Circassian Americans

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Wikipedia

Circassian Americans
Circassian-Americans (English)
Адыгэ Американхэр (Adyghe)

Total population
8,000-15,000
Regions with significant populations
New Jersey (Especially Wayne), California, New York
Languages
Circassian (West, East)
English
Arabic
Turkish
Russian
Religion
Sunni Islam (Hanafi)
Related ethnic groups
Other Caucasian peoples

Circassian Americans (Adyghe: Адыгэ Американхэр; Kabardian: Адыгэ Американхэр) are Circassians living in the United States. They are mostly found in New York, California, and New Jersey, and their numbers are estimated to be between 8,000[1] and 15,000.[2] The largest established community of Circassian Americans resides in the state of New Jersey, particularly in Passaic and Bergen counties.[3][4] The Circassian Benevolent Association, the umbrella organization of US Circassians, is located in New Jersey.[5] There is also a Circassian community in Canada, and the Circassian Benevolent Association has a branch there.

Culture

Circassian Americans maintain a dual identity, expressing American culture while preserving distinct elements of their ethnic heritage.[3] The core of Circassian identity in the US remains the Adyghe Xabze.[3][4] The community is multilingual, speaking Circassian, English, and Arabic.[4] Circassian cuisine is a major cultural element preserved across generations. Popular dishes include Haliva and Ships Pasta.[3][4] Folklore and dance are considered the primary features distinguishing Circassians from other ethnic groups. Traditional dances such as the Qafa, Wij, and Islamey are performed at weddings and cultural events. The community maintains the Narts Dance Ensemble. Traditional instruments like the Pshina (accordion) are preserved.[4] The community is socioeconomically diverse, with members working in medicine, education, civil service, law enforcement, and the military, as well as owning businesses in construction and catering.[4] In 2010, the Governor of New Jersey honored the community for being "free of crime, drugs, and alcohol".[4] The community observes several holidays: Adiga Day, celebrated in September; Circassian Memorial Day, observed on May 21st to commemorate the Circassian Genocide; Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha ("Kurman Day"; Adyghe: Къурмэн маф); Thanksgiving and the 4th of July.[3]

History

The term "Circassian Americans" includes ethnic Circassian immigrants to the United States and their American-born descendants. All Circassians in the United States trace their common origin to Circassia. However, there have been different waves of immigration originating from different regions. There are Circassians in the United States who came from Turkey, Jordan, and Syria.

Arrival of Ottoman Circassians to the US

Before the Russo-Circassian War ended in 1864, a mass deportation was launched against the population surviving the Circassian genocide.[6] Including calculations taking into account the Russian government's own archival figures, it is estimated that 95–97% of the Circassian nation[7][8][9][10] was destroyed during this process. The displaced people generally settled in the Ottoman Empire.[11] Between 1820 and 1920, significant waves of Ottoman migration to the United States began. Approximately 300,000 people immigrated to the United States from the Ottoman Empire. These immigrants feared they would not be accepted in a Christian country and would face discrimination. As a result, they concealed their Islamic faith (taqiyya) to avoid discrimination. Many Ottoman Muslims felt compelled to declare themselves as "Armenian" to avoid discrimination. At the beginning of the 20th century, individual Circassian immigrants from the Ottoman Empire began to appear in the USA.[12]

Admiral Bristol

"Old Immigrants"

The first "wave," consisted of Circassian White émigrés.[13][14][15] The Circassians known as "old immigrants" left their homeland in the Caucasus shortly after the Russian Revolution. Many were clergy or aristocrats fleeing Communism. They set off from Novorossiysk by boat. They arrived in Istanbul in 1919 and lived there for about two and a half years. The conditions they lived in at that time were quite difficult due to the occupation of Turkey by Allied Forces after World War I. A Circassian woman known there as Fatima Hanum helped them.[16] Fatima Hanum found a way to contact high-level Turkish officials and persuaded them to provide shelter for the refugees who had no place to live. As a result, the Ottoman Sultan allocated one of his unfurnished summer houses, which would soon be called the "Circassian House," to the Circassian refugees.[16] Visiting this house, Admiral Bristol was saddened by the state of the Circassians; he contacted the US government and requested that the Circassians be admitted to America.[17] Fatima Hanum hurriedly organized a private meeting and announced that the State Department had approved the admission of all Circassian refugees to the United States. However, after a long discussion, the majority rejected this offer and decided to stay in Muslim Turkey. Only a few Circassian families accepted and decided to immigrate to the United States. They arrived in America on August 1, 1923.[16] In the 1930s, individual Circassian families and persons from Turkey, Syria, and Transjordan also resettled in the USA.[18][14]

