Ismail Gasprinsky
MarifetIsmail Gasprinsky (İsmail Gaspıralı; 20 March 1851, Ulu Sala – 24 September 1914, Bakhchysarai) was a Crimean Tatar educator, writer, teacher, cultural, social and political figure.
Gasprinsky was a successful reformer who promoted modern ideas among his compatriots and the representatives of other Turkic peoples. The experience of studying abroad had a huge impact on his worldview: while living in Europe and the Ottoman Empire, he realised that Muslim spiritual life needed to be modified to help them integrate better into society. Thus, Ismail came up with an educational movement called Jadidism that aimed to change the education system in Muslim schools by making it more secular. He proposed to introduce a simplified method of learning to read and write so that it would take less time (two years instead of seven).
In particular, the activities of the followers of this movement contributed to the development of the literature of the Turkic-speaking peoples of the Russian Empire, which had a significant impact on raising their national consciousness. The movement of Pan-Turkism was also significantly influenced by Gasprinsky’s ideas.
In 1883, after several unsuccessful attempts, Ismail finally received permission to publish the first Crimean Tatar newspaper called “Terciman” (Terdzhiman; from Crimean Tatar – “Translator”). The main goal was to call for the unification of Turkic peoples, promote the development of their cultures and languages, modernise certain dogmas and principles, emphasise their national rights in Russian society, etc.
Gasprinsky’s wife, a Kazan Tatar woman, Zuhra Akchurina, supported her husband and also took part in the life of the newspaper: she helped with documentation, design, translation into Tatar and even finances (she spent her dowry and jewellery on the newspaper), and when Ismail had business in other cities, she also wrote and published some articles. Later, when they had the opportunity to hire employees, Zuhra involved her brothers in the business and opened her school for girls, where she taught them using a new method. Terdzhiman existed for 35 years and was the oldest active Muslim publication in the early twentieth century.
Ismail Gasprinsky worked hard. For example, he carried out several large-scale reforms and significantly increased the Bakhcysarai’s budget being its mayor. In addition to his public and educational activities, he also had thirst for creativity and wrote several works of fiction. Thus, he made a huge contribution to the development of Crimean Tatar, Turkic and Muslim culture and education.
Sources:
2. Джадидизм,
3. «Ісмаїл Гаспринський – видатний кримськотатарський просвітник»,
4. «“Великий вчитель”. Ісмаїл Гаспринський»,
Article by Daria Piskun, Anna Zikranets, Olena Sudak