Sheik Abdulsselam Barzani Leadership 18741 - 1914
From the 18th century onwards, Barzan was a spiritual center for the local population. Sheik Abdulsselam Barzani became the new spiritual, (not tribal), leader of the spiritual center, Takkiye in Barzan, in 19032. His vision for Kurdistan’s independence, social justice, environmental consciousness, tolerance of diversity and protection of Christian minorities soon brought him national and international recognition. The regional tribes, aristocrats, landless farmers as well as the Christian minority were all attracted by his vision and leadership.3
In the spring of 1907, Abdulssellam attended a conference with some of the leading Kurdish spiritual and secular leaders in the village of Brifka in Duhok which is currently a province of southern Kurdistan. The conference decided to request official recognition of the linguistic, administrative and judicial rights of Kurdistan from the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. The Sultan did not respond kindly to this request. This led to a confrontation between Abdulsselam and the Sultan, and several years of intermittent wars 4.
The Russian Government newspaper “KAVKAS” reported: “After the deposition of Sultan Abdul Hamid, Barzan (the Sheik Abdulsselam) together with his whole community would not recognize the new Caliph Mahomet V, nor the young Turkish administration5.”
Sultan Abdul Hamid was overthrown by a military junta in 1909 by the so called “Jon Turk” or “Young Turk”.
Throughout this time, in the interest of seeking recognition of Kurdistan’s independence, Abdulsselam was in constant touch with the leading Kurdistan spiritual and secular leaders from Istanbul to Ormiye in eastern Kurdistan, from Erzurum in the north to Slemani in the south6, as well as with foreign diplomats.
In May 1912, during a conference organized under the leadership of the Prince of Botan, Abdurrezzak Bedir Khan, and with the participation of many Kurdish leaders across Ottoman Kurdistan, which is now Turkey, Iraq and Syrian Kurdistan, a national organization called “Irshad” meaning “rightly guided” was created in the city of Erzurum7. Abdulsselam Barzani was one of the co-founders of this organization that aimed for an independent Kurdistan8.
In the spring of 1913, Irshad leaders met in the Şirvan district in Siirt, northern Kurdistan, and elected a committee under the leadership of Sheik Abdulsselam Barzani9. Its purpose was to go to Tiflis to meet the representative of the Russian government in order to present the Kurdish movement’s goal of an independent Kurdistan and to find out about Russian policy on Kurdistan. After his return to Kurdistan one year later, the Ottoman Jon Turk government martyred Abdulsselam Barzani in Mosul on 14 December 191410.
Sheik Abdulsselam's Policy of Tolerance and Social Justice
Because of his activities in the national struggle for Kurdistan’s freedom, many foreign diplomats frequently sent their observations about Sheik Abdulsselam to their governments. The following examples give some idea of how his policies and beliefs were regarded by foreign observers.
The British Vice Consul in Van reported:
“The Sheik of Barzan is one of the five or six most influential Kurdish sheiks and has a large following among the chiefs and aghas in the mountainous border districts east of Amadia between the vilayets of Van and Mosul11.”
On 21 May 1913, another British diplomat from the British Consulate in Mosul sent the following statement to his government:
“The Sheik of Barzan, true to his policy of protecting the Christians….12“
One year later, on 16 May 1914, the British Vice Consul in Van reported again about Sheik Abdulsselam’s tolerance as follows:
“He was sometimes called the “Christian Sheik” as a term of disparagement by other Kurdish chiefs as he had the reputation of treating the Christians in his district with fairness and tolerance13.”
A long article from the imperial Russian government, which appeared in the Caucasus’ official newspaper KAVKAS in April 1914 titled:
“Kurdish Movement with Focus on Sheik Abdulsselam Barzani and his Policies”, contained this excerpt:
“He himself is a sheik, that is a revered, holy man. His word and will are law for every member of his religious community in the constitution of which are mingled, strange to say, conceptions and elements of national life, and socialism14.”
The same newspaper article adds, on social solidarity:
“All the members use the same very sparing diet, and the care of a family, in the case of loss or absence of its head, is undertaken by all15.”
The following map shows the major political activities of Sheik Abdulselam Barzani and cities he visited
1 Habib Barzani, La coutume chez les kurdes de la région de Barzan , Thèse soutenue à l’Université Paris Nanterre,Paris, 2018, p.5.
2 For more details, see pages 24 – 28, Barzani Ve Kürt Ulusal Özgürlük Hareketi I. [Barzani and Kurdistan National Liberation Movement] Barzani, Mesud (2017) Doz Basim Yayin. Istanbul, Turkey
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid. (Pp. 25-26)
5 KAVKAS’ 15/28TH April 1914 Kurdish movement Translated and reported by Consul Monahan’s No. 200f the 20th. June 1914. Records of the Kurds: territory, revolt and nationalism, 1831-1979. British documentary sources. Volume 4 P. 667
6 For more details, see pages 24 – 28, Barzani Ve Kürt Ulusal Özgürlük Hareketi I. [Barzani and Kurdistan National Liberation Movement] Barzani, Mesud (2017) Doz Basim Yayin. Istanbul, Turkey
7 Celil, Celile. “ XIX. Yuzyil Osmanli Imparatorlugu’ nda Kurtler P. 202 (Translated from Russian to Turkish by Demir, Mehmet Ozge yayinlari, February 1992. Ankara/Turkey
8 Reynolds, Michael A. ( ) Abdürrezzak Bedirhan Ottoman Kurd and Russophile in the Twilight of Empire Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History 12, 2 (Spring 2011): 411–50. And Akgül, Suat “Rusya’nın Doğu Anadolu Politikası” (Ph.D. diss., Hacettepe Üniversitesi, 1995), P. 78 [Russian Policy on Eastrn Anatolia (Till 1918)]
9 Akgül, Suat “Rusya’nın Doğu Anadolu Politikası” (Ph.D. diss., Hacettepe Üniversitesi, 1995), P. 78 [Russian Policy on Eastrn Anatolia (Till 1918)]
10 Barzani Ve Kürt Ulusal Özgürlük Hareketi I. [Barzani and Kurdistan National Liberation Movement] Barzani, Mesud (2017) Doz Basim Yayin. Istanbul, Turkey P. 27.
11 Description by British Consul in Van reported by the British Vice Consulate Van 13th. March 1914. Vol. 4 Records of the Kurds: territory, revolt and nationalism, 1831-1979. British documentary sources. Volume 4 (Pp. 585 – 86).
12 Vice-Consul Hony to Sir G. Lowther (No. 15.) Mosul, May 21, 1913. Records of the Kurds: territory, revolt and nationalism, 1831-1979. British documentary sources. Volume 4 P. 559
13 The British Vice Consulate Van. 16 May 1914 (Pp. 651 -52) Vol. 4 Records of the Kurds: territory, revolt, and nationalism, 1831-1979. British documentary sources. Volume 4
14 ‘KAVKAS’ 15/28TH April 1914 Kurdish movement Translated and reported by Consul Monahan’s No. 200f the 20th. June 1914. Records of the Kurds: territory, revolt and nationalism, 1831-1979. British documentary sources. Volume 4 P. 667
15 Ibid