervention.
Al-Garnati says that Muslims in Hungary were making
jihad against the Byzantine, and the victims of war
are ’sahid’, i.e. are dignified so will go to
Paradise. The Byzantine Emperor settled the Turkish
nations of Islamic faith of Anatolia (for armed
service) in the valley of the river Vardar, and these
Muslims fought Hungary in return for an allowance;
they also had supervising duties at borders. In this
era, a large number of Muslim Turk ethnicities escaped
to Hungary with the argument of having been forced to
embrace Christianity - but they could practice their
Islamic faith freely in the Kingdom of Hungary. These
soldiers were settled as border officers.
Al-Garnati’s description
renders it possible to compare the situation of the
Muslims in Hungary with those who resided in the
Byzantine Empire: “The monarch of Byzantine came to
ask for peace by taking numerous Muslim captives (as
gifts) with him. One of these captives who had come
back from the Byzantine (to Hungary) said the
following - The Byzantine Emperor asked: What’s the
reason why the Basgir king invaded our country and
sacked it? He has not done it before. The Basgir king
possesses a large number of Muslim soldiers whom he
allowed to keep their religion, and they were the ones
who convinced him to invade your country and destroy
your lands. The Byzantine Emperor then replied: I also
have Muslim subjects but they do not provide me with
any help in war. He was given this reply: It is
because you force them to profess Christianity. Then,
the Emperor said: From now on, I will not impose my
religion on any Muslims, yet I will build them Mosques
so that they fight by my side.”
Al-Garnati is on the side of
his brethren. However, this description reflects the
idea that the soldiers of Islamic faith had a
privileged position in Hungary, and they could freely
practise their faith and habits. Such facts also
underline the fact that Hungary was an ideal place for
the immigration of Muslim ethnicities; and it further
enhances the idea that the leaders of the Muslim
population had direct, personal contacts with the
Hungarian king.
Al-Garnati was personally in
touch with king Géza II. He describes it as follows:
“…he has the same religion as
the Franks, yet despite this he leads a conquering war
against the Franks and takes war hostages from them.
All nations fear his attacks because he has many
soldiers and much bravery.”
“When he got to know that I
prohibited Muslims from drinking wine and allowed them
to have mistresses and four free women (as wives), he
told me: it is not sensible, because wine strengthens
your body but many women weaken your body and eyes.
The regulations of the Islamic faith are not in
compliance with common sense. I relayed to the
interpreter the following: Tell the king: the
regulations for Muslims differ from Christian ones.
... Christians take wine instead of water when dining,
but they don’t get drunk, so it really strengthens
their bodies. A Muslim, however, only desires
drunkenness if drinking wine, it dulls his mind and he
will be like a fool, will fornicate and kill, speak
freely and do unrighteous things. He loses all
goodness within himself, gives away his weapons and
horse to anybody, wastes all his property by chasing
pure pleasure.”
“These Muslims are your
soldiers and if you give them the order to attack;
they would have neither weapons, nor property - they
would spend it all on alcohol. If you knew this, you
would have them murdered or beaten; you would
eventually give them new horses and weapons - which
would be wasted again. With regard to mistresses and
wives, polygamy is most convenient for Muslims as they
have a heated nature. And do not forget that they are
your soldiers, and if they have many children from
several wives and mistresses, you will have more
soldiers. Then the king answered: Listen to this elder
man, because he is wise, get married as many times as
you like and do not go against him in any matter. It
was Géza who, opposing the Christian priests,
consented to mistresses (for Muslims) - this king
likes the Muslims.”
The great enemy of the
Byzantine Empire was Islam, but in Hungary Islam
became an ally. The strength of the Muslim troops
helped the king against all his internal and external
enemies, as this population was exclusively subject to
the king. Géza II and his predecessors benefited from
the professional economic knowledge, the military
strength and the competence of the Muslims in Hungary.
Besides this, he found the proper balance in keeping
the internal peace of the country. It is obvious that
the kings of the Árpád dynasty could allow the
observance of Islamic religious and legal practices by
separating Muslims from Christian Church laws. In the
meantime, also specified were the duties they have in
terms of the king. It is certain that the incorporated
Muslim nations were equal to the Hungarians and had
privileges in return for some duties to be performed
in the period prior to the Tartar invasion, which
lasted until the reign of András II.
Al-Garnati’s reports are
complemented well by the notes of Yaqat, Arabic
lexicographer, on the Muslim in Hungary. Yaqut met a
Hungarian Muslim group, who undertook Islamic studies,
in Aleppo around 1220. When he enquired about Hungary,
the Hungarian Muslims replied: “With regard to our
country, it is located off Constantinople, in the
Empire of one of the Frank nations called al-hunkar
(i.e. Hungarians). We, Muslims, are subjects of our
king, and we constitute around thirty villages at the
edge of the country; and each of them make up a
smaller city yet the king of Al-Hunkar does not allow
us to put a wall around it because he is afraid of our
revolting against him. We live among Christian
countries… Our language is that of the Franks, we
dress like them, serve them in the Army and launch
campaigns against all the tribes by their side, for we
wage war only against those who are enemies of the
Muslims.”
Descriptions affirm that the
vast majority of the Muslims in Hungary belonged to
the Hanif Muslim legal school.
The clothing of the Muslims in
Hungary was that of their Hungarian compatriots; and
they used the Hungarian language. A difference only
existed regarding religion. It is probable that the
integration of the Muslims scattered around the
country had already been finally completed. It was an
era of gradual religious assimilation and also of
decline...
Prior to giving an outlining of
facts and additional information which proves the
assimilation process of the domestic Muslim
population, I should give you a summary of the golden
age of Islam of this period. 5%-8% of the population
professed Islam openly, and the rate of apparent
Christians who were Muslims in reality was around
3%-4% when set against the whole population. The
Hungarian kings intended to follow an assimilatory
policy, though the related regulations were just
partially observed or were completely ignored. As one
cannot talk about a Muslim minority settling in
solely one block, it was easy to assimilate the ones
living within the country, contrasting with the border
officers. The legislative process began under the rule
of St. Stephen. This was not accidental, as Christians
were called upon to take up the Cross, to take hold of
the sacred tomb in this era. St. Leslie, prevented
from death, was to be the Papal delegate leading the
soldiers of the Crusade.
One of the regulations of St.
Leslie refers to: “Those who are called Uzbeks,…” -
and the aforesaid ethnic grouping must have been the
Turkish military, servants of the Islamic faith, who
were at the exclusive service of the king. In the
event of providing a private service to anybody, such
persons were obliged to pledge allegiance to the king.
Then the king ordered the “Uzbeks” back into his own
service.
The Legal Code of Saint Leslie
specifies as follows:
Act no. 9. On the traders
called Ishmaelite:
If the traders called
Ishmaelite will re-embrace that from previous laws on
the basis of circumcision after their baptism, they
shall be separately settled in other villages. Those
who are deemed innocent after investigation will stay
at their original dwelling place.”
It is obvious that King
Leslie’s legislation only punished those baptized
Muslims who secretly still held on to their Islamic
faith. Muslims could, however, go on practising their
faith openly.
The first Crusaders set of in
the direction of Jerusalem; some also crossed Hungary
while under the rule of king Coloman the Booklover.
The king who, as an Illuminated person, declared that
“there are no witches” was the first Hungarian king
who intended to integrate the Muslims in with the
Christian majority.
From the First Legal Code of
Coloman the Booklover:
“On the punishment of Ismaelits
who hold onto their religion. If anybody is caught
eating during fasting or not abstaining from having
pork meat or not doing ritual washing or any other
sinful act, these Ismaelits shall be sent over to the
king and the accuser shall attain part of their
property.”
Fasting referred to the fasting
at the time of Ramadan and, as we can see, the
legislators were aware of Islamic traditions (e.g.
they knew about the prohibition of pork meat to
Muslims). They did not confuse followers of Islam
with those of Judaism. Washing implied the ritual
washing as required before prayers. As we know, people
of the Early-Middle Ages were not used to bathing on a
regular basis, hence it was more than noticeable if
one washed himself several times over.
‘About the resettlement of the
Ishmaelite:
we send an order to all
Ishmaelite villages that there is built a Church and
that it is provided with funds from the area of the
same village. After construction of the Church, half
of the Ishmaelite shall move from the village and
shall settle down elsewhere. As they will have the
same traditions while living together, you shall also
be equal to us in terms of religion.”
This all shows a well
thought-out and planned assimilation policy, one with
a simple message: the Catholization of Muslims by
dividing Muslim villages, building Churches, and
forcing them to live in a new environment, among
Christians. These Muslims differed from Hungarians
only in terms of traditions and religion - as they
spoke the same language (Hungarian being the first
language); and if they used a second language, it was
a linguistic combination that also included Hungarian
words. Naturally, all this is based on a form of
fiction; as such ethnic groups also mixed many Arabic
words in with their conversations owing to their
religion.
PERIOD OF THE OTTOMAN OCCUPANCY
Before making a thorough
research on this period with regard to the presence of
Islam in Hungary and the other parts of Europe, first,
I would like to summarize the story of the Ottoman
Empire from its foundation till the partition of
Hungary into three parts.
Certainly, I will also make an
insight on data that do not refer to Hungarian
Muslims and their religious life in order to render
the analysis more comprehensible. I believe that this
kind of analysis makes the story complete. This
period still requires much research even if the
majority of the Hungarian written documentation has
been processed, there still might be documents with
information of much interest on this topic in Turkey.
Brief history of the Ottoman
Empire till 1526
Four hundred Turkish families,
lead by Ertogrul, the tribe leader, settled down in
Anatolia upon the call of the relative tribe called
Seljuk Turks. Their main area extended close to
Eskisehir, between the Seljuk state and the Empire of
Nicaea.
When the Seljuk Empire split
up, the Ottoman Emirate was only one of the emirates.
Osman, Ertogrul’s son was elected as head of the
insignificant tribe, who added the title ‘gazi’
indicating that he supported the idea of spreading
Islam on a military basis. His wars brought along
radical changes to the socio-economic conditions of
the era.
The immigrants contributed to
the split of the tribal setup and nomad farming became
insufficient to provide the increasing number of
soldiers with supply. Thus, all these events gave life
to the foundation of a military state whose existence
could only be guaranteed via continuous acquisition of
booty and expansion. Osman transformed his small
tribal area into a fast spreading military state.
Osman’s name became a legend
and his tribe was called Osman or Ottoman (osmanli in
Turkish). An official Army, lead by an Ottoman
Beylerbey, had to be set up to make continuous
conquests. The titles of Beylerbey of Rumelia
(Europe) and Anatolia were given after the larger
conquests.
The economy was based on
inherited agriculture of high level. The Greek,
Armenian and Slav farmers implemented irrigation-based
agriculture and developed fruit cultures where
conditions were appropriate for it. When the Byzantine
were defeated, farmers stayed and the aristocracy left
the place. They only had to pay the tax per capita of
non-Muslims, called dzsizje, to their new landlords
and it was inferior to the Byzantine taxes. The policy
of expansion was continued by Orhan (1326-1360), son
of Osman, as well.
The Byzentyne Empire involved
in bloody inheritance fights and economic troubles
could not show resistance. The Balkans
(Rumelia in Turkish) weakened by the interventions of
Hungary, Venice and Genova and hit by constant
internal fights and conflicts, was also preferred as a
target of conquest.
The separatist monarchs and
counter-monarchs called on the Ottoman troops to help
them against each other. Orhan took advantage of it
and intervened in the Byzantine fights for power,
handed the throne over to one the claimers to the
Byzantine thrown, his father-in-law, and when
his protégé was deprived of power, he invaded
Gallipoli and the major part of the Northern coast of
the Sea of Marmora in 1354. In the meantime, he
successfully expanded in Central-Anatolia and occupied
Ankara in 1354.
The troops of Sultan Murad I.
occupied Adrianople (Edirne in Turkish), the second
most important Byzantine city. It became the
centre of the new sultanate in 1356 to indicate that
the central power had been transferred to Europe. The
Ottomans defeated the united army of the Serb
mini-states by the river Marica in 1371 and the lords
of the Serb regions admitted Sultan Murad as their
overload after each other. The Turks took hold of the
cities of Sofia, Nis and Saloniki as well. The
Ottomans overcame the Serb-Bechen-Bulgarian-Albanian
troops again at the Fight of Kosovo in 1389. The troop
of numeric superiority could not resist the
exceptionally well-organized Ottoman Army.
The Turkish troops destroyed
the Southern borderlands of Hungary on a regular
basis. The Pan-European horse-man army lead by king
Sigismund was badly defeated in the Battle of Nikopol.
This tragedy made power relations clear. It
demonstrated that Hungary was unable to pursuit
attacking successful fights with her allies for long
on the Balkans between these conditions and the
Turkish power could not be easily cut down from
Europe.
Sultan Murad II. (1451-1481)
could be stopped neither by the Hungarian feudalistic
and Balkan’s buffer states system, neither by János
Hunyadi’s achievements, nor by the revolt lead by
Skander beg (George of Castriot). In addition, the
Ottomans made their positions stronger for centuries
after the Battle of Kosovo.
Sultan Mohamed II. (1451-1481)
inherited an Empire of 5,000 hectares at the age of 21
when he came to power in 1451. It was Mohammed II. Who
transformed the Ottoman Empire a superpower and he was
given the name of Conqueror (Fatih in Turkish) by
posterity. Mohammed II. occupied the declining
Constantinople in 1453. A new capital was born on the
ruins of the old one with the name of Istanbul.
The occupation of Hungary was
prevented by the victory of János Hunyadi in
Nándorfehérvár (present Belgrade) and later, Mathias
Hunyadi crossed the Ottoman conquering plans with his
Black Army. From 1472, the Black-Sea became Ottoman
territory as the Crimean Tartar Khanate was also
invaded. In 1512 Selim, the Grim (Yavuz in Turkish)
occupied the sacred Muslim places like Jerusalem,
Medina and Mecca and the annexation of Egypt also
brought along the title of Caliph. By attaining this
rank, an Empire who sovereign possessed both the
mundane and religious leadership, became the
neighboring country of Hungary. In 1520 Suleiman
sultan (1520-1566) of bad memories to Hungarians came
to power.
Islam in Hungary in the 150
years of Ottoman occupancy
Suleiman sultan paid his first
complete visit to Buda Castle in September of 1526.
He stayed here on holiday on his way to Vienna three
years later and returned for a few days a month later
accompanied by his escaping troops and driven by a
painful defeat but with the image of a victorious
captain. The Ottoman Empire was constituted by
territorial units pertinent to two types of
structure: the regions with directly connected to the
central administrative organization and vassal states
of autonym governance. He never annexed the capital
of the Hungarian Kingdom to his Empire but he handed
it over to his vassal, John Szapolyai. However, king
John I. died and it was not sure that the aristocracy
loyal to the baby king, Sigismund John, could protect
his rights. Suleiman I. sultan, also referred to as
Magnificent or Lawmaker, Kanuni in Turkish) decisively
intervened the Hungarian political events. He defeated
and put to flight Ferdinand’s troops close to Buda,
occupied in with a trick and annexed it to the
Ottoman Empire. As it is well-known, the country was
parted into three parts. The central part of the
country, which is described in Hungarian history
books as the 150 years of Ottoman occupancy, belongs
to our area of interest. After the takeover of Buda,
the territory of the areas under Ottoman annexation
was gradually increasing and, thus, only the areas of
the first annexation could get well-integrated to the
Empire. Both the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of
Hungary were protected by a long chain of border
fortresses.
Upon the establishment of the
Turkish military presence, immigration immediately
started to the occupied areas both from the internal
parts of the Empire but especially from the Balkans.
Turks, Muslim Bechenes,
Albanians and Balkan Christians came as craftsmen,
traders and leaders of Islamic faith. There is no
evidence that Muslim would have been relocated here
which was common of the Balkan states previously
occupied. The number of Muslim settlers was small in
the Northern part of the Balkans, and there was no
persons left for this purpose in Hungary. All the
immigrant civilians arrived to these dangerous regions
on a voluntary basis. The immigrants did not move to
villages or country towns free of Turkish military
station, but to localities where soldiers of the
Turkish Army had permanent residence because they
needed the services they were used to such as tailors,
bakers, professionals to build and operate baths, etc.