Arrivals resulting from World War II

The Drau river

The second "wave" of Circassian and other North Caucasian immigrations to the USA falls on the period of World War II, 1939–1945. So-called "displaced persons," scattered across the countries of Europe and the Middle East, began to resettle in the USA:[18][17][19] When the Soviet army broke the German front in the Caucasus on January 17, 1943, most of the male population aged sixteen and over in this region fled to Europe for fear of being accused of collaborating with the Germans. As World War II neared its end, these refugees crossed the Italian Alps into Austria in May 1945 and settled in the Drau (Drava) River valley. Stalin demanded the return of these refugees from the Allied Powers. Circassians explained their situation by writing and sending appeal letters to leaders such as US President Roosevelt and UK Prime Minister Churchill, insisting that they not be returned to the Soviet Union. However, their requests were disregarded, and British soldiers came to collect them and extradite them to the Soviet Union. Most were captured; some managed to escape, while others committed suicide by jumping into the river. Those who managed to escape went to refugee camps and disguised themselves as refugees fleeing Nazi oppression; some came to America this way. The first of these were the Circassian couple Salamat and Teuchejh Bayramoglu, who immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1950. Blanaghaptsa was their real surname, and "Bairamoğlu" was a pseudonym they used in Europe during the post-war years.[16]

Establishments

The Circassian Benevolent Association was founded by Circassian Americans on June 19, 1952, to "study and improve all matters concerning the welfare of Circassians in America and to strengthen the bonds of cooperation among Circassians wherever they may be in order to preserve the Circassian heritage."[14][16][20][21] It houses a community center, a mosque, a Sunday school for language and history, and a banquet hall.[4]

The Circassian Cultural Institute was founded in Totowa, New Jersey, in 2005. In California, the Kavkaz Cultural Center and the Circassian Association in California (est. 2006) serve the local community.[18][22] Circassian Education Foundation (CEF) was established in 2005 and promotes higher education by providing scholarships to Circassian youth.[4] Circassian Cultural Institute is focused on connecting Circassians globally and promoting awareness of the Circassian genocide.[4] The Nassip Foundation was founded in 2010 to protect and promote Circassian language and history.[4]

Statue of Setanay in the Circassian village of Beer Ajam, which was destroyed due to the war in Syria

Arrival of Middle Eastern Circassians to the US

The first Circassian to come to the US from the Middle Eastern Circassian diaspora was Omar Kashoga and his family from Jordan, who arrived in 1917. In 1951, Mustafa Kazuk and his family, a Circassian from Turkey, arrived. Later, migrations began from other countries such as Syria and Saudi Arabia.[16]

The third "wave" of Circassian immigration to the USA falls in the summer of 1967.[23] Hundreds of Circassian refugees from the Syrian Golan Heights occupied by Israel began to arrive in Paterson.[24] Jordanian and Syrian Circassian communities in the US grew further after the Six-Day War in 1967.[16][25] Circassians also migrated from the Middle East following the Syrian civil war.[26][27] Due to the lack of employment prospects in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the process of labor emigration intensified within the Circassian diaspora of Syria: young specialists began to leave in search of work in the USA, Canada, Western European countries, and the United Arab Emirates.[25] In subsequent years, the process of Circassian emigration from Arab countries and Turkey to the USA continued. In the 1990s and early 21st century, an insignificant number of Circassians from the North Caucasus resettled in the USA, predominantly young specialists seeking to find promising work.[28] The American Circassian community mobilized to send aid to Turkey following the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes.[29]

