Grand Mufti of the Polish Muslims Jakub Szynkiewicz (1884-1966) and his Connections with the Karaites

Year 2021, Volume: 31 Issue: 2, 555 - 571, 28.12.2021

Stefan Gąsiorowski

https://doi.org/10.26650/iuturkiyat.983146

Abstract

Jakub Szynkiewicz lived in a very difficult time and had to make decisions that were oftentimes crucial and motives and effects of which cannot be judged easily. During the Second World War, he was surely faced with hopeless situations when he was responsible for not only himself and his whole family but also the Muslim community the care of which was entrusted to him. For Karaitologists, his relations with the Karaite community are of significance not only during the interwar period but also during the turbulent years of the Second World War. The p eriod between World War I and World War II should be considered as the most important one in his life. Between 1926-1939, Jakub Szynkiewicz, as the Mufti of the Republic of Poland, was the spiritual leader of 19 Muslim communities congregating approx. 6 thousand of the faithful. Thanks to his personal efforts, the Mosque Building Committee in Warsaw was created (1928), the bill on the relationship between the state and the Muslim Religious Association in Poland and its statute were passed (1936), and the First Muslim Congress in Poland was organized (1938). At the same time, he conducted his scientific research, too. It resulted in numerous publications in Polish that popularized knowledge on reach Muslim history and culture in Poland and in the world. He was also very active in the international arena, visiting Muslim communities in Bulgaria, Egypt, Yugoslavia, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey. During those journeys, he tried, among others, to raise funds for the construction of a mosque in Warsaw. His ambitious plans for the development of the Muslim community in Poland were entirely shattered with the outbreak of WWII.

Keywords

Jakub Szynkiewicz, mufti, Tatars, Muslim and Karaite communities in Poland, Seraya Shapshal

Polonyalı Müslümanların büyük müftüsü Jakub Szynkiewicz (1884-1966) ve Karaimlerle temas

Abstract

Jakub Szynkiewicz zor günlerde yaşayıp, dürtü ve neticeleri açısından kolayca değerlendirilemeyen önemli kararlar çok sıkça almak zorunda kalmıştı. Her iki Dünya Savaşı sırasında şüphesiz devasız durumlar ile karşılaştı. Zira, sadece kendisi ve ailesinden değil, emanetinde bulunan bütün Müslüman cemaatinden sorumluydu. Karay Türkleri araştıran bilim adamları için, Szynkiewicz’in yalnız iki Dünya Savaşı arasındaki dönemde değil, İkinci Dünya Savaşının çalkantılı yıllarındaki Karay cemaatiyle kurduğu ilişkiler büyük bir önem taşımaktadır. Hayatının en önemli kısmını iki Dünya Savaşı arasındaki dönem oluşturuyordu. 1926-1939 yılları arasında Jakub Szynkiewicz Polonya Cumhuriyeti müftüsü mevkiinde bulunarak, bünyelerinde yaklaşık 6 bin kişinin bulunduğu 19 Müslüman cemaatinin manevi liderliğini üstlendi. Sayesinde, 1928 yılında Varşova’da Camii İnşaatı Komitesi kuruldu, 1936’da devlet ile Müslüman Din Cemiyeti arasındaki ilişkilere dair bir yasa ve işbu Cemiyetin ana sözleşmesi kabul edilip, 1938 yılında ise Polonya’da ilk Müslüman Kongresi düzenlendi. Bu dönemde yürüttüğü araştırmalarının neticesinde Polonya ve dünyadaki Müslümanların zengin tarihi ile kültürü hakkında birçok bilimsel çalışması Leh dilinde yayımlandı. Uluslararası faaliyetleri çerçevesinde Bulgaristan, Mısır, Yugoslavya, Filistin, Suriye ve Türkiye’deki Müslüman cemaatleri ziyaret etti. Bu seyahatler sırasında birçok etkinliğinin yanı sıra Varşova’daki camiinin inşaatı için para toplamaya çalışıyordu. II. Dünya Savaşı’nın patlamasıyla birlikte Szynkiewicz’in Polonya’daki Müslüman cemaatinin gelişmesiyle ilgili çok geniş kapsamlı planları tamamen yok edildi.

Keywords

Jakub Szynkiewicz, müftü, Tatarlar, Polonya’daki Müslüman ve Karay toplulukları, Seraya Shapshal

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