Not all the immigrants were Muslims, many of them were
Christians who cooperated with the Turks. This
immigration also brought about the arrival of the
Serbs known as ‘rác’ in Hungarian. Muslim colonies
were set up fast and the construction of large number
of Koranic schools, Mosques and common baths was
started but just a restricted number of them has been
preserved up to now. As additional information it can
be mentioned that 189 houses out of 374 houses
belonged to Muslims in Vác. The number of Hungarian
inhabitants was very small in the towns under Turkish
occupancy.
The Turkish-Hungarian city
image reflected its people and age. The castle, the
city walls with the cannons on the top of it, the
barracks and arsenals did not leave any doubt that it
is a war period.
The Hungarian district had
maximum 2 Churches with ground floor buildings that
gave shelter to poor families who lived in a very hard
age. The Castle and the Muslim district gave place to
clean but a bit battered mosques, large mosques, baths
and the domes of Koranic schools along with a series
of transformed buildings that indicated the fusion of
the two cultures. The market was on one part, while
the bazaar extended on the other part. Streets evoked
the call of the muezzin, the bells of the belfry and
the mixture of Hungarian, Slav and Turkish words. The
conquerors slowly but surely transformed the city
image according to their taste. The only difference
between the non-occupied and the occupied areas was
the presence of large mosques and minarets. Christian
Churches were converted into mosques so that the
conquerors could have place to practice their faith
without delay. Thus, the pictures of saints were
removed; the status, the altar and all the decorations
were taken out of the building. The direction of
prayer towards Mecca was indicated. The construction
of the minaret was started by the side of the church
already transformed into mosque. The removal of the
bell from the belfry was also among the proper
transformations. Benches were also removed and
replaced by carpets inside the mosque. The platform
used for Friday service (minbar) was built from stone
or log close to the niche inside the wall of a mosque
(mihrab) which indicates the direction of prayer
towards Mecca i.e. the Kibla. It only referred to
large mosques as this was the only building where the
Friday prayer ie. Khutba could be held.
Mosques only served for the
daily 5 prayers. Large mosques were usually united to
libraries, primary schools and high schools
(medreses). Public baths were new elements and Buda
became a well-known centre of them regardless that
most regional centers disposed of them. The conquerors
preferred transforming houses according to their taste
to constructing new ones.
The Balkan craftsmen and
traders, who settled down here, used the Oriental
tradition, close to the Hungarian one, founded guilds
and lived in separated districts and streets. This
segregation also referred to religions as the large
number of Jews resident in Buda also had a separate
district that gave placed to Synagogues, baths and
schools. Muslims’ religious life was charged to imams
and their assistants who arrived from the Empire or on
voluntary basis.
Many times, the imams also
played the role of the leaders (hatib) of the Friday
service.
There were also muezzins,
hafizes and vaizes i.e. preachers who replied to the
believers’ questions based on the knowledge available
in their libraries. As Friday prayers were also
regarded as a kind of political statement, the hatibs
always asked for the benediction onto the
sultan-caliph name.
Besides the state religious
institution, there were also private religious
schools, tabernacles and dervish convents. Several
wealthy people such as pashas and grand vizier, made
significant financial sacrifice to establish, maintain
and enlarge these institutions. These entities were
comprised of the dervish convent of Bektas, so called
tekke, their medresses, guest houses and shrines. Gül
Baba’s shrine, located on Buda’s Roses’ hill, was the
most famous of all. Eger gave place to the
convent of Hizir Baba, known only from travel
descriptions and Idrisz Baba’s shrine was Pécs’ point
of interest. The Turkish Traveller, Evlia Cselebe,
narrated about five monastery complexes also referred
to as tekke of Bektas in Székesfehérvár.
A worship place or shrine,
called türbe, was built above Suleiman sultan’s grave.
All these constructions are known from descriptions.
Pécs also had another Tekke of Bektas whose ruins are
actually in Tettye.
Szokoli Musztafa (1566-1578),
pasha of Buda and cousin of the great vizier, Mehmed
Szokoli, made the largest economic sacrifice for the
Turkish architecture and the religion of Islam.
Musztafa Szokoli lead the vilayet of Buda, it was the
longest period that a pasha of Buda filled this
position. Almost all the pashas of Buda left
relevant memories: Rustem Pasha (1559-1563) had a
mosque, medresses and baths built in Esztergom. The
name of Murteza pasha of Buda shall also be noted as
he ordered the construction and renovation of large
mosques, baths, castle and castle walls in many
regional centres besides Buda.
Turkish property system in the
Ottoman era
The territorial units of the
Turkish Empire belonged to two kinds of structure:
provinces directly connected to the central
administrative organization and the feudalistic
states of autonomic internal governance such as the
Monarchy of Transylvania.
• Lands owned by the state or
the treasury also called as khas land pertinent to
the Sultan humiyyan. These lands were areas whose
revenue had significant value both in cash and in
yield. These lands were also regarded as supply
sources to the garrison. These lands enjoyed a
privileged status and, as the majority of the country
towns of the Great Plain belonged to this category,
those deprived of this title tried to get hold of this
privilege. These cities also had some kind of autonomy
and the taxes were usually collected in one amount,
thus, no marauding Turkish or Tartar troops could
disturb the inhabitants. 12 cities belonged to the
category in the area of the occupied Hungarian state.
• The other part of the land
which originally was also owned by the state,
preserved its status of feudalistic territory.
However, it seems more logic to call this kind of land
system as ’beneficium’ which was specifically typical
of Eastern state forms. It can also be referred to as
’Asian production method’ but this is not the topic of
this book. These Turkish ’beneficiums’ were registered
in three categories according to the volume e purpose
of use:
for central dignities like
pasha hasleri and sanjakbei hasleri, dignities of
smaller rank like defter kethudasi and ziamets and to
soldier, usually to spahis.
This land system reflects the
hierarchy of the Ottoman Empire whose smaller model
can be found in the occupied area. This territory
division also affected the political-, economic- and
intellectual life. The Sultan’s khas lands, that
corresponded to the country towns of the Great Plain,
pillars of Protestantism.
It is important to note even
private properties usually owned by pious foundations
and served especially educational Islamic purposes. A
part of the public baths and the dervish convents also
worked like this. Private properties were called mülk,
while those financed by foundations and the religious
organizations were referred to as mülk, Hungary had no
mülk property, however, the ecclesiastic-vakuf system
was widely spread.
The Islamization of the Turkish
occupancy
Apart from the Turkish areas,
the Hungarian Christian regions were much involved in
the fights of Protestantism and anti-Protestantism.
So, Islam was not attractive regardless that
non-Muslims were not obliged to pay the poll-tax
called jizye. The other reason for the lack of
interest in Islam compared with the Balkan states was
the existence of Royal Hungary constituted by a small
part of the original country and the Monarchy of
Transylvania was also autonomic.
The proof for the supposedly
South-Slav origins of the major part of Muslims was
their ignorance of the Turkish language. These Muslims
did not even speak Arabic, the language of worship and
most of the common people were married to Christians.
This phenomenon was spread even among the soldiers of
Turkish origins. Polygamy was not wildly practiced.
The children born to these
couples were of Islamic faith and Hungarian language.
Muslim soldiers drank wine produced in their own
cellars and only the dislike of pork meat prevented
them from taking hold of all the Hungarian traditions.
Their way of dressing became similar to the Hungarian
one and even the Turkish nobility used Hungarian in
their communications with the Hungarian aristocrats
and the population that lived in the occupied areas.
The Correspondence of the Pashas of Buda also
demonstrates this fact. It can be concluded that the
Muslim citizens of the Ottoman Empire were more
influenced by Hungary culture as reverse.
A man of Hungarian origins
could become Muslims in three ways: conversion on
voluntary basis, by becoming a slave and embracing
Islam in return of his freedom, or raped as a chilled
and educated as a Muslim. This latter did not imply
that the child was educated as janissary. Here are
three historic examples to demonstrate it.
With regard to the origins of
the soldiers recruited to Buda Castle, 52 persons out
of 1558 are Hungarians i.e. 6.4% of them. 28 of the 52
Turkish soldiers of Hungarian origins embraced Islam.
However, the majority of the group is made up of
Balkan nations with a large number of renegades. 20%
of 148 voluntary renegades were orphans and got
Islamized for this reason, while 80% chose it as a way
of success. In case of the 28 Hungarians, the
soldiers’ list includes their Hungarian origins and
their conversion to Islam i.e. madzsar oglan:
Hungarian boy and iszlama gelip/gelmis or müszülman
olmus- reverted to Islam.
At the beginning of the
1570ies, a detailed description was made on Vác
properties. The name of a Hungarian boy, whose Muslim
name was Pervane Abdullah and he embraced Islam as
the liberated slave a certain Memi, belonged to the
fourth tenth of the müszthfiz (Turkish foot soldier).
The descriptions on Vác houses say that his father’s
name was János Csiszár.
The family house, located
in the district denominated from the Mosque of Hasan
voivod (leader), was inherited by this reverted Muslim
man after his father’s death.
Many times, people had the only
opportunity of military carrier to get on in life. The
orphans with no living family members, who did not
even recall their childhood and whose number was of 21
in 1558, belonged to this category. The 80% of them
were renegades i.e. Christian boys who took hold of
the only opportunity i.e. military carrier to attain
independent after losing all his close and remote
family members.
Most of the time, their destiny
moves researchers to compassion like the carrier of
that boy from Székesfehérvár who started to serve the
Army as a Turkish soldier in the Castle of his
birthplace. However, it rarely occurred and most of
the reverted Hungarians tried to stay away from the
place where they spent their childhood. The life story
of this boy is outstanding because, as a new
renegade, he was immediately employed at the most
elite group of soldiers, the müsztahfiz i.e. foot
soldiers. His carrier can be explained by a short
stage of his life when he had worked as a bath
assistant in the Turkish bath. Due to his enthusiasm,
he found a supporter of high rank who attained him
the highest available position. If it happened in this
way, it was the reason why he stayed in his birthplace
because he filled the same position the following year
as well. An early data indicates that the müsztafins
based in Székesfehérvár had 6 Hungarian soldiers
converted to Islam that equaled to 0.6% of all the
müsztahfiz. Given that only two years had passed by
since the Turkish occupancy, it seems logic that this
rate increased in the following years. Even Hungarian
Christian soldiers, who served the Turkish Army,
appeared. Regardless of the rise of Islamization, the
most optimistic estimations suggest that the number of
Muslims did not exceed the 3-5% of the total
population; this estimated data alludes to the
Hungarian reverts. This number was increased by the
Hungarianized Balkan Muslims that settled down here.
Christian prisoners had a more
vulnerable situation than orphans. If their owner
freed them either for money or for a good deed of
salvation, they embraced Islam in return and became
soldiers. One would think that freed prisoners
regarded conversion and the military carrier as the
price of freedom and they escaped as soon as they
could owing to the instable situation and constant
fights. However, it did not happen. In 1558, all the
freed prisoners or those transported to the castles
are at their place without exception. Another example
of getting out of slavery is shown here in the letter
of a Hungarian penman: “I’m a Christian person who was
captured as a child along with my father who rescued
himself and I was brought up as Turkish. Then, I was
educated at a Turkish school where I studied.” The
education of Student John of Buda was financed by
Arslan pasha of Buda to provide service at the
Chancellery. The penmen and secretaries of the pashas
of Buda were all educated Hungarian renegades.
The majority of the converts
educated in the janissary- and seraglio schools had a
more magnificent clerk carrier than the penmen of the
same fate who worked in the periphery of the Empire,
the Ottoman border castles and garrisons.
The renegade interpreters of
the Sultan were highly appreciated at the Sultan’s
Court who played major roles in Ottoman diplomacy that
over passed translating and interpreting duties.
The Emperor’s dragomen were
regarded the clerks of Foreign Affairs of highest rank
within Ottoman diplomacy. The change of religion and
the service of the sultan at higher level determined
their lives for ever and we do not have any
information on their disloyalty to the Islamic
religion or the sultan. It is interesting to note what
has been preserved from their traditions, language and
how it manifested in their religious debates.
Hereby, a revert interpreter
and diplomat’s life of Hungarian origins and language
is described and a Muslim dragoman of German mother
tongue was one of his colleagues.
Murad dragoman was born in
Nagybánya and his original name was Balázs Somlyai.
Apart from his diplomatic
activity, Murad effendi was also a writer and a poet
and he acquired reputation as the only well-known
Ottoman-Turkish poet who writes in Hungarian in the
history of literature. His Hymn is the only Islamic
faith document in the 16th century that joins the
controversial Christian debates from an Islamic
viewpoint. Murad, i.e. Balázs Somlyai, was 17 years
old at the time of Mohács battle, he was captured by
the Turks and embraced Islam by his own will. In 1573
Stephan Gerlach, in the company of Dávid Ungnád,
Ambassador to Turkey, met him and came to know Murad
used to study in Vienna. Murad could often had met the
members of Christian delegation whose friendship he
sought on purpose. In 1551 Murad arrived in
Transylvania and he was imprisoned by the Habsburg
troops for 30 months after the assassination of George
Martinuzzi. The strength of Murad’s faith is
demonstrated by his insistence on his chosen faith
regardless of threats or persuasion.
He was not the only Ottoman
prison of those times. Sources speak about several
detained military colonels along with the Chief
colonel, Mehmet. As the names Mehmed and Mahmud are
often confused, it is possible that Mahmus, The
Turkish Muslim dragoman of Austrian origins, and Murad
were captured together by general Castaldo.
Murad was rescued by Rustem
pasha himself, who introduced him to Suleiman sultan
and designated him to the position of interpreter of
the Court and translator of Latin-Hungarian documents.
Murad worked as the interpreter of the Sultan from
1553. Murad made notes of his Hungarian works with
Arabic letters. It is also known that Murad himself
translated historical pieces of art as well. He was 75
when he made friends with the members of the Emperor’s
delegation of 1584-’85. One of the delegates describes
Murad beg as a cultured person who speaks several
languages like Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Latin,
Hungarian and Croatian and he only relates that Murad
was dismissed from his job because of his excessive
love for wine. Murad translated the Ottoman-Turkish
Chronicle into Latin and it was also used by Western
authors. Just a few people know that this piece of
art, work of a Hungarian renegade interpreter, was the
source of Western readers interested in Ottoman
history and traditions for long.
Contemporary politicians came
across the problems of religion both in the West and
in the East. The Ottomans often had a pragmatic view
on the religious fights of the conquered countries.
They preferred to avoid giving their opinion on
religious debates, however, when they could not, they
supported the one who had better position and served
their interests more.
Regardless of it, it is
indubitable that the thoughts of Protestantism spread
much faster under their reign and the religious
tolerance of Islam extended also to the most radical
Protestant congregations as well. Muslims preferred
not to participate in Christian theological debates.
However, this general mistrust
towards Christians, i.e. the statement aforesaid, did
not characterize to the renegade diplomats who
contacted the intellectual of their country of origins
on a constant basis. It is rare though, but it was not
occasional that Murad got involved in the debate among
Christians.
It is well-known that some
radical Protestant intellectual ended up through
Transylvania in Istanbul where they set up a kind of
Unitarian “lobby” by the end of 1570. The most famous
anti-Trinitarian of Istanbul was Ádám Neuser, a
refugee of Heidelberg, who embraced Islam as the
final point of his spiritual development.
Murád’s art heritage is Islamic
religious literature. His prose and poetry were
destined to a Christian public ‘to raise their
interest in Islam’. His Hymn written in three
languages, namely in Latin, Hungarian and Turkish,
dates back to the beginning of the 1580ies.
Its central idea is the
introduction of an Islamic Devine doctrine in
accordance with Hebrew scriptures and the Gospel. The
poem is free from any violence, sense of superiority
or intent of conversion and it stresses the importance
of a religious life style as the basis of religion.
Islam is represented as a
universal religion that can be embraced even by
believers of monotheism, like Christians, who reject
extremist dogmatism with a free mind. It is striking
how much the poem follows the Protestant
argumentation: ‘ As the Scriptures say that we may not
know Him until we know ourselves, yet if we knew our
nothingness, because there is only Him, nothing else,
and by being aware of it, we would know Him.’ Even the
Transylvanian Christian custodians regarded Murad as a
pious Muslim and called him as “türk papasi” i.e.
