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

Yıl 2021, Cilt: 31 Sayı: 2, 555 - 571, 28.12.2021

Stefan Gąsiorowski

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

Öz

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.

Anahtar Kelimeler

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

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

Öz

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.

Anahtar Kelimeler

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

Kaynakça

• Archive of Science PAN&PAU in Cracow. Zespół Tadeusz Kowalski, catalogue no. K III – 4, 175, leaf no. 3, 6-6v.
• The Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, Manuscripts Catalogue, catalogue no. F. 143-79; no. F. 143-303; F. 143-1082.
• Zarządzenie 179. Dziennik Ustaw RP z 24 kwietnia 1936 r. M.P. 1936 nr 97 poz. 179 (Directive no. 179. the Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland from 24 April 1936 Monitor Polski 1936 item no. 179). March 20. 2021. isap.sejm.gov.pl.
• “Euroislam”, Dawid Warszawski’s interview with Selim Chazbijewicz, Gazeta Wyborcza, 16 July, 2004. March 20, 2021. www.ipdirect.home.pl/kmp/kiosk/Polscy_muzulmanie/euroislam_selim_chazbijewicz. htm; www.alislam.plwww.alislam.pl.
• Firkowicz Szymon, “Przyjazd Reszyd Saffet Beja” [Arrival of Reşit Saffet Bey], Myśl Karaimska, 2 (1931), fascicle no. 3/4, 75-77.
• “Kronika” [Chronicle], Ateneum Wileńskie, 10 (1935), 569.
• “Kronika” [Chronicle], Rocznik Tatarski, 1 (1932), 321-324.
• “Kronika” [Chronicle], Rocznik Tatarski, 2 (1935) 478.
• Łopatto Emanuel Włodzimierz, Byle na Zachód [Anywhere to the West], conversations with Wiesław Mincer, Warszawa 2001, 99.
• Mackiewicz Józef, “Z teczki: niefortunne losy [From the briefcase: unfortunate fates]”, [in:] Józef Mackiewicz, Barbara Toporska, Droga pani [Dear lady], London 1984, 328-330.
• Pilecki Szymon, Chłopiec z Leśnik. Dziennik z lat 1939-1945 [Boy from Leśniki. Diary from 1939-1945], [Wrocław] 2009, 233, 235.
• Reviewed by J. Szynkiewicz, Rocznik Tatarski, 2 (1935), 454-455.
• Schinkewitsch Jakob, Rabghûzîs Syntax. Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde genemigt von der Philosophischen Fakultat der Friedrich-Wilhelm-Universitat zu Berlin. Tag der Promotion: Berlin 10. Juni 1926, 47.
• Szynkiewicz Jakób, “Literatura religijna Tatarów litewskich i jej pochodzenie” [Religious literature of Lithuanian Tatars and its origin], Rocznik Tatarski, 2 (1935), 138-145.
• Szynkiewicz Jakób, “O kitabie” [About kitaba], Rocznik Tatarski, 1 (1932), 188-194.
• Szynkiewicz Jakób, “Tłumaczenia słów i nazw orientalistycznych” [Translations of oriental words and names], [in:] Stanisław Dziadulewicz, Herbarz rodzin tatarskich w Polsce [Herbarium of the Tatar families in Poland], Wilno 1929, 457-473.
• “Sprawozdanie muftiego Jakuba Szynkiewicza z podróży do Turcji, Syrii, Palestyny i Egiptu w roku 1932 (9 IV – 9 IX)“ [Report by Mufti Jakub Szynkiewicz on his trips to Turkey, Syria, Palestine and Egypt in 1932], prepared for print by Artur Pałasiewicz, Przegląd Orientalistyczny, (1977) issue no. 1, 41-48.
• Sprawozdania z podróży muftiego Jakuba Szynkiewicza. Źródła, omówienie, interpretacja [Reports from the journey of Mufti Jakub Szynkiewicz. Sources, overview, interpretation], prepared by Grzegorz Czerwiński, scholarly editing by Jarosław Ławski and Grzegorz Kowalski, Białystok 2013 Książnica Podlaska in. Łukasza Górnickiego, 323, ill. (Colloquia Orientalia Bialostocensia. Literatura, historia; 5).
• Szapszał Seraja Hadży (Seraya Hajji Shapshal), “O zatraceniu języka ojczystego przez Tatarów w Polsce” [About the loss of the mother tongue by the Tatars in Poland], Rocznik Tatarski, 1 (1932), 34-48.
• “Uroczystość wręczenia odznaczeń najwyższym duchownym: karaimskiemu i muzułmańskiemu” [The ceremony of awarding decorations to the highest clergy: Karaim and Muslim], Myśl Karaimska, 11 (1935-1936) fascicle no. 11 [printed:] 1936, 123-125.
• “Z życia Karaimów w Polsce” [From the life of Karaims in Poland], Myśl Karaimska, 11 (1935-1936), fascicle no. 11 [printed:] 1936, 114, 117 (photographies).