Notable individuals

References

  1. ↑ Abazova, Marita Muchamedovna (2014). Recʹ kabardino-čerkesskoj diaspory v Turcii. Nalʹcǐk: Izdat. Otdel KBIGI RAN. ISBN 978-5-91766-082-0.
  2. ↑ Akkieva, Svetlana I.; Dzamikhov, Kasbolat F. (2018). "ON THE CHARACTERIZATION OF THE CIRCASSIAN DIASPORA (ON MATERIALS OF THE RUSSIAN CAUCASIAN STUDIES)". Karadeniz Araştırmaları Dergisi. 1 (57): 79–101.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Dweik, Bader S.; Omar, Rana M (June 2016). "Preserving the Circassian Cultural Heritage in America". International Journal of Language and Linguistics. 3 (2).
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Omar, Rana M. (January 2015). The Linguistic and Cultural Situation in a Multilingual Circassian Community in New Jersey/ U.S.A (Master's thesis). Amman, Jordan: Middle East University.
  5. ↑ "About Us". Circassian Benevolent Association. Circassian Benevolent Association Official Site. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  6. ↑ Kazemzadeh 1974
  7. ↑ Walter (April 9, 2013). The Circassian Genocide. Rutgers University Press. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-8135-6069-4. If we assume that Berzhe's middle figure of 50,000 was close to the number who survived to settle in the lowlands, then between 95 percent and 97 percent of all Circassians were killed outright, died during Evdokimov's campaign, or were deported.
  8. ↑ The First 'Circassian Exodus' to the Ottoman Empire (1858–1867), and the Ottoman Response, Based on the Accounts of Contemporary British Observers (Thesis). p. 16. with one estimate showing that the indigenous population of the entire north-western Caucasus was reduced by a massive 94 percent
  9. ↑ Ellen Barry (May 20, 2011). "Georgia Says Russia Committed Genocide in 19th Century". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 17, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  10. ↑ "145th Anniversary of the Circassian Genocide and the Sochi Olympics Issue". Reuters. May 22, 2009. Retrieved November 28, 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  11. ↑ Walter (2013). The Circassian Genocide. Rutgers University Press. back cover. ISBN 978-0-8135-6069-4. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  12. ↑ Abazov, A. Kh; Rossiĭskai︠a︡ akademii︠a︡ nauk; Institut ėtnologii i antropologii im. N.N. Miklukho-Maklai︠a︡; Rossiĭskai︠a︡ akademii︠a︡ nauk; Adygeĭskiĭ respublikanskiĭ institut gumanitarnykh issledovaniĭ im. T. M. Kerasheva; Izdatelʹstvo "Nauka", eds. (2022). Adygi: adygeĭt︠s︡y, kabardint︠s︡y, cherkesy, shapsugi. Serii︠a︡ "Narody i kulʹtury". Moskva: Nauka. ISBN 978-5-02-040924-8.
  13. ↑ Abazov, A. Kh; Rossiĭskai︠a︡ akademii︠a︡ nauk; Institut ėtnologii i antropologii im. N.N. Miklukho-Maklai︠a︡; Rossiĭskai︠a︡ akademii︠a︡ nauk; Adygeĭskiĭ respublikanskiĭ institut gumanitarnykh issledovaniĭ im. T. M. Kerasheva; Izdatelʹstvo "Nauka", eds. (2022). Adygi: adygeĭt︠s︡y, kabardint︠s︡y, cherkesy, shapsugi. Serii︠a︡ "Narody i kulʹtury". Moskva: Nauka. ISBN 978-5-02-040924-8.
  14. 1 2 3 Kushkhabiev, Anzor (2013). Problemy repatriat︠s︡ii zarubezhnykh cherkesov: istorii︠a︡, politika, sot︠s︡ialʹnai︠a︡ praktika. Nalʹchik: Izdatelʹstvo KBNT︠S︡ RAN. ISBN 978-5-901497-72-2.
  15. ↑ Omar, Rana M. (January 2015). The Linguistic and Cultural Situation in a Multilingual Circassian Community in New Jersey/ U.S.A (Master's thesis). Amman, Jordan: Middle East University.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Natho, Kadir I. (December 3, 2009). Circassian History. ISBN 978-1-4653-1699-8. Archived from the original on October 28, 2023. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  17. 1 2 Кумахов, Мухадин Абубекирович (2006). Адыгская (черкесская) энциклопедия (in Russian). Фонд Им. Б.Х. Акбашева. ISBN 978-5-9900337-1-9.
  18. 1 2 3 Abazov, A. Kh; Rossiĭskai︠a︡ akademii︠a︡ nauk; Institut ėtnologii i antropologii im. N.N. Miklukho-Maklai︠a︡; Rossiĭskai︠a︡ akademii︠a︡ nauk; Adygeĭskiĭ respublikanskiĭ institut gumanitarnykh issledovaniĭ im. T. M. Kerasheva; Izdatelʹstvo "Nauka", eds. (2022). Adygi: adygeĭt︠s︡y, kabardint︠s︡y, cherkesy, shapsugi. Serii︠a︡ "Narody i kulʹtury". Moskva: Nauka. ISBN 978-5-02-040924-8.