“Turkish priest” who also had knowledge about the
Jewish Scriptures and the Gospel. The universal
character of Murad’s poem and his intention to render
Islam popular and acceptable to other Christians was
based on the Anti-Trinitarian intellectual background
which he made part of along with his superior, Mahmud,
and the renegade Unitarian Neuser in Istanbul in the
1570ies. However, the message of the poem can also be
interpreted as a reply to the Christian intention of
unifying religions. To Murád’s view just one religious
universalism may prevail on this Earth: Islam.
Pijale pasha’s name who was
also of Hungarian origins and a revert Muslim with
notable military carrier, should also be noted.
Stephan Gerlach narrates about Pijale pasha in his
travel description on Istambul written in 1554,
that he was taken away as a child after Mohács Battle
and he was born in the town of Tolna. Pijale pasha was
given the title of Sanjak beg by Suleiman sultan in
1554 and he was also appointed as the Commanding
Officer. Finished his studies at the Sultan school,
and he became the commander of the swiss association.
The first designated pasha of Buda, Vieser Suleiman
pasha, was also of Hungarian origins, but little
information is available on him. He was the pasha of
Buda from 2nd of September, 1541 to the middle of
February, 1542 when he died.
The South-Slav gypsies of
Orthodox religion, who settled down in Hungary,
should also be noted: some of them reverted to Islam
and also chose a Muslim name. It is proved by the
population counting and street name collection of Buda
done by the Ottomans. Many Christians did not embrace
Islam because the Church proclaimed the refusal of
Christianity and the embrace of Islam as the greatest
sin. The renegade lost all his hope to salvation and
the eternal sufferings of Hell were awaiting him
after his death. As Christian teachings strongly
stressed the punishment of the Hereafter,
consequently, conversion also equaled to
an issue of conscience.
Based on the information above,
it can be stated that those who embraced Islam, the
religion of their capturers, did so after much
struggle of conscience and of pure conviction. The
opponent parties i.e. Muslim Turks and Christian
Hungarians mutually regarded each other Pagans and
armed conflicts were based on the defense of the only
true religion according to the parties’ belief. ‘This
nation has so harsh method of negotiation that one
hates them’- wrote Gáspár Tassi on the Turks at the
peace negotiations of Szőny.
Unlike, the Turks made similar
up-stage statements on the Christian faith calling it
‘meaningless’ and ‘crazy tradition’ and described
churches as ‘the gathering place of the Satan of
Hell’. Christians were given the name of ‘disbelievers
and disbelieving beings’. However, hatred was more
apparent than real. The conquered Hungarians
considered Muslim Turks as oppressors and not as the
propagator of the Islamic faith.
The Turks did not intervene in
the Catholic-Protestant fights, they would rather
observe them with indifference, and this friendly
indifference especially towards the Protestants, lead
to the compilation of enthusiastic but naïve projects
of converting Muslims into Protestantism in the 16th
century.
Religious debates
The areas under Turkish
occupancy enjoyed complete religious freedom at the
times of harsh Protestant or other, non-Christian
persecutions. Muslim Turks did not intervene in the
‘disbelievers’ traditions, however, it happened many
times that Turkish begs or the pasha of Buda were
asked to play the role of arbiter in the event of
religious debates. Such debate took place between a
Unitarian clergyman and a Protestant priest in the
presence of Mustafa Sokollu in 1574.
Its precedence goes back to 4
years before when a theological debate had taken place
in Nagyharsány with alternating success. It had also
had tragic consequences as one of the Unitarian
clergymen were hung by the audience and other, called
Tolnai, escaped to Pécs.
When coming to know this news,
Mustafa pasha summoned on Vörösmarty, the Protestant
Archbishop, his companions and the Unitarians. The
pasha of Islamic faith agreed with the Unitarians and
sentenced the Protestants to death. However, the
Protestants were saved by their Unitarian opponents
and asked the pasha of Buda to grant him mercy. This
is one of the most famous religious debates whose
history has been preserved up today.
The 150 years of the Occupancy
demonstrates that the Islamic faith does not intend to
convert people by force. Many Muslim families stayed
here after the expulsion of the Turks and they got
baptized later on. One of the most outstanding Muslim
cities of Hungary is Eger, when the Turkish military
station surrendered and left it, a detailed note was
made on those who wished to stay there.
These notes record 23 Muslims
with family and 13 single Muslim men. All the family
men were married to just one wife and they were
probably Hungarians. The same data refers to the
inhabitants of all bigger Sanjak centers.30% of the
remaining population could be Muslim and of Hungarian
mother tongue who were all forced by the Jesuits to
embrace Christianity 1-2 decades after. It can be
declared that almost 20% of the population of the
occupied Hungarian territories was of Islamic faith
and it was mainly comprised of South-Slav, Hungarian
and Turkish people. Haas’ description speaks about
the baptism of 220 Arians and Turks between
1686 and 1688. In January of
1686 18 Turks were converted and 26 followed them
later on which can be proved by family- and
geographical names. These data is frequent especially
in Eger and its surroundings. Large mosques, mosques
and schools were destroyed as all memories on Paganism
were rejected. Unfortunately, several hundreds of
these buildings were demolished and the barbaric
destruction was mainly motivated by the ‘hunger for
money’. These buildings included Suleiman sultan’s
place of worship in Turbék, the copper, plumb or
bronze cover of large mosques. After the Peace of
Tarlóc was made in 1699, the Islamic religion was no
more significantly represented in the Hungarian
society. It is probable that there were some Eastern
traders or pilgrim who went to Gül Baba’s shrine.
It is interesting though that a
battalion of 200 persons, made up of Crimean Tartars
and lead byMiklós Andrássy, the dervish general and
ex-monk of white cloth, also participated in Rákóczi’s
revolution. Imre Thököly, Ilony Zrínyi and the
immigrants of the Rákóczi revolution found shelter and
protection on Muslim, Turkish lands, as the
controversies had already ceased between the two
nations. Even the person who implemented book
publishing in Turkey was a revert Muslim called
Ibrahim Müteferrika who got to Turkish land during the
Rákóczi emigration. He was born in Cluj Napoca, called
Kolozsvár in Hungarian, in 1674 and he was originally
a student of Protestant theology. His press published
17 pieces of art. His original Hungarian name is
unknown.
The memories of Turkish
Occupancy in Hungary
Babócsa
-Turkish pond
- rests of Turkish steam bath
and palace
. ceramic kiln
- houses
- the narcissi garden of the
pasha of Buda that has European reputation
Buda
-Gül Baba’s shrine and place of
worship (Budapest, 2nd district, Mecset str. 18-20)
-Császár (Veli bej) bath
(Budapest, 2nd district, Frankel Leó str. 31.)
-Király (Kakaskapu) bath
(Budapest, 1st district, Fő str. 82-86.)
-Rudas (Jesli direkli) bath
(Budapest, 1st district, Döbrentei Square 9.)
-Rác (Debbagháne Ibidzsaszi)
bath (Budapest, 1st district, Hadnagy str. 8-10.)
-Prayer niche (mihrab) in
Downtown Parish Church (Budapest, 5th district,
Március 15. Square)
-Rests of Tojgun pasha’s great
mosque (Budapest, 1st district, Fő str. 30-32.Capucine
Church
-Karakas pasha’s bastion
(Budapest, 1st district, Attila str.)
-Kászim pasha’s bastion
(Rondella’s of Fehérvár) (Budapest, 1st district,
before the tnnel)
-Savanyú leves bastion
(Budapest, 1st district, Castle)
-Veli bej’s tower (Budapest,
1st district, Castle)
-Esztergom bastion Földbástya,
Toprak kulesi (Budapest, 1st district, Castle)
-Sziavus pasha’s bastion
(Budapest, 1st district, Castle)
-Murad pasha’s bastion
(Budapest, 1st district, Castle)
-House rest, house of the
commander of the defensive janizarries of the Vienna
gate (18 Fortuna str., "Janicsár Aga street")
-House rest (5 Tárnok str.
"Orta large mosque street")
-The capital has many Museums
rich of memories of the Turkish era.
-The Castle preserves the
memorial tablet of the last pasha of Buda, Arnaut
Abdurrahman Abdi pasha and it indicates his heroic
deathplace when Buda was occupied again.
-The Hungarian National Museum
disposes of another Turkish memory of Buda Castle,
Mahmud pasha’s bastion on which there is also a memory
tablet which was written in Turkish but with Arabic
letters. Its translation says as it follows:
’Asaf of great power, defender
of Budin country, a Vieser of much praise, the
honorable and great, constructed this tower as an
indicator of direction. This place is envied by a
hundred suns and a hundred moons. It will never be
destroyed till the Last Day comes. Alhamdoulillah! The
tower of the Moon’s Castle has found a defender. In
the year 1078.’ (written in 1668), Eger
-Ruins of Valide sultana’s
Turkish bath
-The minaret of Kethüda large
mosque (3 Dózsa György Square)
-Arnaut pasha’s bath (2 Fürdő
str.)
Érd
-Minaret of Hamza begh’s large
mosque (Érd, Ófalu, Mecset str.)
Esztergom
-Suleiman sultan’s victory
tablet inside the city wall of Viziváros
-Ozicseli Hadzsi Ibrahim’s
large mosque built inside a house (Esztergom, 18-20
Berényi Zsigmond str.)
Pécs
-Jakovali Hassan pasha’s large
mosque (2 Rákóczi str.)
-Gazi Kasim’s large mosque
(Széchényi Square)
-Turkish well and ritual wash
basin (Rókushegy)
-Turkish well (inside the wall
of 23 Vak Bottyán str.)
-Memi pasha’s bath (35
Ferencesek str.)
-Idris Baba’s shrine, Turkish
shrine (8 Nyár str.)
-Southern tower gate of the
Castle (Barbakán)
-Great Tower of the Castle
-Ahmed aga’s memory tablet int
he South-Western tower of the Cathedral
Siklós
-Malkocs bej’s large mosque (16
Kossuth Square)
Szigetvár
-Suleiman sultan’s large mosque
with incomplete minaret (Szigetvár, Castle)
-Ali pasha’s large mosque
(Parish Church) (Szigetvár, Zrínyi Square)
-Quranic School (Szigetvár, 3
Bástya str.)
-Some parts of the Castle
Törökkoppány
-Turkish fountain
-Tombstones with turbane
-Lavatory
Zsámbék
-Turkish fountain (Táncsics
str.)
The pashas of Buda
The names of some pashas of
Buda appear several times as the owner of the
position. There were some who filled this vacancy for
a few months and there were periods when other pashas
of Hungary held the position on a temporarily basis
until the new pasha of Buda was designated. It was a
high position in the Empire an, thus, the great lands
pertinent to it and giving the provision required for
this position, were also split up year by year. The
list of the pashas of Buda also demonstrates it.
The Ottoman central governance
sent 70 pashas to Buda Castle over the 141 years of
Turkish reign. The commission of twenty eight of them
was repeated, so, personal changes to the vilajet
administration were made 98 times. The average period
of change was of 18 months.
The number in parenthesis
refers to the times the person filled the position of
pasha of Buda with omissions.
The list:
Viesir Suleiman pasha
Kucsuk Bali pasha
Jahjapasadze Muhammed pasha
Kasim pasha (2)
Chadim pasha (2)
Tojgun pasha (2)
Hadzsi Muhamed pasha
Güzeldzse Rusztem pasha
Zal Mahmud pasha
Iszkander pasha
Arslan pasha
Viesir Sokolli Mustafa pasha
Kara Oveis pasha
Viesír Kalailikoz Ali pasha (2)
Frank Jusuf pasha (2)
Ferhad pasha
Sofi Sinan pasha (2)
Sinanpasadze Muhammed pasha (2)
Muhammedpasadze Viesír Hassan
pasha
Michalidzslü Ahmed pasha (3)
Ali pasha
Suleiman pasha
Viesir Teriaki Hassan pasha (3)
Lala Muhammed pasha (2)
Mankirkusi Muhammed pasha
Viesir Kadidze Ali pasha (3)
Begtas pasha
Boshnak Mustafa pasha
Sefer pasha
Viesir Sofi Muhammed pasha (5)
Viesir Nakkas Hassan pasha
Karakas Muhammed pasha
Viesir Kenán pasha
Deli Dervis pasha
Bebr Muhammed pasha
Viesir Murteza pasha
Viesir Adjem Hassan pasha
Viesir Beiam pasha (2)
Viesir Musa pasha (3)
Viesir Hussein pasha
Viesir Jafer pasha
Naszuhpasadze Vezír Husszein
pasha
Vezír Tabani jaszi Muhammed
pasha
Vezír Ipsír Musztafa pasha
Vezír Szilihdár Musztafa pasha
Vezír Oszmán pasha
Vezír Deli Husszein pasha (2)
Vezír Nakkás Musztafa pasa
Vezír Murteza pasa
Hamzapasadze Vezír Muhammed
pasa (2)
Viesir Fasli pasha (2)
Viesir Sziiavus pasha
Viesir Murad pasha
Viesir Sari Kenan pasha
Viesir Gurji Kenan pasha (4)
Viesir Szeidi Ahmed pasha
Viesir Bosnak Ismail pasha
Viesir Sari Hussein pasha
Viesir Gurji Muhammed pasha
Viesir Jerrah Kasin pasha
Viesir Sohrab Muhammed pasha
Viesir Mahmud pasha
Viesir Arnaut Uzun Ibrahim
pasha (3)
Janpuladzade Viesir Hussein
pasha
Viesir Suiolji Ali pasha
Viesir Chalil pasha
Viesir Kara Muhammed pasha
Viesir Seitan Ibrahim pasha
Viesir Arnaut Abdi Abdurrahman
pasha
Many of the pashas of Buda
aforesaid were of Albanian origins, their adjective
’arnaut’ also alludes to it, but there were also
Gaussians, Bechenes, Circassian, Russian, Abkhazian
and Persian. The Albanians and Bechenes represented
themselves in large number; the pashas of Turkish
origins are less. Ono ne hand, it reflects the Islamic
concept on the secondary role of origins, on the
other hand, it also supports that the Balkan influence
was of major significance on the European continent,
as it could also be seen in the case of the ethnicity
of the defenders of borderline fortresses.
It shall only be noted that
many of them attained the rank of great vieser.
Evlia Chelebi, the Turkish
world traveler, on his trips to Hungary
(1660-1664)
He writes on Pécs:
It has seven Muslim districts.
It only has one Christian district outside the city
wall. The city’s population is lack of Hungarians,
Bulgarians, Serbs, Greek, Armenians and Germans but
there are Jews. All together, it has 2200 Islamic
houses. It has 17 places of worship. Gazi Kasim
pasha’s large mosque is so large and beautiful as the
dome of Selim sultan’s large mosque in Istanbul. There
are also ten mosques, six convents and three baths.
The hussar speak inteligeble and eloquent Hungarian.”
On Szekszárd:
This town has four places of
worship altogether. Its population is composed of
Bechenes of the borderline.
On Buda:
The whole population of Buda is
made up of Bosnian Bechenes who speak clear
Hungarian.
’Intermediary period’
Prior to the occupancy of
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ármin Vámbéry’s name must be
mentioned, whose Islamic name was Rasid Efendi. The
Tartar servant, Ishak, famous all over the world also
was a representative of Islam in contemporary
Hungary. Vámbéry, the lame dervish, was a member of
the Academy of Science of Hungary and the Turkish
teacher of ELTE University of Budapest. He received
help thanks to his Ottoman-Turkish relationships to
travel around Central-Asia in an Ottoman-Turkish
dress.
His later student, Gyula
Germanus who was also a Muslim, writes on this as
follows: „his thirst of knowledge took him to
Timurlenk’s grave, to the wild and uneducated Nomads
of the Central-Asian deserts and his dervish cloth
with the heart of a Hungarian hero.” He joined the
Hajj caravan of Bokhara as Rasid Effendi in 1861. He
got to Khíva and, then, to Bokhara through Erzurum,
Tabriz and the Caspian-Sea. He arrived back to Hungary
through Samarkand, Mesheden and Tehran in 1864. He had
very significant, pioneering results related to
geography, ethnography of Central-Asia and Turkish
philology.
