Kunta-haji

Who was Kunta-haji?

Kunta-haji Kishiev was Chechen Muslim mystic, the founder of a Sufi branch named Zikrism, and an ideologue of nonviolence and passive resistance. He is often referred as the Chechen Mahatma Gandhi.

Kunta-haji Kishiev was born in a Chechen lowland village of Isti-Su, also known as Melcha-Khi. Later the family moved to the mountain village of Ilskhan-Yurt in the heartland of Chechnya. In his youth he was distinguished by his hard work and sharp mental senses. Kunta received a solid religious education and was a follower of shaykh Gezi-haji from the village of Zandak. Kunta started practicing Loud Zikr: prayer with dancing, singing, rolling and recitation of divine names.

According to legend, Imam Shamil was worried by the unusual practice and ordered an examination of the Koranic knowledge of the youth. After Kunta passed the examination, Shamil left him alone. By another version of the same legend, Shamil forbade Kunta Zikr and promised to execute him if he continued. Yet another legend tells that Shamil exiled Kunta to Mekka and did not allowed to come back.