Language debate and visions of the future in revolutionary Dagestan

Abstract

The collapse of the old order in the Russian Empire in 1917 gave an opportunity to intellectuals on imperial borders to draft and implement their own visions of the future. The language debate in Dagestan was crucial in these plans given the multi-national character of the country. While Muslim scholars agreed on the importance of language, their opinions differed in the choice of Arabic, Turkic, various Dagestani languages or Russian. On the basis of Muslim periodicals, historical tracts of the period and official reports of political meetings, this paper examines the positions of Dagestani ʿulamāʾ on the political significance of language. I argue that at a time of revolution different concepts of the state demanded a certain language profile at schools. There is a direct link between the choice of a political project and a preferred language of instruction.