Several European scientific
societies chose him as their member of honour. Pasha
Miksa Herz of Hungarian origins embraced Islam at the
end of the 19th century and founded the Arabic Museum
of Cairo, today’s Museum of Islamic Arts, and later
he became the Minister of Religious Affairs.
The islamization of the
immigrants of the Revolution and War of Independence
of 1848-’49
The aftermaths of the
Revolution and War of Independence of 1848-’49 should
also be noted because many Hungarian- and Polish
soldiers, who tried to escape from the gallows, prison
or forced recruitment, embraced Islam. The first days
238 persons, divided by nationality, 216 Hungarians
including 8 women, 7 Polish, 15 Italians, 3 generals,
3 colonels and sub colonels, 60 other Chief officers,
172 warrant officers and common soldiers, and a
delegate, János Balogh, embraced Islam. Later on,
several people chose the Islamic faith along with the
Turkish nationality. It’s sufficient to mention the
names of the following generals: Joseph Bem, Richard
Guyon, George Kmetty. The Hungarian- and Polish
revolutionists proved their bravery and perseverance.
Both the Austrian- and the Russian governments
strongly claimed the extradition of the immigrants and
this claim was also accompanied by threats.
Abdul-Medzsid, the sultan on power, directly
denied it and he declared in the Divan, the Council of
the Sultan: Allahu Akbar, I trust his protection. If I
have to die, I should do so honestly. I will not play
away my honour by transgressing the rules of
hospitality and giving out those unfortunate persons
who sought shelter here from the revenge of our
enemies. They will find shelter here, whatever
happens. I won’t give them out. This is my will. May
it be. Get prepared to protect them.”
General Bem was given the name
of Amurat or Murad and the rank of pasha. Zemoski,
Polish general, commented his conversion as follows: I
understand that one makes all efforts for his country,
but he should not leave his religion!” „My religion is
my country”-replied Bem. Bem lead the reorganization
of the Ottoman Army for a while and, then, he was sent
to Aleppo. In 1850 he fought for the Syrian Christians
against the Druze. He left this word with these words
on 10th of December, 1850: „Poland, I will never free
you again…” Bem’s ashes were transported from the
Syrian city of Aleppo to his birthplace, Tarnow, in
Poland. The train getting to the Railway Station of
Keleba marched through Hungary in triumph. His coffin
was laid out on the stairs of the National Museum. The
decision of commemorating him with a statue was made
at this time. The arrival of Bem’s ashes was awaited
enthusiastically. However, he was denied to rest in
„Christian Polish land”. Six huge pillars raise the
stone sarcophage containing the rests of pasha
Bem-Amurat. Three generations are proud of him.
Count Maximilan Stein was given
the name of Ferhad along with the rank of pasha.
General George Kmetty became Ismail pasha. One can
also mention Luis Tüköry, respected as a revolutionary
hero in Italy. He participated with the name of Selim
effendi as first horse-lieutenant and participated in
the Crimean War as the military assistant of Guyon and
Kmetty. He was given the rank of lieutenant commander
and left the Army in 1858 and joined the Hungarian
legion in Italy.
The life of John Pap, later
retired court office director, was typical among
Hungarian Muslims. After the defeat of the revolution,
he embraced Islam with the name of Suleiman bei in
Turkey, served Guyon pasha as captain and participated
in the Crimean War as well. He also left the Turkish
Army to join Garibaldi and finally got back to Hungary
after the Reconciliation. Richard Guyon rests in the
cemetery Haydarpasa of Turkey.
His grave is indicated with a
board of Hungarian inscription that says: This grave
gives place to the ashes to Richard Guyon, son of
France, student of England, soldier of Hungary and
Commander-in-Chief of Turkey.”
The Hungarian nation later gave
obvious support to the Turks in the Turkish-Russian
War and the relations improved between the two
countries. The Hungarian University students paid a
visit of honour to Constantinople in January of 1877
where a sword of honour was handed over to pasha
Abdul-Karim, hero of Plevna. The Sultan gifted them 35
corvinas and the softas, Turkish students, paid a
visit to Hungary in April. We can also recall the
name of Pasha Ödön Széchenyi, son of Stephen
Széchenyi, the greatest Hungarian; he also embraced
Islam. The Sultan invited him to Constantinople and
founded the Turkish Fire Brigade in the capital. The
Sultan appointed him the rank of lieutenant-general
and he also became military assistant. Thus, we can
say the end of the Islamic-Christian opposition, the
Ottoman Empire weakened, conflict started to resolve
and slowly turned into friendships. The knowledge of
having common origins also played an important role,
as Ármin Vámbéry sought for the cradle of the
Hungarians in Central-Asia in the area of
Turkish-speaking peoples.
After the occupation of
Bosnia-Herzegovina (1878)
39% of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s
population is of Muslim region and follows the Hanif
religious school. The Monarchy had half million Muslim
citizens after the occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina
and this period coincided with the start of Muslim
immigration towards Hungary. Along with the Bechenes,
Albanian and other Balkan Muslim people, Turkish
emigrants also came to Hungary.
The major change to the life of
Bosnia-Herzegovina came along from 1882 that
accelerated the integration process of Muslims in the
Monarchy and helped their settlement and emancipation
in Hungary. A Hungarian diplomat-historian, Béni
Kállay, Minister of Finance, was nominated as
head of the military occupied region and he favoured
Muslims against the Greek-Catholic. The majority of
the believers pertinent to the Greek-Roman Church
were of Serbian origins and the Serbian intention to
take hold of Bosnia was obvious by then. The operation
of the vakufs (merciful Islamic foundations),
medreses (Islamic schools) and the Sharia Courts
(courts of Islamic jurisprudence also called as
„nizamije’ in Bosnia) that tried to make investigation
on Muslims’ matters was supported by the Authorities.
Béni Kállay narrates about
Bosnia-Herzegovina: „The military-strategic purposes
coincide with the dynastic principles as well.
Bosnia-Herzegovina has a long borderline with the
Monarchy and extends to the Turkish Empire and, thus,
it is a natural defensive line against the Russians.
The Monarchy may gain dominance over the Adriatic-Sea
by possessing Bosnia-Herzegovina and Dalmatia
together.”
Ottó Hermann tried to make a
policy of negotiations in Bosnia and he did so in an
intelligent and perseverant manner, as it suited the
son of a ’prima occupations gens’ (invaders of first
generation)’. Kállay regarded it important on
tactical, strategic and ideological grounds, that the
Bosnian occupation should not be a burden on the
Monarchy with ethnic groups of little loyalty.
Béni Kálly tried to rely on the
aristocracy of Islamic religion. This social class
would have collapsed after the elimination of the
feudalistic property relations. Thus, Kállay worked
out a concept based on a slow transitional process. It
was Béni Kállay who started the modernization of
Bosnia-Herzegovina on Western basis.
In 1908, Bosnia-Herzegovina was
definitely annexed to the Monarchy. The
Hungarian-Bechene-Herzegovina Economic Centre was set
up with Leó Lánczy as chairman. The several
publications of the centre provided data to the
Hungarian business men who owned companies there. The
6th edition of the leaflet included an article of Géza
Magyary on 'Regulation of the legal situation of Islam
in Hungary’. The Austrian law had been effective
since July, 1912, that admitted the Hanafi school in
Hungary, the Hungarian legislation, however, was not
so modern to approve of it. Based on the population
counting of 1910, there were 553 Muslims, 179 Turks
and 319 Bechenes, the majority of these was soldier,
living in Hungary without Croatia and Slavonia and the
number of Muslims in Bosnia-Herzegovina was 612.137
persons. The major part of Turks settled down in
Hungary at the end of the first decade of the century.
They were mainly craftsmen,
pastry cook, and students whose first group arrived
here in 1909 along with sheik Abdul-Latif.
The sympathy for the Turks
increased in Hungary when the ashes of Ferenc
Ráckóczi, Ilona Zrínyi and Imre Thököly were
transported back to Hungary. In 1914 the Monarchy
proclaimed war against Serbia and local fights soon
lead to the breakout of World War I. Turkey officially
entered the war on 29 of October on the Monarchy’s
side. The Turkish units fought not just on the borders
of our country but Turkish troops were sent to Galicia
and Romania where they were fighting along with the
Hungarian troops. The Turkish military cemetery of
Kozma street gives place to the ashes of Turkish
soldiers who died in World War I.
In December of 1914, Rezső
Havass claimed the construction of a mosque at
Budapest local government: ’Let’s build a mosque in
Budapest!’
The suggestion was approved by
the Council of the capital as a resolution on 4 of
April, 1916 and a Commission controlling the
construction of a mosque was set up. The
Turkish-Hungarian military alliance was so strong that
the name of Múzeum Avenue was changed to Mehmed
Avenue. The Hungarian nationalist and, mainly,
war-supporting public had such strong influence on the
Parliament that the approval of Islam as an official
religion was also on agenda. The proposal was made by
Béla Jankovich, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Gyula
Pekár: „Ladies and Gentlemen of the Parliament! This
bill whose five paragraphs relates the five long and
troublesome centuries of the Eastern history of
Hungary in a fraternal and peaceful manner and intends
to make peace between the religious ideology of the
East and the West, it can only give us satisfaction
regardless of its significance. (Applause) It’s about
the acceptance of the religion of 220 million Muslims.
When adopting this bill, however, the Hungarian
legislation also focuses on the noble and heroic
Turkish nation to which we are united by the strong
bonds of Turanic fraternity besides the military
alliance. (approval and vivat)
Pekár went on talking about
Gül-Baba’s grave, Bosnia-Herzegovina and the dominance
of Islam there as main religion and the Austrian Act
of 1912 aforesaid and the possibilities that the
Hungarian legislation can give to Muslims resident
here. Béla Barabás, one of the members of the former
student delegation in Constantinople in 1877, was the
spokesman of the opposition. He delivered the same
message with more enthusiasm, major passion and
details. History came alive in the Hall of Parliament.
The ‘kuruc’ in exile, the immigrant soldiers and
politicians of 1848-’49. Murad pasha of Aleppo i.e.
József Bem, the Turkish period of Barabás, the
handover of the confiscated Corvine (books of king
Matthias), the memory of Sultan Suleiman and some
jokes about the Muslim marriage-, divorce- and
inheritance regulations, the Buda shrine (türbe), the
heritage of Dániel Irányi and Kálmán Thaly along
within the Kossuth’s saying (To the East, Hungarians!)
were also narrated. Béla Barabás added: „With growing
age but much enthusiasm, with the memories and
mentality of old times all I can do is to suggest that
we, Hungarians, bow to the Turkish half moon.’ I
approve of this proposal delighted.” The Act was also
approved by the opposition (Néppárt) with the
exception of one Member of Parliament.
Act no. 17. of 1916 on the
admission of the Islamic religion:
Paragraph 1: The Islamic faith
is proclaimed to be an officially admitted religion.
Paragraph 2: It is not required
to present the regulations on religious and moral
teachings and other religious rituals for Muslims to
create a religious association, nor it is needed to
present the organizational regulation that includes
further dispositions on religious life and they will
not be examined at the approval of the organizational
regulation.
Paragraph 3.: The Hungarian
organization of the Muslim religious denomination can
be connected to the legal organization of Muslims in
Bosnia-Herzegovina with the approval of the Minister
of Religion and Education. The role of sheik,
religious magistrate or member of the upper
ecclesiastic organizational delegation can be played
by a member of the congregation whose qualification
meets the expectations of the qualification to this
position in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Likewise, sheiks can
be employed even prior to the setup of the first
religious congregation, if their costs of living are
provided.
Paragraph 4.: The practice of
the Islamic religion and its religious principles,
teachings and other institutions are under the same
legal protection as the other legally admitted
religions. The same legal regulations shall be binding
to the Muslim religious community as the other legally
admitted religions. Any further, necessary differences
shall be specified by a Ministry Order.
Paragraph 5.: This Act becomes
effective on the day of its proclamation and it shall
be completed by the Minister of Religion and
Education, the Minister of Home Office and the
Minister of Justice.”
The Act was proclaimed on 30th
of March, 1916 in the National Legal Code No. 9. of
1916. This Act is effective up to now as it has never
been withdrawn. The approved law, Act No. 17 on the
Admission of the Islamic religion differed from the
Act No. 43 of 1895 on the free practise of religion.
Regardless of that, in accordance with the Act No. 43
of 1895 all the organizational regulations comprising
the provisions on the existence of the Muslim
religious congregation shall be issued to the Minister
of Religion and Public Education for approval, while
the previous law partially disregarded it. The
previous act prohibited that the future Islamic
religious congregation cannot be headed or protected
by a foreign authority or individual, i.e. sultan or
caliph, while the latter absolved this prohibition. In
addition, Act no.17. also disregarded the passage of
Act No. 43. of 1895 which says that only a sheik or
ecclesiastic person can be a member of the community
who has graduated from a University of Hungary.”
However, the Hungarian citizenship still stayed as a
condition. The Act of 1916 excluded the application
of the Islamic punitive-, inheritance and family law
in Hungary. The future community is entitled to set up
a foundation, collect ecclesiastic tax, start
disciplinary procedure and establish school or
kindergarten. The acknowledged communities could have
larger rights as the only ‘approved’ Baptists or the
future Islamic community. The Act of 1916 admits the
whole of Islam, while the Austrian Act of 1912 only
speaks about the Hanafi School present in Bosnia. The
law was adapted owing to the concept of
Turkish-Hungarian military alliance and Budapest only
had 2000 Muslims, comprised of Bechene soldiers,
Albanian- and Balkan craftsmen, students, Turkish
soldiers and craftsmen, in 1916, the Members of
Parliament voted on the Islamic faith with future
projects on the complete integration of Bosnia.
It evokes Kállai Béni’s dream
on the Bechene Muslim ruling class as we were in war
against Serbia, so, the Serbs were regarded
unreliable.
The illustrated great calendar
of Bosnian Hungarians, dated in 1916, demonstrates the
Bechene-Turkish-Hungarian military alliance. The
colonels who make part of the K. u. K. Army believe in
the victory of the Monarchy and they are fully
committed to the Emperor-King. In addition,
Several Albanian- and
Macedonian Muslims fought in the K. u. K. against the
Western alliance. When the collapse came over, they
had to realize that only death sentence awaits them in
the Serbian Bosnia.
Many Southern Slav or Albanian
Muslim colonels followed the Hungarian troops
withdrawn from Bosnia and settled down in Budapest or
Vienna.
It is interesting though that
many general Chief Officers stayed in Hungary on a
permanent basis and they could return home or chose
Hungary as their homeland upon the collapse of the
Commune.
The Muslim presence in
South-Hungary is related to the presence of French
troops, so, they were here as invaders, thus, these
Muslims did not want to settle down here and they were
not driven by good intentions.
They were Northern-Africans and
the supporters of the counter-revolution had intense
contacts with them. There are reports on their close
friendship and on the dance of the Arab soldiers with
guns which was admired by the Hungarians. Another
famous Hungarian Muslim should be mentioned who
participated in the Anti-British fights after the
Mahdi-revolt in Sudan. He embraced Islam and was known
as Ignac Soliman. When the British finally occupied
Sudan, he was prohibited to enter the country again,
he returned to Hungary and bought a land in
Transylvania. He also had the chance to meet governor,
Miklós Horthy, and this meeting is recorded. His name
appeared in the columns of the newspapers of 1880ies.
Durics Hilmi Hussein and the
Muslims of Hungary
(Islam between the two World
War)
After the collapse of the
Monarchy, several Bechene soldiers and civilians
stayed in the territory of present Hungary i.e.
Hungary after the Treaty of Trianon. Durics Hilmi
Hussein was one of them who finally moved to our
country from Vienna. According to his biography, he
was born 11th of November of 1887 in the city of Bosna
Krupa, Durics Mahmud Aga, his father, was the Mayor
of the city and a rich land owner, too.