  19. ↑ Omar, Rana M. (January 2015). The Linguistic and Cultural Situation in a Multilingual Circassian Community in New Jersey/ U.S.A (Master's thesis). Amman, Jordan: Middle East University.
  20. ↑ Abazov, A. Kh; Rossiĭskai︠a︡ akademii︠a︡ nauk; Institut ėtnologii i antropologii im. N.N. Miklukho-Maklai︠a︡; Rossiĭskai︠a︡ akademii︠a︡ nauk; Adygeĭskiĭ respublikanskiĭ institut gumanitarnykh issledovaniĭ im. T. M. Kerasheva; Izdatelʹstvo "Nauka", eds. (2022). Adygi: adygeĭt︠s︡y, kabardint︠s︡y, cherkesy, shapsugi. Serii︠a︡ "Narody i kulʹtury". Moskva: Nauka. ISBN 978-5-02-040924-8.
  21. ↑ "About Us". Circassian Benevolent Association. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  22. ↑ Amjad Jaimoukha (April 7, 2015). The Circassians: A Handbook. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1138874602.
  23. ↑ Omar, Rana M. (January 2015). The Linguistic and Cultural Situation in a Multilingual Circassian Community in New Jersey/ U.S.A (Master's thesis). Amman, Jordan: Middle East University.
  24. ↑ Abazov, A. Kh; Rossiĭskai︠a︡ akademii︠a︡ nauk; Institut ėtnologii i antropologii im. N.N. Miklukho-Maklai︠a︡; Rossiĭskai︠a︡ akademii︠a︡ nauk; Adygeĭskiĭ respublikanskiĭ institut gumanitarnykh issledovaniĭ im. T. M. Kerasheva; Izdatelʹstvo "Nauka", eds. (2022). Adygi: adygeĭt︠s︡y, kabardint︠s︡y, cherkesy, shapsugi. Serii︠a︡ "Narody i kulʹtury". Moskva: Nauka. ISBN 978-5-02-040924-8.
  25. 1 2 Abazov, A. Kh; Rossiĭskai︠a︡ akademii︠a︡ nauk; Institut ėtnologii i antropologii im. N.N. Miklukho-Maklai︠a︡; Rossiĭskai︠a︡ akademii︠a︡ nauk; Adygeĭskiĭ respublikanskiĭ institut gumanitarnykh issledovaniĭ im. T. M. Kerasheva; Izdatelʹstvo "Nauka", eds. (2022). Adygi: adygeĭt︠s︡y, kabardint︠s︡y, cherkesy, shapsugi. Serii︠a︡ "Narody i kulʹtury". Moskva: Nauka. ISBN 978-5-02-040924-8.
  26. ↑ Amjad Jaimoukha (August 31, 2013). "The Circassians of Syria: Opting for the Rightful Cause". {{cite web}}: |archive-url= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  27. ↑ Magamadov, Supʹjan Sultanovič; Gapurov, Šachrudin Ajdievič; Tschetschenien, eds. (2018). Ėtnogenez i ėtničeskaja istorija narodov Kavkaza: materialy I meždunarodnogo nachskogo naučnogo kongressa g. Groznyj, 11-12 sentjabrja 2018 g. Groznyj: Izdatelʹsko-poligrafičeskij kompleks Groznenskij rabočij. ISBN 978-5-4314-0346-0.
  28. ↑ Abazov, A. Kh; Rossiĭskai︠a︡ akademii︠a︡ nauk; Institut ėtnologii i antropologii im. N.N. Miklukho-Maklai︠a︡; Rossiĭskai︠a︡ akademii︠a︡ nauk; Adygeĭskiĭ respublikanskiĭ institut gumanitarnykh issledovaniĭ im. T. M. Kerasheva; Izdatelʹstvo "Nauka", eds. (2022). Adygi: adygeĭt︠s︡y, kabardint︠s︡y, cherkesy, shapsugi. Serii︠a︡ "Narody i kulʹtury". Moskva: Nauka. ISBN 978-5-02-040924-8.
  29. ↑ "ABD'deki Çerkesler depremzedelerin yaraları sarılana kadar yardımlarını sürdürecek [Circassians in the USA will continue their aid until the wounds of the earthquake victims are healed]". Ajans Kafkas (in Turkish). February 18, 2023. Retrieved October 28, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  30. ↑ "İşte Dr. Öz'ün Çerkez Güzeli | GAZETE VATAN". www.gazetevatan.com. May 9, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  31. ↑ "Mehmet C. Oz, MD, FACS". Columbia University Department of Surgery. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  32. ↑ Afsaruddin, Asma (2015). "Is Islam incompatible with modernity?". The Conversation. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  33. ↑ "The Sufi Science of Time". Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society. 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  34. ↑ Juneau, Jen. "Daphne Oz Shares Her Hearty 'Go-To Breakfast' — and the 'Only Rule at Mealtime' for Her Kids". People. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  35. ↑ "The insidious Islamophobia I experience as a white, blond Muslim — and how I combat it". NBC News.
  36. ↑ JT (May 21, 2017). "8-year-old Jordanian Emanne Beasha wins Arabs Got Talent". The Jordan Times.
  37. ↑ Dixon, Marcus James (September 10, 2019). "Angelic Emanne Beasha just gave 'America's Got Talent' viewers the Bryan Adams cover we didn't know we needed [WATCH]". Gold Derby.
  38. ↑ Hamer, Sian (September 12, 2019). "10-year-old Emanne Beasha makes the America's Got Talent finals after Simon Cowell casts the deciding vote". Classic FM.

Works cited