He finished his high school
studies at Darul Muallimin with excellent results and
he took his degree of Isalam Theology from the
University of Cairo and Constantinople. Sources say
that he had an excellent command of German and Turkish
besides Hungarian Bechene and he spoke fluent Arabic
and Persian. From 1910 he worked as the Director of
the record office of Bosnia’s National Museum. In
1914 he was called in to military service after the
breakout of World War I. and he was in attendance of
the mixed, but mostly Muslim, Bechene regiment as
their field imam. His autobiography relates that he
was present at all the seat of war where the troops of
the Monarchy fought. In 1915 his lungs were seriously
injured by a shot and his left knee was also wounded
at the Southern seat of war in Sabác. After getting
recovered from his injury, he was called in to service
again as a substitute field imam and he was given the
position of ’Muslim field chief imam’ by the Ministry
of war and this job was confirmed by Emperor Francis
Joseph. This position was also followed by the title
of captain. He was designated as brevet by the end of
the War. He also gave lessons on Islamic religion to
the students of Vienna’s Cadet School. When the
Austro-Hungarian Monarchy collapsed, his father was
shot to death and the family lands equivalent to 1040
acres were confiscated along with the house. In 1919
he got married to the daughter of Elek Hindy-Szabó
colonel guard called Ida who was older than him. They
moved to Budapest in October of 1920 accepting with
resignation the Bosnian situation. This is the time
that Durics and his 85 fellows joined Prónay’s group.
The took part in the revolt of Western Hungary and it
is also the merit of the Bechene-Albanian rebels that
Sopron had preserved its Hungarian status quo. The
anniversary of the Sopron referendum that took place
in 1921 is celebrated every year in Sopron. However,
only few people remember that the organization of
referendum was not achieved by politicians from the
Entente countries but by some hundred voluntary
warriors whose majority was comprised of
Bechene-Albanian volunteers. These soldiers were also
much affected by the new map of Europe, redesigned by
force, and many of them became homeless and they found
the ideology for which they were ready to sacrifice
their lives in the Ragged Guard. Many of them fled the
Serb Army by two, three and once even a division fled
with complete armature regardless that the land was
not their own. They sacrificed their own life to get
the right to live
here.
These soldiers prevented the
Austrian organized Army and Police from taking hold of
the areas gained owing to the Peace Treaty of Trianon.
They occupied whole Burgenland and proclaimed the
state of Burgenland. Just few words could be told
about these great deeds and only some people know who
these heroic rebellious soldiers were. The fact that
Sopron preserved her Hungarian status owing to the
battle of Ágfalva as this lead to the negotiations of
Venice. The only soldier who died on the battlefield
on 5th of September in defence of the Hungarian lands
was a Bechene Muslim called Ahmed. The Albanian
Muslim group was lead by Hassan beg, a deserted hodja.
His courage and audacity were legendary. The Muslim
soldiers were also given one of the 3000 bronze
medallions, coined by the order of Prónay, along with
other soldiers. The medallions were also accompanied
by a ’Medallion Certificate of Burgenland’ that
entitled them to wear the medallion. Prónay also
designed a separate list of the rebels that has not
been found yet but maybe it was not prepared later on.
However, it would be of great help to my researches.
But let’s get back to Durics who later became the
prominent figure of the Hungarian Muslim life. He was
also decorated with bronze medallion of the revolt of
Western-Hungary, coined by the order of Prónay in
3000 pieces in the short lived Burgenland, along with
the other medallions of World War I.
Durics attained the Hungarian
citizenship in Kecskemét in February of 1927. It might
seam strange, as he lived in Molnár street, Budapest.
However, he could not pay the much higher fee charged
in Budapest, so, he decided by Kecskemét where he also
had many friends, mostly agriculturors, in the Ragged
Guard lead by Prónay and Héjjas.
He explains it as follows:
Registry made in the chief
notary’s office of the city of Kecskemét on 2nd of
March in 1926. Durics Hussein Hilmy, inhabitant of
Budapest, was present and said as it follows: I issued
a request to the city of Kecskemét to consent me to
become her inhabitant as the amount of the fee request
in Budapest is too high and, thus, I cannot pay it. I
have chosen the city of Kecskemét because I fought
side by side with its inhabitants in Western Hungary
and I have many friends among them. I own 1040 acres
of land in Bosnia but a death penalty would await me,
if I returned back home. I wish to apply for the
Hungarian citizenship on this purpose. So, I ask you
with all my respect to approve my request. At the
moment, I work as property guardian for regional
centre and I woulf get a full job upon the receipt of
the citizenship. Dated as above.’
Durics Hilmi Hussein also
annexes a CV to his request. This CV and the interview
given to Pál Móricz, journalist of the Buda Diary, in
1932 were my information sources. In addition, other
Press releases and the Medriczky files were also among
my data basis.
Durics Hilmi Hussein, the
founder and leader of the modern history of Islam in
Hungary, transformed from an ’effendi’, virtually an
impoverished military officer, into ’a great mufti of
Buda’ who travelled all around the world and whose
figure appeared ont he first pages of journals. His
destiny also defined the fate of the Hungarian Muslim
community. He had the dream of setting up an Islamic
centre, close to Gül Baba’s shrine, under his own
leadership. Today’s Muslims of Hungary are still lack
of this centre regardless that 70 years have passed
by.
The estimated number of Muslims
of the era was around 4000 in Hungary and 300 of them
belonged to the Turkish colony that stayed here after
World War I, under the religious guidance of the
Turkish imam, Abdul Latif. Germanus speaks about
30,000 Muslims. The others were Bechenes, Albanians
and Macedonians. They are mainly blue-collar workers,
craftsmen, gardeners and junior officers and some
fence trainers. It was hard for them to get adapted
and identified to the Hungarian background as many of
them struggled for long with linguistic problems as
well. Their culture, mind set and religion also
impeded their fast assimilation. How did they become
the enthusiastic supporters of the Hungarian
right-side party? Ono ne hand, they were also the
victims of Trianon, on the other hand their patriotic
feelings also granted them political equality in
Hungarian society. There is no evidence that Durics
had connections with the left-side party but his way
to the National Front close to the fascist ideology
was owing to his supporters and speechwriters. The
Diary of Buda published an article of one page ont he
’Foundation of the autonomic community of Islamic
religion on 3rd of August, 1931. It is titled “The
Muessin calls for prayer after 250 years’. It took
place at 11 o’clock in the morning, on 2nd of January
when the whole community gathered together to set up
the community of Islamic religion approved by the Act
Nr.17 of 1916. At half past eleven Durics Hilmi
Hussein lead a prayer in front of the community.
The notaries and authenticators
were also elected. In addition, the Mejilis i.e. the
Council of the elderly which was also referred to as a
kind of presbytery by the Press, was also elected.
Ismail Mehmedagics, imam of Buda and vice-mufti was
elected as muezzin, Mehmed Reszulovics was conceded
the title of notary and secretary, while Abdul Latif
was given the role of judge of the Buda Sharía Court.
Durics Hilmi Hussein was designated to the position of
religious leader and mufti. Several Christians, like
Tivadar Galánthay-Glock, retired general, who had
sympathy for Islam were also members of the Mejlis.
The legal counsel of the community was Lidértejedi dr
Kiss Árpád. Dániel Gegus, retired vice-chief captain,
and Dr. Siegfrid Umlauff, late Bosnian regional
leader, were charged with the role of substitution.
The Independent Hungarian Autonomic Islamic religious
community of Buda also compiled a regulation of 12
pages that was prepared along with Christian
supporters of the community. “…those who gained
excellent merits regarding the religious community
life, the patron of the religious community will grant
him the title of patron (müfettis in Turkish). We have
knowledge about two Members of Parliament, Dr. István,
Bárczy and dr. Jenő Kozma, were patrons along with 3
other Hungarians, namely Dr Vilmos Henyey, late state
secretary and President of Hollós Mátyás Society,
editor and local patriot Béla Virág, the
Vice-President and butler of the same society and
György Petrichevich retired general, chief-secretary
of the military Maria-Teresia Order and Vice-President
of the Gül-Baba Cultural Committee. Gyula Germanus,
the most famous Hungarian Muslim, had the
responsibility of Chief-secretary of the Culture
Committee which was an exclusively Christian
organization that backed Durics and his companion and
lead the work related to the community. These
personalities were so prestigious and influential that
the vice-mayor, Endre Liber, gave them an appointment
when their Bechene-Hungarian protégés asked for
admission in August of
1931.
Abdul-Latif did not accept the
title offered to him and he also questioned Durics’
title as ‘religious leader’. Durics Hilmi and
Abdul-Latif, who was not a Hungarian citizen just a
Turkish imam left here by the Ottomans, had debates on
the columns of the local Press for years mutually
accusing each other. As it is well-known, our great
Islam researcher who also became a Muslim, Gyula
Germanus, got in touch with the Hungarian-Bechene
Muslims and, as he suggested them regarding Durics
Hilmi as their leader, he attained an enemy in
Abdul-Latif’s person.
He describes this period in his
book, Allahu Akbar, as follows:
“…A Hungarian Muslim religious
community was founded during my stay in India. Its
members were mainly Bechenes who gained Hungarian
citizenship. After the foundation of the community,
one of them made the call for prayer i.e. the edhan
and the news was published in the Press of the Muslim
world and it filled the Muslim hearts of love.
I witnessed how the eyes of the
old Muslims looked up in the sky with tears in their
eyes when their companions read them the news from the
journals. …these Bechene-Hungarian Muslims, all poor
and hard-working blue-collar workers, came to my place
and expressed their hope for my help. Upon my advice,
the Hungarian Muslim Council intended to make a
peaceful agreement and cooperation between Abdul-Latif
and the Bechene-Hungarian imam but this intent failed
due to the Turkish imam’s stubborn nature. He feared
to lose his privileged position owing to the
autonomic works of the Hungarian Muslim community and
he wished to cross it over by all means.’
The Hungarian Muslims also
celebrated the feast of St. Stephen held in the
capital on 20th of August, 1931 at the address of 19
Hold street, as the contemporary reports say. Durics
Hilmi Hussein told his first official religious
speech of the newly founded Muslim community. I prefer
to quote to demonstrate the situation of the period:
‘Dear Muslims, dear celebrating audience! A millennium
ago, the Hungarian race was gifted by a great king by
Allah’s, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful, will:
the wise St. Stephen who
founded the state of Hungary that resisted the storms
of a millennium because the great king established his
dream upon the one and only God… One should not be
worried about this country, which we, Hungarian
Muslims, also make part of, until Hungary follows her
first wise king’s traditions. We will also get rid of
the chains of Trianon created by human
short-sightedness and wickedness, inshaAllah. Allah
ordered freedom and not prison to the Hungarian
nation. We, Hungarian Muslim of Slave mother tongue
but of Hungarian attachment, are also part of the
ancient Turanian-Iranian family; our ancient land was
an ornament of St. Stephen’s crown, so, we love our
Hungarian country and, if required, we’ll defend it
by sacrificing our lives and blood for it. The Quran
orders u to love God and our Country and we follow
Allah’s commandments. The faith of the living,
Almighty, Merciful and true God is threatened by
Satan’s hordes and they want to render people
anti-religious, atheist, immoral and orphan. They
prefer machines to God, immorality to morality,
inequality to love for your fellow brother and special
estimation. They confront rough financial interests
with honesty, they split up the traditions of family
life, they incite children to revolt against their
parents, split up the respect of authority and want to
set up the country of the Dajjal (Anti-Messiah) of
Moscow. They demolish mosques, churches, houses of
worship, schools and they build altars to immorality
and atheism. Should this Satanic attack come from
either the West or the East, Islam proclaims veto on
it! We must gather around God to bring down the power
of Satan and his auxiliary troops and lead people back
to the way of the fear of God, respect of authority,
honesty, patriotism and mercy. There is no life, no
advance and no prosperity without and against God!
It’s essential for Hungary to accept Islam in the
future great war because, if all the believers come
together, then, the St. Stephen’s Kingdom will not be
only a passing phenomenon of history but it will
extend again from the Carpathians to the Adriatic-Sea.
‘We, Hungarian Muslims, bow our
heads with respect to Saint Stephan, the prophet of
this country, and we sing together with our Hungarian
Christian brother: ‘Where are you, St. Stephen, we,
Hungarians, need you and wait for you in draped in
black and crying in front of you. Ameen.’
These speeches and the leaders
of the Muslim movement of the period were
characterized by the will of taking the lost areas
back and the Turanic heritage. After this speech, the
Bechene-Hungarian Muslims marched to Buda “in
well-organized four lines under the Mufti’s
leadership’, where ‘one of the ulemas that substituted
the muezzin, for the first time after 250 years, sang
again the sad Arabic call for prayer in a halting
voice…’ From now on, this call for prayer will be
performed every Friday.’ This day, Ali Nassir Bedawi
pasha came from Vienna to Buda and negotiated, among
others, with Durics Hilmi, as well.
The Buda Diary reports its
readers in an edition of 1931 that the Islamic
catechism, written by Durics Hilmi, will also be on
the list of school books.
This piece of art will be
published by the press and editing company of Mátyás
Hollós. It is also reported in the Buda Diary’s
edition, dated on 1st of September, 1931 that many
Western and Arabic papers spoke about the Muslims’
celebration of St. Stephen’s day. It also relates that
a commission will visit the Wagner Castle built
around the shrine upon the invitation of the Gül Baba
Culture Committee which operates and supports the
Muslim community. The investigation is focused on the
possibilities and the method of constructing the
community Mosque and Islamic educational centres.
Some of the papers of the Christian Churches started
to attack Durics Hilmi (Protestant Life: Who invited
the effendi to Budapest?)
The Buda Diary, the half
official press representative of the community,
answered these accusations on 21st of September, 1931
with the article ‘Christians in Islam’ as it follows:
The cooperation between Muslims and Christians in the
committee lead people ignorant of the situation to
criticism. This cooperation contradicts neither the
regulations of the Holy Quran, nor its traditions or
the caliph’s provisions. The fifth Surat of the Quran
makes this exception: ‘…and you will find the nearest
of them in affection to the believers those who say,
"We are Christians. (Sahih International)
Then, it starts to explain that
the Islamic religion admits Jesus (Isa) and Mary, the
Virgin; gives a historical summary on the nature of
the cooperation among Muslims and Christians.
Durics Hilmi Hussein and his
congregation were received letters of congratulations
and telegrams from the Muslim world and they intended
to publish them all to gain more popularity. Their
Christian supporters regarded this small Muslim
community as business opportunity. If a Muslim
maharaja, a rheumatic Indian politician or an Egyptian
business man spent some days in Budapest, the Buda
Diary welcomed it with enthusiasm and also reproached
the official authorities why they did not use these
opportunities from the Buda thermal baths to Durics.
There were also great projects
and designs made on the Buda Islam bastion and
centre. The first plans were made by Ferenc Suppinger
in 1931 and four years later a large-scale project,
that included a mosque, a College and an boarding
school connected to it, was prepared by Lóránd Lechner
in 1935. Based on the project, Durics Hilmi could
imagine himself as the emir of a Muslim district or
city and the chief supporter, Andor Medreczky, dreamt
about becoming a wealthy man.
The Hungarian Muslim community
also received an invitation letter to Jerusalem, the
rampant of the Pan-Islamic movement, where Hadji
Mehmet Jemaluddin travelled along with Csausevics in
November of 1931.
This congress, finally delayed
to the spring of the following year, also adopted
resolutions with regard to Hungary. So, Durics Hilmi
Hussein was conceded the title of Chief-mufti and was
registered among the world’s chief-muftis of the
Muslim world. The foundation of a pilgrimage site
close to the Buda shrine along with a religious centre
was also theoretically approved.
In the meantime, the Muslims of
Hungary held the fasting of Ramadan, regardless that
it did not start with much celebration and grandeur.
The Buda Diary narrates: ‘This time, the only symbol
of the fasting, inaugurated with much celebration all
over the world, in Buda was a spread praying carpet, a
small praying table behind which the sheik dressed in
black was standing together with his assistant and the
religious leader of the community, named after Gül
Baba, Hilmi Hussein, great mufti of Buda, and the
imam, Ismail Mechmedagics, on his knees.’
‘First, the Quran was recited,
then, the great mufti told a compassionate prayer for
the governor and the resurrection of Hungary. The
audience got moved by the frank words and the
remonstrance of the chief-mufti to lead a God-fearing
life, loyalty to one’s country and honest, altruist
life.’
In February of 1932, István
Bárczy, retired Minister of Justice and ex-Chief-Mayor
who was elected as patron (mufatis) to the
Hungarian-Bechene Muslims, met Durics Hilmi Hussein
and his companions. Bárczy accepted this
responsibility and promised to support the community.
Durics Hilmi decided to try to get the support of
Zogu, king of Albania, to the Hungarian Muslims and
set off towards Tirana through Vienna and Trieste.
Reports relate that local
Muslims welcomed him with great respect at all the
stations. King Zogu approved of the request of
patronage in the Hungarian Muslims’ case. However, he
did not do anything for the Bechene-Hungarian
community until his dismissal. He decorated Hilmi with
a medal, commander medallion of Skander Beg with
diamond stars, but nothing else. Hilmi was on
visitation to the King of Albania, Zogu, and a high
mass was also held prior to his departure to home.
This farewell party took place in the presence of the
Ministers of the Alban administration along with the
leaders of the economic- and religious life just to
demonstrate how seriously Durics and his companions
were taken. King Zogu and the Albanian Order of Bektas
offered several thousand golden pengoe for the
construction of the Buda mosque and the school and
this amount would have been transferred after the
laying of the foundation.
The leader of the Order of
Bektas also gifted a decorated turban to Durics. In
the meantime, it was announced that fifty Muslim
Albanian students would come to do their studies to
the new medress and the administration expressed its
wish to make diplomatic contacts with Hungary.
Yet the Press of the Arabic
world, like the ‘Sirsti Mustakim’ based in Bagdad i.e.
the official and most relevant newspaper of the
Kingdom of Iraq, gave special attention to the
Hungarian Muslims. Its edition of 23rd of February,
1932 included three long articles on the Hungarian
Muslim community. I would hereby quote the leading
article: “250 years have passed by since the last
Muessin called for prayer in Buda Castle. However,
thanks to the efforts of Hungarian Muslims and the
assistance of Imam Hussein Hilmi effendi, who has
great reputation in the Eastern Muslim world, and some
of his Hungarian friends, they succeeded in reviving
Islam in Hungary. Hussein Hilmi effendi, who was
elected as great mufti, informed all the Muslim
leaders of the world who transmitted it to their
nations on this significant historical event.’ “His
Excellence, emir, Sektib Arslan, the personality of
great relevance of the Islamic world, has accepted to
be the main patronage.’ Ibrahim, his Excellence the
Sultan of Johore, has promised emir Arslan the help of
Indian Muslim and he accepted the charge of patron.’
King Faisal, sovereign of Iraq and Mesopotamia, also
called on his subjects to participate in the Gül Baba
project…’ Quotes are from the edition of 10th of
April, 1932.
It is striking that all the
Muslim leaders of the period were called on to provide
support to the case of Islam in Hungary and regardless
promises, no financial sacrifice was made to construct
the Mosque. As Durics had no money, these diplomatic
steps were taken to guarantee financial conditions to
complete these great projects. The Islamic world and
their national patrons only gave them verbal support
and reassurance.
Dr. Erebara Ali Bey, Zogu
king’s personal representative visited Hungary in
July, 1932 and he also took part in several official
meetings, had a personal discussion with Hilmi as
well, but the Muslims of Hungary only got promises.
The year of 1932 seemed to be outstanding from a
Muslim point of view as Sekib Arslan, emir of Syria,
also paid a visit to Hungary.
The emir participated in many
official meetings and spent most of his time with
Durics. Buda Diary reports that it was his fifth visit
to Hungary. Regardless the emir’s promises, however,
this visit did not have the expected results from an
economic point of view. Mehmedagics Izmail writes an
article for the 250th anniversary of the reoccupation
of Buda in the same edition. The last sentences
draw much attention: …’It was on Friday. The Mosque
has disappeared along with the bazaar and many
fountains have sunk. But the two brothers might –come
to find each other!’
On 22nd of November, 1932 the
Mayor of Budapest charged Durics Hilmi Hussein with
the supervision and the care of the graves of the
Muslim dead in the point 10 of the Regulation No. 199.
550 of 1932. The great mufti of Buda had diplomatic
duties: he had a negotiation with the leader of the
Senusia Order in Rome, then, he went to Tirana where
he met Zogu king at Christmas and gifted him a silver
sword that was owned by István Bárczy. The sword had
Hungarian and Arabic scriptures on it. It was a
present to Hilmi from the head of the Bektash Dervish
Order in occasion of Ramadan and he also asked Hilmi
to joint the Order and he was given further gifts.
Ramadan was celebrated
separately in Hungary as the Turks were lead by their
imam, Abdul Latif. The Pest Diary narrates about it in
its edition of 28th of January, 1933, as follows:
‘Hilmi Hussein held the worships of Ramadan in his
flat. Abdul, Latif, the old imam, spoke about Allah’s
truth in Mecset street. Only Allah knows who the real
imam is.’
The division was gradually
growing between the two communities and they attacked
each other in un-Islamic ways in different Press
releases several times and had their supporters
represent them.
The general public just smiled
at these arguments but Durics was more backed owing to
his past and Hungarian citizenship.
In all cases, Durics and his
companions referred to the laws of 1895 and 1916 in
accordance with which only a Hungarian citizen can be
religious leader and to the really important fact that
he, himself, was unanimously elected by all the
Muslims of Hungary, may they be Bechenes or
Albanians, most of them in possess of a Hungarian
citizenship.
He also rejects that the
Muslims of Hungarian origins are parted into two.
However, it was a fact that the
majority of Turks supported Abdul Latif.
In February of 1932, Durics and
his companions celebrated the ‘Seker-Bajram’ i.e. the
feast that indicates the end of Hajj in Mecca. The
feast was held in Hotel Espelade, where Durics was
given a suite so that he could accept his foreign
friends in proper conditions. Several well-known
personalities of Hungarian social life participated in
the feast.
It shall be noted that Prof.
Gyula Germanus, who had already embraced Islam, was
also present and held a conference to the
participants. Since Hilmi and his friends also
sacrificed a lamb and offered a prayer together.
The journal Pest Diary narrates
the event titled as ‘The Bayram feast of the Hungarian
Muslim community’ illustrated with pictures.
However, the great mufti of
Buda awaited the financial support promised earlier in
vain, the year 1932 only had unfulfilled promises.
In 1933 the contemporary Press
relates all the feasts of the Hungarian-Bechene
Muslims again and the Buda Diary vividly describes the
visitors of high rank. This year the conflict renewed
between the Hungarian Muslims lead by Hilmi and the
Turkish Muslims lead by Abdul Latif owing to the start
of the month of Ramadan.
After Ramadan, Arslan emir of
Syria, on his way to Geneva where a Pan-Islamic
congress was held, paid another visit to Budapest in
1934 who was treated with special attention by Durics,
however, the visit only kept promises. The emir was
also hosted by the Hollós Mátyás Society that also
supported the case of the Hungarian Muslims.
In 1935, renewed efforts were
made to attain support to the case of the Islamic
Centre and a letter was sent to the Prime Minister of
Hungary.
The letter to Gyula Gömbös was
signed by Medriczky, Bárczy and Petrichevich and it
says as follows: “…The autonomic religious community
of the Hungarian Muslims has not yet been admitted by
the Hungarian Authorities for several reasons, thus,
this condition frames our actions and makes different
kinds of problems. The continuous efforts made by the
Embassy of one of the foreign states to oppress this
movement owing to the request of the Turkish imam
resident here. The specific intention of Hungarian
Muslims was bidirectional in this period: they wished
to make it financially possible to purchase the
property around Gül Baba’s grave to set up
establishments for religious purposes on one hand, on
the other hand, found ritual boarding-schools and
schools for Orthodox Muslim College students. In
addition, it was important to construct a Mosque that
fits the wonderful view of Budapest and start
scientific work related to religion like publishing
the Hungarian translation of the Holy Quran.
To attain all these goals, they
relied on the well-known solidarity and
self-abnegation of the Islamic world.
b) Meanwhile, they wish to
start collecting voluntary charities after getting
the moral support of the most prominent Muslim
personalities. In occasion of this charity work, they
also plan to organize propaganda conferences in most
Islamic cities, publish articles on the same topic in
local papers and they invite Muslims whose trip might
have cultural-, economic and touristic benefit to the
country.
It has recently become
essential to organize and to bring this Eastern
collection into effect. Thus, we ask Your Majesty to
consent the Imam elected by Hungarian Muslim, the
great mufti of Buda, Durics Husszein Hilmi in
possession of a Hungarian citizenship, and beg
Reszulovics Mehmet, who also holds Hungarian
citizenship and works as Hungarian military sports
doctor, to collect voluntary donations from foreign
Muslims to carry out the intentions aforesaid and
transfer the amount to the bank account of the Gül
Baba Committee. We found it necessary to set up the
Gül Baba Committee which has political and moral
control over the movement.
The Gül Baba Committee wishes
to have control over the money management so that the
sums of cash are used to cover real expenses that have
arisen during the fund rising.
Dear Mr. Prime Minister,
As this movement is quiet
extraordinary thanks to its available means and
declared purposes, we would like to ask Your
Excellency to give us the permission free of
restriction for the period of three years by
considering the morality of the personalities who make
part of this group.
In 1934 Durics and Ismail
Mehmedagics had already travelled to Egypt, Syria and
Palestine. Hadj Amin al-Husseini, the anti-Semitic
head of the Pan Islamic Congress and Hitler’s later
friend, made them promises related to the East.
Durics and his companions set out for a second trip
with the hope of getting real financial support
instead of promises.
They left for
Alexandria-Jerusalem, Damaskus, Bombay and Haiderabad
in 1935. Hilmi held several conferences during their
journey of several months and the local papers wrote a
lot about him and the case of Islam in Hungary, they
were also welcomed by the local aristocracy and
sovereigns like the king of Iraq and the local
monarch of Hyderabad.
But they only returned with
promises again.
“We had no financial success in
Arabia…”-quote from Mehmedagics’ diary.
It is obvious that the Turkish
religious leader’s, Abdul Latif, intrigues also
contributed to the failure of their journey. The Press
interviews made with Durics demonstrate that he hoped
that financial promises made by the Eastern Muslim
sovereigns regarding the construction of the Islamic
centre would come true. It is well know that he had to
loan money for his trips and he had serious problems
with his creditors after his arrival to Hungary. The
newspaper, Hungarian World, published a summary of the
articles appeared in the local foreign Press on
Durics’ visits.
“Al Okab (Bagdad): The great
mufti of Hungary in Bagdad”
Al Tarik(Bagdad): His
Excellency the king has given audience to Mr. Durics
Hilmi…
Al-Bilad (Bagdad): Islam in
Europe and Hungary”
While Durics was making efforts
to gain financial support for the case of the Gül Baba
Mosque, several Hungarian Muslims gathered at the
shrine on Saint Stephen’s day, as the Pest Diary
relates it: “Several Hungarian Muslims live without
spiritual support. Religious leaders are fighting and
arguing because all of them wish to become leader, so,
right now, there are neither religious leaders, nor
Islam. Nobody takes care of the Father of Roses’
shrine preserved for centuries, the great feast of
‘Bayram’ has lost its importance, everything is taken
by devastation and destruction, regardless that Islam
is a supported and approved religion in Hungary…- If
things go well, Durics will get back home in fall. He
has been to Arabia and now he’s raising fund at the
rich Maharajas of the Indian subcontinent. He surely
has some diamond jewellery in his pocket and ten
thousand pengoes are spent from a Muslim aristocrat’s
donation of 60,000 pengoes. We will have such a
beautiful Mosque over Gül Baba’s shrine that Turks
will long to visit Buda after Mecca… A new Turkish
rule will flourish in Buda and the pilgrims’ train
will be arriving one after the other, the Mosque will
be completed by a school but all will agree on being
good and loyal Hungarians…”
After all this failure, Durics
turned to Zogu, king of Albania again who was also
elected as the patron of Hungarian Islam and he also
gifted him a model of the future mosque, evaluated to
450 pengoes by the Hungarian Customs, along with a
small pocket of soil from around the shrine.
This memory model was taken to
a museum under the reign of Enver Hodja and was handed
over to the leader of the Albanian Bektash Order where
it is still exhibited. In the meantime, Mussolini was
also proclaimed as the patron of Hungarian Islam. One
may recall the negotiations with the Libyans.
The Buda Diary says that It was
Durics who celebrated the marriage ceremony of king
Zogu and Geraldine Apponyi, as Durics had been
assigned as the great mufti of his Court.
Destiny has funny games:
Mussolini, patron of Hungarian Islam, chased Zogu,
king of Albania, the other patron of Hungarian Islam,
from the throne. So, Durics and his companions lost
yet another hope.
After so much disappointment,
Andor Medreczky kept on supporting the idea of Eastern
tourism but with less enthusiasm and he also forgot to
mention Durics’ name. He had hard feelings for him
because Durics had joined the National Front, a fact
Medreczky did not like as his views were closer to
those of Bárczy.
The Muslims –Hungarian-Bechene
and the Turks- celebrated the seker and khurban
bayrams independently from each other. In the
thirties, many articles of interest were published on
the common points of Christianity and Islam and the
refusal of analogy between Islam and the Turks, as
many believed. Some supported the idea of pulling up a
Mosque around Gül Baba’s shrine or its renovation and
the demolition of Wagner Castle adjacent to it.
In 1936 Béla Viráag died and he
was followed by Gyula Lippay, while the Buda Diary was
replaced by the Buda Chronicles and none of them
seemed to be supporters of the case of Islam even if
some articles were published on it. Durics Hilmi
Hussein died of his pneumatic illness in János
Hospital in February of 1940. He died at the age of
52, a quiet early age.
His obituary appeared on the
pages of the 7th of February, 1940 of the Buda
Chronicles. His personality was praised along with his
active participation in all the community events and
supported the improvement of the touristic sector.
“He wasn’t an ordinary person.
He was driven by great projects and ideas.
And if he determined something,
he also carried it out. He did not care about
obstacles, nor difficulties. He took a trip to the
East twice to promote his ideas related to Buda with
his personal attraction and his wonderful propaganda
of his words: the construction of Gül Baba Mosque, the
setup of Muslim Academy e cultural centre.
He visited the Court of Arab
principles and kings, he travelled to Egypt, India and
he encouraged and agitated for his case and achieved
that large sums would be available to reach his goals,
if once… This ‘if once’ was the the cause and the
purpose of his fights and sadness.”
“The hopeless windmill fight of
the Don Quijotes is always both tragical and comical.
However, it is always respectful.”
In 1946, the eternal enemy,
Abdul Latif, was also dead.
Both of them were buried in
Rákoskeresztúr New Cemetery, in the parcel destined
to Muslims, very close to each other.
Andor Medreczky escaped from
the Soviet troops in 1944 and his further life story
is unknown. However, he had handed over a large file
to Dr. Lajos Kovács, chief archivist.
The files also included a piece
of green baize of 20 x 20 cm on which this Quranic aya
was embroidered: You are dead and they are dead. This
baize piece must have been used for funerals.
Unfortunately, this baize piece
was not found anywhere a few years ago, however, it
had existed in the ‘80ies. Among the Muslims of
Budapest who cooperated with Durics for the case of
Hungarian Islam, Abid Csátis was the last who died.
There was nobody who would have
told the Fatiha above his grave as he had done to his
Muslim brothers who died earlier. Mehmet Raszulovics,
who had left for Vienna after 1956, died in the
Austrian capital. The great Muslim scientist of the
period, Gyula Germanus, died in 1979.
He was buried in Farkasrét
Cemetery, I was the only Hungarian Muslim present at
his funeral that was done by an employee of the
Embassy of Libya according to Muslim rituals. However,
the Arab students who did their studies here were by
my side and they were the ones who represented
“Hungarian Islam” for a long period. After a pause of
several decades, new efforts were being made for the
case of Islam in Hungary prior to the political
transition but it is another story which I’ve also
been a part of.
On the dead of the Muslim
Cemetery of Budapest
Only a few people know that one
of the parcels of the Cemetery of Kozma street has
been operating as the funeral place of the Muslims of
Budapest.
I believe the oldest tomb dates
back to 1891 and the deceased was called pasha
Szokollu Mehmed, who could be a Turkish nobleman.
Sergeant Nadim Bey and his wife, Hadidse Hanum of
Turkish origins, also rest by his side. The other tomb
hides the rests of another noble Turk called Bayilkay
Ahmet Nadir who was the chief Turkish council. He died
on 12 th of July, 1937.
There are also
Bechene-Hungarian deceased, those who participated in
this story as well. However, life went on and new
Muslim immigrants arrived. Birth includes death as
well; so, the tombs of this cemetery are increasing:
The international feature of our religion is indicated
by the Pakistani, Turkish, Arabic and Chinese Muslim
inscriptions.
TODAY’S HISTORY
The contemporary history of
Islam in Hungary
The year 1949 indicates a
period in the history of democracies that did not
favor Ecclesiastic development and the practice of any
religions. This affected smaller communities of
unclear status more than well-known, large religions,
regardless that differences between adopted and
admitted communities were cancelled by the Legislation
of the Republic of Hungary in 1947. Gyula Ortutay, the
Minister in charge, held a speech on it at the
Parliament of Hungary in this occasion:
„It shall be noted, as a point
of interest, that the Article No. 17. of 1916 that
proclaimed Muslims as an admitted community, that only
had around 300 members, due to the political
requirements of World War I. However, this approval
has not yet rendered it necessary the setup of an
admitted Islamic religious community here in Hungary.
It also demonstrates how much Churches depended on the
State and how many benefits these Churches gained from
their dependence on the State and how much they relied
on it.” There are some who argue how much this
dependence reduced from 1947 when Act No. 33 was
approved. From 1947 it was not permitted to practice
Islam in Hungary, its followers were discriminated and
exposed to persecution. Durics’ companions went to
offer their prayer at Gül Baba’s shrine secretly.
Antecedents from my perspective
I officially embraced Islam in
1978 and I had consciously prepared for it. Somewhere,
I shared the young Gyula Germanus’ ideal that all
related to Islam was equivalent to the Ottoman-Turks.
At high school, I got Gyula Germanus’ address and I
wrote him a letter to help me embrace Islam and do my
Islamic studies. His secretary answered me in his name
and he encouraged me to study languages so that I
could deepen my knowledge on the religion I had so
much interest for.
As a child, I was raised as a
strict Roman Catholic, I served at mass, I was
received into the Church and I also did the
confirmation ceremony.
I was really attracted by the
holy sermon at Church.
I believe I used to read all
the books of the local library that were translated
to Hungarian on Turks, Arabs and Islam. In the summer
of 1975, I made friends with two Arabic students at
the university preparatory camp. It was the first time
I had met born Muslims. I was lucky as these Arabic
students practiced their religion, so, practicing
Muslims became my first teachers and they introduced
me to other Arabic students as well who were mostly
Sudanese and Egyptians. The students who studied in
Hungary were usually delegated by a so called
national liberation movement or a Syndicate or a
Marxist (Communist) movement. Only some of them could
finance their own studies individually. These students
were those who practiced their religion on a regular
basis and lived according to Islam. Most of them,
however, drank alcohol, lived in sexual promiscuity
and even ate pork. There were no arguments between the
two groups.
The supporters of the system
were usually non-practicing students who talked about
their religion and politics secretly between each
other.
Many ex-Marxist students stayed
here and became fervent Muslims after the Islamic
renewal. Now they regard themselves as the front-line
figures of Islam today. I will be talking about them
later. There were also some Hungarians who decided to
embrace Islam after they had read Germanus’ books.
There were also Hungarian women who got married to
Muslim men and embraced Islam via marriage. Most of
them moved abroad. I will give a further detailed
summary of mixed marriages.
This small, practicing Muslim
community held Friday’s Salatul Jummah and the
meetings and iftars of Ramadan at the College of
Budapest University of Technology and Economics on a
regular basis. I attended all the places they met like
the College of Kruspér street and that of the Castle,
but there were meetings held in the College of Bartók
Béla street but not so often as elsewhere.
Maybe the best and most
qualified imams of the period were an Egyptian young
man called Abu Bakr. The Embassy of Egypt, Libya and
Iran also gave place to Friday prayers and Muslim
feasts. The Revolution of Iran of 1979 was most
welcomed by religious Muslims and listened to the news
on Iran without stopping. By this period, I had
embraced Islam and I was a regular practicing Muslim
and I tried to participate at the Salatul Jummah every
Friday till 1980.
However, the fall of 1980
brought along a change as the porter of the College
of the University of Technology and Economics close to
Petőfi-bridge noticed that I was Hungarian and
declared that I could not go to offer my prayers there
any more. I intended to take part in Salatul Jummah
but the lady seemed to be suspicious and did not
believe the promises I had made a week before. She
threatened me to call the police and ordered me to
leave the place regardless the nice words of my Arabic
friends who tried to persuade her with nice words.
From this case till the political transition, I could
not participate in Salatul Jummah.
Religious students were so much
afraid of the Hungarian regime that they neither dared
to oppose it, nor find any solutions to me regarding
my education, etc.
In 1979 I had made friends with
a religious Afghan student who was not willing to
return to the Communist Afghanistan. There was also a
secret underground Muslim organization I only knew
superficially due to its secret organizational
structure. This Afghan young man reached Kuwait with a
false passport. In this period, I had Sudanese friends
and I was planning to leave for Eritrea to help
Muslims there fight against the soldier of the
Ethiopian Communist regime. These childish projects,
however, failed, along with my plans to do studies in
Egypt and Iran.
After leaving the Army in 1981,
I renewed my contacts with some Muslim students and in
August I paid a visit to Gyula Germanus’ widow who
lived at Petőfi-Square in Budapest. I visited her in
the company of an Iraqi acquaintant who was in Hungary
for a visit and used to have a personal contact with
Professor Gyula Germanus. The conversation was about
the memories of the past while taking a cup of tea. I
received a photo of Gyula Germanus with the message as
follows: To Sultan Mohamed Bolek with love from Aisha
Germanus, 15 of August, Budapest.
I followed the Press news
related to Islam on a regular basis and it was several
times mentioned that an Islamic Centre would be build
in Hungary thanks to the financial support of a
wealthy oil-sheik. As it is well-know, these plans did
not come true.
In this period I received a
Quran of Arabic language from the Islamic Centre of
Aachen in Germany (previous FRG) to which official
Arabic certificates were annexed to prove that the
Holy Book was authentic.
In addition, I was also sent
books on Islam in German language, all of them are
preserved as relics along with Arabic certificates up
today.
In 1983 the government
officials of Hungary carefully came up with the idea
of setting up an Islamic Centre in Budapest, however,
the project failed due to ideological reasons,
although the Embassies of Muslim countries had much
interested in the idea destined to failure. The summer
of 1987 gave place to a camp for young architects in
Rózsadomb, where the British-Iraqi architect, Basil
Bayat, made the design of an Islamic Centre dedicated
to Gyula Germanus again. Regardless of the serious
talks started with the Muslim World League financed by
Saudi-Arabia and the State Office of Religious
Affairs, no further steps were taken in this regard.
The Hungarian Party claimed a very high amount for the
agreement. It is obvious, that Saudi purposes were not
taken seriously by the Hungarian administration.
Foundation and history of the
Islamic Community of Hungary till 1996
The most active and interested
participant of the Saudi-Hungarian talks that took
place in 1987 was Dr. Balázs Mihálffy who was later
elected as the sheik-president of the Islamic
Community of Hungary.
Dr. Balázs Mihálffy’s mother
was a teacher and his father was an architect. He was
given a strong Roman-Catholic education.
He fist came in contact with
Islam and the language of the Holy Quran in the
College of Gödöllő University of Agriculture thanks to
his Sudanese companions with whom he shared his room.
He later did some courses at the Arabic Department of
ELTE along with his studies of Agricultural
Engineering. He studied Arabic so much that the 1991
edition of HVG made this comment on Dr. Balázs
Mihálffy:”…many admire his sophisticated Arabic
knowledge from Cairo to Rabat.” After graduating from
University as a crop producer, he wrote his doctorate
dissertation on the Agriculture of Iraq. From 1980 he
represented Agrobert in Libya for two years and he
worked as the Customs and tax expert of a Libyan
company for a year. He later drew the attention of the
sheik of Al-Azhar University who gave him the
opportunity to study Islamic theology after his daily
work. He was also preparing the water investments of
the Hungarian company, Hidroexport, in Egypt. After
his talks, that ended late at night, with the sheik he
witnessed in 1985: ‘I bear witness that there is no
God but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger.’ His
transformation into a Muslim ended at this point. It
was the sheik who gave him the Muslim name
‘Abdurrahman’ that implies ‘the servant of the
Merciful’ in Hungarian. He started to organize
Islamic religious life in Hungary in 1986.
As a result of his efforts, the
Islamic Community of Hungary was declared an
officially admitted community by Imre Miklós,
Secretary of State and President of the State Office
of Religious Affairs, in accordance with Act No. 63 of
1895 on the Free practice of religion and Act no. 17
of 1916 on the Approval of Islamic faith of 1916.
Dr. Balázs Abdurrahman Mihálffy
earned great and imperishable merits to have the
Islamic faith registered as Church. This fact is equal
to the setup of a major Islamic centre. If one
considers that only some European countries admit
Islam as a religion, this action of Dr. Mihálffy
highlights his merits more. I would also add that the
political leaders of the period tried to get the
financial supports of the wealthy Arabic states due to
the difficult economic situation of the country. So,
the foundation of the Islamic Community of Hungary was
the result of the efforts of a small Hungarian Muslim
group and the ideals of the political leadership which
coincided with each other. Abdurrahman became
responsible for an ecclesiastic organization without
money and any financial conditions.
The Community also worked out
the Bylaws also approved by the same Secretary of
State. The basic regulations, made by Durics and his
companions, were the basis of these Bylaws.
The first part of the Bylaws is
called Civil Declaration that defines the roles of the
community as the spreading of Islam and the Islamic
culture as responsibilities attributed by Allah along
with all important duties that bring benefit to the
people of Hungary and mankind. The Islamic Community
expresses its intentions to cooperate with those
organizations, religions and communities that have the
same goals as Islam. The Islamic Community friendly
approaches all ideologies that represent love, peace
and legality and opposes all discrimination based on
races, religions and nations.
The Islamic Community assures
the government of the People’s Republic of Hungary to
observe all its effective acts and regulations and
limits its operations in its framework. To achieve
common goals, the Islamic Community undertakes as its
religious-cultural role of being a bridge between
Hungary and the Islamic countries. The Islamic
Community distances itself from any statements or
actions that contradict the ideas of the present
Declaration.
The Bylaws of 45 points written
in the name of ‘Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most
Merciful’ proclaims that the Islamic Community of
Hungary is the community of people of Hungarian
citizenship who practice the Islamic faith. The
spreading of Islam is based on the statements of the
Holy Quran and the Prophet’s (peace be upon him)
Sunna. The community incorporates all Muslim believers
pertinent to all Muslim movements and it does not
tolerate any enmity among its followers and it also
represents these views on international Islamic
Forums.
The community membership
applies to all Muslims and it entitles everybody to
appear, cast vote, propose or vote on any topics. The
members of the Islamic Community of Hungary are
obliged to live according to its religious principles,
obey its leaders, contribute to the prosperity and
represent the interests of the community. All
individual members of the community hold
responsibility to share the liabilities of the
community, pay the religious taxes imposed on them and
participate in the decision-making and administrative
process of the community.
The Islamic Community of
Hungary declares that the Muslims of Hungary are
linked to all the Muslims of the world by the
community of faith and love. So, this Islamic
Community makes part of the Muslim world. In the light
of mutual appreciation and respect the Islamic
Community is open to keep in contacts with other
national Churches and set up ecumenical relationships.
The other points of the general principles also state
that the Community is entitled to hold contacts with
different Muslim and non-Muslim ecclesiastic
institutions and wishes to fulfill its mission given
to it by Allah at international congresses and
meetings. It further regards it important that
its members fulfill its duties as specified by the
Constitution and foreign believers observe the
principles stated therein and they do not act against
it. The organizational structure speaks for itself, it
is well prepared and precise. The right of alteration
was kept and practiced though by the new leadership.
Believers of Islamic faith practice their religion
according to three main regions: Budapest, Pécs and
Szentendre. The believers of Pécs and Budapest belong
to the Budapest leadership. The leaders of the Islamic
Community of Hungary were the sheik-president. The
community, the Shura Council (majlis-al-surah) and
Property management i.e. vakuf were lead by the sheik.
To make the ecclesiastic
inscription effective in 1988, twenty Muslim of
Hungarian citizenship had to sign it and it seemed
hard to achieve.
However, the number of
Hungarian Muslims was constantly increasing thanks to
the embrace of Islam.
Just a few Arabic Muslims
helped the community and until around 1990 Hungarian
Muslims were majorly present at Friday prayers. The
Community first rented apartments and expenses were
covered from foreign supplies and the financial
support given by the Embassy of the Islamic Republic
of Iran. The Community had its headquarters in the
18th district, close to Oktogon and Bajza street. The
majority of the membership was made up of mainly
single Hungarian women. In the apartment rented close
to Oktogon more and more Arabic students started to
attend the lectures on Islam as they were searching
for a wife among Hungarian Muslimas. A few of these
Arabic university students also questioned the
validity of some teachings which was categorically
rejected by sheik Abdurrahman.
These frequent disputes among
the Arabic students and the leader of the Community
destroyed the atmosphere. It also led to situations
when only Hungarians were permitted to take part in
the lectures. This conflict resembles much the
controversy between the Bechene-Hungarians lead by
Durics and the Turkish Imam, Abdul-Latif and there
will be much similarity independently from persons and
nationalities.
As Balázs Mihálffy found a
previous air-raid shelter situated in Mikó street,
which was renovated from foreign donations and the
social work of Hungarian Muslims, the place problem
seemed to be sorted out by 1992.
Abdurrahman’s foreign relations
were continuously expanding and he also worked as
consultant of Islamic Affairs for the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs as requested by Géza Jeszenszky, the
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the era. So, he could
accompany the delegations of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs to Muslim countries several times. He also met
the emir of Kuwait chased during the Gulf War on one
of the trips to Saudi-Arabia and his designation to
the title of Ambassador of the newly established
Embassy to Saudi-Arabia also came up.
The Antall administration also
had an Islamic lobby made up of Germanus’ students and
some Turkologists like Tamás Katona and András
Kelemen. The religious leader Ali Hamenei, successor
of imam Khomeini, welcomed the Hungarian sheik as an
equal partner on the sheik’s visit to Iran with Géza
Jeszenszky.
Abdurrahman regarded Japan as
the ideal state because work and family are in harmony
with each other. The Hungarian Community held good
contacts with several Islamic countries. Mihálffy
admitted that his reputation was more spread in
Muslim countries than Hungary owing to his translation
of the Holy Quran and his lectures. King Hussein of
Morocco’s invitation to his Court, which took place in
1990, as the critic of theological works at royal
events was also related to his reputation. The
sheik-president affirmed to be proud to preserve the
neutral status of his community at international
level. The Islamic Community of Hungary had 200
members under his leadership. All its members were
Hungarian citizens ranging from the age of 17 to that
of 75 who represented all the social classes of
Hungarian society from blue-color workers to doctors.
The average age is of 35 i.e.
young and 70% of them are women. Abdurrahman would
explain it a follows: in these hard times, one looks
for support in an ideology or religion that will not
disappoint him and not a materialism.’ He aimed at
calling on a small group. Along with the provision of
support, he worked on introducing a real image of
Islam as a universal religion. No foreign support was
received or even accepted to achieve this target as it
was linked to some conditions. Well, the specification
of these conditions is still effective in return of
foreign support…
The sheik’s relations with the
Arabic community of Hungary
He would give this report: ‘We
do not wish to be Arabs, we only wish to follow this
religion. These are two completely different things.’
So, our community situated in
the middle of Europe, is the smallest as well as the
poorest’- he said and it is true even today.
Regardless the sheik’s efforts
to pull up a Mosque close to the Gül Baba’s shrine and
of the model made of it, as inspired by Durics, the
Community’s renewed intentions to build a mosque
vanished into thin air.
By 1993 community life was
restricted to Friday prayers due to Mihálffy’s serious
illness. A part of the Hungarian believers started to
feel unsatisfied with the sheik’s absence on one part
and with the missing cultural and financial
conditions on the other part.
B.K., Muslim of Hungarian
origins, started huddles with other Hungarian Muslim
members and a part of the Arabic community resident
here. Hungarian Muslims refused to involve foreign
Muslims resident in Hungary to help them solve the
internal problems. B. K. persuaded V. A. Hungarian
Muslim, already deceased, and gained Sz. J.’s support
who was regarded the sheik’s direct colleague. He
aimed at renewing Islam in Hungary and he also
contacted me as he knew that I cooperated with several
Hungarian Muslims.
B. K., who had a critical
nitpicking nature but also liked to stay away from
work, had several personal conflicts with the sheik.
Even Hungarian Muslim women disliked him because he
critiqued the sheik for being lenient at the issue of
hijab, as Abdulrrahman did not oblige women to wear
the hijab in the street.
Sz. J. called on a general
assembly in the worship place of Mikó street where
only Hungarian Muslim men were invited. A temporary
leadership of 5 members was elected due to the sheik’s
illness and the documents made at the assembly were
sent to Court for amendment. The date of a new, final
general assembly was also specified.
Certainly, the news of the case
was soon widespread, the Court rejected the amendment
and Abdurrahman came back. The Muslim World League
issued a provision that affirmed his position and it
was also stacked to the entrance of the worship
place. As only the increasing number of Islamic
foundations had community life the sheik understood
that he had to hold an assembly to Hungarian Muslims.
Sz. J. could not participate in the assembly and the
sheik rejected weak critics by promising to achieve
the goals previously specified like the restart of
religious teachings and the foundation of Muslim
kindergarten, etc.
The Aluakf Foundation, located
in Miskolc, was the greatest threat to the Community,
so, the sheik asked the Hungarian Tax Office to start
an investigation on the financial resources of the
Foundation and their
use. The Tax Office
investigation was also conducted and it is alleged
that no irregularities were found, however, the
investigation was influenced by a ‘pious fraud’ of the
members of Miskolc.
As a result of the War in
Bosnia, massive Muslim immigration started towards
Hungary and, thus, the Islamic Foundations had
interrelations with Muslims. Several ten and even
hundred thousand American dollars were taken to the
country in cash. Only the Arrahma Charity Organization
threw in with the Islamic Community of Hungary and the
Community moved its centre to the Charity
Organization’s place.
The two organizations also
purchased a common property; more precisely received
it as a donation. The tenth district of Budapest gave
place to the Kibáa Foundation which competed both with
the Community and its supporting Foundation and with
the Aluak based in Miskolc. The later community had
the largest amount of money at disposal: they built a
worship place that also provided accommodation to
travelers.
These foundations also had
Hungarian leaders who only played representative
roles. Several times, an Arabic husband appointed a
duty o his Hungarian wife and it indicates well the
character of the place.
It was very common to send
infamous letters, faxes and make identical calls
abroad, so, wealthy Muslim supporters of good
intentions ended up losing their trust in Hungarian
Muslims. The sheik was also accused of being
alcoholic: these accusations were made by his
Hungarian and foreigner enemies alike.
The President of the period did
make mistakes and his personality was more suitable
for educational than organizational purposes but we
are all imperfect. Time will tell the talking.
Unfortunately, many applied for the presidential
position but nobody had real projects.
The period of every day fights
and superficial rumors lasted till February of 1996.
In 1995 rumors had spread on Abdurrahman’s
resignation.
It seemed to be true because
the supporter of the Community and the sheik and one
of the leaders of Arrahma, a Sudanese psychiatrist,
was removed from his position by force. The Muslims
of Hungary heading this blow of state thought that
Arrahma had large financial resources and the times of
Canaan would return. They were wrong!
In the beginning, the Arrahma
leaders held close contacts with Fatih Hassanein on
whom Washington Post alleged to have contacts with
terrorist organizations. Well, the new leaders’ close
relations with Fatih Hassanein were not long-lasting;
moreover, they were obliged to sell properties and
means, purchased by the previous leaders with much
effort, owing to their financial difficulties.
However, the story of the
Islamic Community of Hungary goes on. Dr. Balázs
Mihálffy sent his resignation letter and asked the
Community to elect a new leader to his place. The
organizers, among them B. K., sent this letter along
with the invitation to the general assembly for the
reelection of officials to all the registered
members. 11 of April, 1996 only 17 of 181 Muslims,
including me as well, were present without any concept
or idea about the future. We knew one thing for sure:
we will need a collective leadership. In the
knowledge of antecedents, it was not surprising that
we only knew a few people and smaller groups formed
out. This assembly, as it was legally lack of
sufficient number of people, was renewed 30 minutes
later. Some believed that the Community should be
split up and suggested us getting integrated to
Foundations lead by Arabs. This idea was proposed by a
young, Moroccan-Hungarian University student who lived
in the Great-Plane. The proposal was dropped and a
temporary syndicate of 5 persons was set up. The
organization of a new assembly was also adopted.
These five persons were charged
to estimate the real number of Muslim society and that
of those who would be willing to work for the
community.
It’s needless to say that B. K.
did not undertake any work or duties at this assembly.
Only 3 members of the syndicate worked. We estimated
who the real Community members were, who we could rely
on and we also made inquiries on future cooperation
possibilities at the Arabic foundations and on
financial resources.
The survey had a disastrous
result. Just two dozens of our members were willing to
undertake work in future and the others only preferred
assistance to real help. The new leaders of Arrahma
were suspicious of us and we had to ask their
permission to enter the office housed inside the
building. Cooperation with the Foundation based in
Miskolc looked positive, however, many Hungarian
Muslims were frightened by the Salafi ideology they
belonged to. We travelled a lot to the countryside to
meet our Muslim brothers and sisters to find out their
needs so that we could make a future strategy to help
our Muslim brother and sisters in the countryside as
the leadership was often accused of focusing on
Budapest too much.
We also visited our Muslim
companions who live lonely and scattered around the
country and, thus, face the hardest situation. They do
not have the chance for community life and they have
to travel to the capital or any bigger cities, if they
need help or information on any topic about Islam.
In consideration of the
shortage of place, money and relationships, I dare to
say that we had to set up a completely new community.
The Islamic foundations gave attention to our work
with doubts and a bit of ill will. They did not think
that we could carry out the projects we wished to come
true. Sz. I., a Hungarian Muslim who practices the
Shia branch of Islam, supported our work with much
help. He dedicated all his spare time to work with
much enthusiasm and sincerity.
V. A., my Hungarian Muslim,
already deceased companion, worked in Germany and had
widespread contacts with the Turkish communities
resident there thanks to his good command of Turkish.
In the fall of 1996, we hoped to get a place from
Budapest local government. On 23rd of October, date of
the new assembly, 35 Hungarian Muslims were present
instead of 17. The assembly was held again in the
building of Arrahma and there were also some Arabs
interested in our initiative.
The Alauf Foundation of Miskolc
financed the organization of the assembly.
The new leaders elected at the
assembly were five again but three members of the
previous committee were not elected as one did not
undertake the duty and the other two were deemed to be
inappropriate by the members. V. A. I. Cs. G. Z. and I
were entrusted by the members to make part of the
committee. At the end of 1996 we acquired the
pre-purchase right of a broken-down property located
in the 13th district of Budapest, no. 104.; this used
to operate as pharmacy. As we had no money at
disposal, we could only trust ourselves and the fund
we raised.
We raised the attention of
those who had doubts or ill-will towards our efforts.
We could celebrate the first Ramadan fasting here in
1997, although we held common iftars just every second
day and the meal was prepared by our sisters at home.
The Arabic business men and religious teachers who
visited Hungary heard of us and, finally, we took all
foreign visitors to the centre under construction by
our own efforts. Alhamdoulillah, many of them helped
us do the construction with their donations later and
the worship place was ready by May of 1997.
Sz. I., my Shia friend, and I
were invited to the United Arab Emirates, more
precisely to Sarjah, where we were welcomed by the
local emir whose hospitality we enjoyed for 10 days.
It was my first real official trip to the Muslim
world. I must tell you that I enjoyed it very much, it
was great and we came back with much experience. The
Turkish community of Germany also helped us: they
undertook to pay the expenses and utility costs of the
Community for a year.
We got in contact with the
Embassy of Malaysia and we were given the most
significant financial support after a year and it was
sufficient to end with the renovation of the Mosque
and the furnishing of the office that meant the
purchase of a computer, telephone, fax and copying
machines.
Everything seemed to be
evolving smoothly and we were at the point of making
up the project of an Islamic kindergarten and we could
have acquired a property from the Local Government of
Budapest 14th district.
We were also planning to open
an Islamic cultural exhibition and set up a museum and
an ecclesiastic public collection organized from our
books and other objects in relation with it. However,
disputes arose again!
Many-many, non-Hungarian
Muslims attended our Mosque, participated at our
events and provided us financial support. The always
doubtful and hostile Muslims could not accept their
position and they expected foreign Muslims to help
them improve their positions inside the Community.
Gossips were common on the
Community and its leaders; however, the appearance of
a new person launched an avalanche. The controversy
was deepened by the Muslim of Hungarian citizenship
that successfully made the proverb ‘divide et impera’
prevail. We, Hungarian Muslims, believed the rumors
and unity broke up into pieces. This division was used
by the man aforesaid whose name should be rowed up.
Oil was poured on the fire when
an interview on the gipsy Muslims of Pánd was made by
the program tv2 Napló and it was also given on TV once
again. Certainly, many of the readers of these lines
saw this both funny and sad interview.
The antecedents are as follow:
I worked as a notary at Pánd for a year. Many, around
25 persons of Gipsy origins, embraced Islam but just
five of them are still practicing Muslims. Local
gypsies were attracted by my religion owing to our
good personal contacts and the knowledge they acquired
on Islam and its principles, so, they thought it was
appropriate for them. It cannot be denied though that
most of them were driven by realistic financial
desires. However, as time goes by, inappropriate
people leave Islam.
The austere weather conditions
of those times forced the people of Pánd to steal logs
from the forest which I persecuted both as a notary
and as a law-abiding person in order to eliminate
forest owners’ complains. However, the poor thieves
who were all gypsies came up with the argument of
being forced to do so, if they do not want to get
frozen.
To create social harmony, the
Mayor, the head of the social commission and I made a
list of needy families and we arranged to transport
residual logs from another village. We distributed the
logs among the members of the list who were mostly
non-Muslims. Financial resources were raised in the
Community’s worship place. Contrary to the TV
coverage, this distribution was not financed from the
resources of the local government and it was not
destined only to Muslims and gypsies.
In the meantime, we were
searching for a family house for sale so that we could
set up a worship place there and it would have
rendered possible the start of a farming program to
the unemployed. Certainly, all this disappeared after
the coverage.
I would say a few words on the
antecedents of the coverage: The reporter turned to me
saying that he had read a positive article on me and
the Community in Magyar Fórum (Hungarian Forum), and
he had much interest in the gypsies who had embraced
Islam.
I gave consent to the coverage
without any suspect and those who saw it know what
message it delivered.
Later the well-known reporter
told me he had believed I supported MIÉP (Hungarian
Nationalist Party). I do not think that the refusal of
any Press coverage would do good to the Community, if
the coverage is aimed at showing an objective image of
Islam.
After the presentation of the
story aforesaid; this brought along a very negative
change to my private life, health and workplace such
as nervous breakdown, loss of workplace and financial
resources, etc., my opponents and apparently
good-intentioned people succeeded that I issue a
temporary ‘retrieval declaration’. From that moment,
the Community did not prosper either financially or
spiritually, all was aimed to serve personal purposes.
There were several meetings and
general assemblies held to sort out the problem but
all we could do was to establish the Community’s
electorate but no further work was done. Our strength
reduced to minimum due to the increased number of
small groups and some Hungarian and foreign interests.
Good intentions always failed thanks to our opponents
who were against the birth of Hungarian Islam
exclusively focused on religion and culture. The
Community’s peak was reached in 2000 that also
indicated the beginning of the end that brought forth
shortages and mistakes. It was more precisely related
to the Islamic Symposium organized by Saudis in
Budapest from 10th to 12th of September.
Before starting to describe it,
I would summarize the development of our trips abroad
and our foreign relationships to my readers. All these
were done before the issuance of my retrieval
declaration. I visited Western-Europe, especially
Germany and Austria, where we made very good contacts
especially with the Turkish organizations like
Ditibbel, Miligörüs and Atibbal.
In 1997 I was at Hajj to Mecca
with V. A., my colleague and leader companion, thanks
to the assistance of the Austrian Milligörüs. V. A.
and I visited Ankara as the guests to the Prime
Minister of Turkey in 1997. He received us, we prayed
and dined together. We were promised to get financial
support but we had the same experience as Durics. 1998
was the year of my largest journeys: I visited the
United Arab Emirates again along with my Hungarian
Muslim friend, E.P., and V. A. and I participated at a
Conference held in Libya. We visited Malaysia and
Brunei twice in fall without any financial help to our
purposes, although we had the project of the Muslim
kindergarten and the relating complete documentation.
V. A. and the person who worked
for us and wished to get a higher position, achieved
that the Islamic Community of Hungary should be
registered in the Co-operative Association of European
Muslims based in Spain. These years were about the
establishment of our international contacts. In 1999 I
visited Saudi-Arabia as the guest of the Minister of
Religious Affairs of the country. I was received with
much respect and we also did the small hajj called
Umrah in Mecca.
I succeeded in meeting the
leaders of almost all the influential Islamic
organizations and we were taken to Jidda, Medina and
Riyad. We received many promises for financial- and
moral support but we shared Durics’ experience: no
support was delivered except 2000. The amount was
sufficient to pay all our debts.
From 1999 to 2000 I did not
undertake any representative duty in the Islamic
Community of Hungary as the Community was prevailed by
the national Muslims’ controversies and internal
fights along with the ‘blessed cooperation’ of some
external forces that all led to uncertainty, financial
and moral crisis within the Community.
Many stayed at home and
practiced their religion there because they believed
that this was the best way to stay away from gossips
and power fights. Our situation resembled much to the
conflict between Durics and Abdul Latif.
In December of 2000, our
brother, V. A. died, who might have perceived his
upcoming death and had started to encourage a complete
renewal in the Community. Now that I’m writing these
lines I hope that his soul rests in peace in the
Heavens and we are on the right path.
The year 2001 did not bring
along any major changes to our community life except
the registration of another Muslim Church, which
started its operations very soon afterwards, in the
fall of 2000. I believe that we regarded each other
rivals for a while. However, our Community cannot be
deprived of the ‘historical’ attribute as it is our
merit just like the continuity of our Church.
Brief summary of the present
situation:
Actually, Hungary gives place
to a dozen Islamic Foundations and another dozen
Islamic Associations that all operate only under
foreign leadership. Hungarian Muslim leaders are just
marionette and serve to make their organization
appropriate to the world. Foreign financial support is
sent everywhere except to our community. Maybe the
principle ‘similarities attract each other’ also
works here. Maybe potential supporters have more
confidence in their fellow citizens? We asked
ourselves the same questions many times. However, we
never gave up our independence and non-commitment by
following Dr. Balázs Mihállfy’s example. We do not
belong to any Islamic schools and we will not intend
to do so. We don’t want to be Arabs or Turks, we’ve
been Hungarians and we’ll be Hungarians, regardless
that our religion chosen on a voluntary basis seems a
bit unusual.
Our situation is difficult due
to the lack of financial support and the fact that we
belong to a religious community that looks strange to
a Hungarian person. Islam had a negative start in
Hungary, if you think of the 150 years of Turkish
occupation, Christian traditions and historical
prejudice. All this was crowned by the terrorist
attacks of 11th of September, 2001, whose brutality
and the shocking Press images put the question: is
Islam equal to terrorism? Our reply is a categorical
NO!
We truly and deeply share the
pain with the victims’ family, not talking about the
high number of Muslim victims.
We are deeply against all
violent actions committed in the name of our chosen
religion, we condemn anti-Semitism and all actions
done to intimidate or subjugate others.
We wish to cooperate with all
social organizations that contradict violence and
works for social peace and the elimination of social
differences.
There is one God who gave the
Earth to mankind so that it could benefit from it. We
must join together to be beneficial to our country and
all mankind so that we may please our Creator. We do
not have to build walls but destroy the walls between
us and we must live with each other in love and
cooperation in Hungary. Maybe our initiative will find
supporters and Muslims and non-Muslims will join each
other to work for noble
purposes.
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