Jadids

Jadids were reformist Muslim intellectuals and activists in the Russian Empire from the late 19th to the early 20th century. The term, derived from the Arabic word jadid meaning “new,” describes a movement aimed at renewing Muslim life through education, modern thought, and reform of religious institutions. While strongest among Tatars and Bashkirs in the Volga-Ural region, the Jadid impulse also spread to Central Asia, including present-day Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and parts of Kazakhstan.

Jadids sought modernization of religious life without abandoning faith. They promoted modern schooling and secular subjects such as science, geography, and history, along with reforms to traditional madrasas. They stressed literacy in local languages, encouraged print media and translation, and supported the use of ijtihad to interpret Islam for contemporary life, challenging blind imitation (taqlid) of medieval authorities.

Key tactics included establishing modern schools (often termed mektep or new-method schools) and publishing newspapers and textbooks in local languages. Ismail Gasprinski (Ismail Gasprinsky) became a leading figure, using his newspaper Tercuman to spread Jadid ideas across the empire. The movement also fostered cultural awakening and a sense of a modern Muslim identity tied to reformist Islam.

Conservative ulama and other traditionalists opposed these reforms, arguing they undermined religious authority. Repression and internal disagreements followed, and some Jadids aligned with revolutionary currents after 1905, while others moderated reforms under early Soviet policy in the 1920s and 1930s.

Jadidism influenced education and cultural life in Central Asia and among Turkic-speaking peoples. It contributed to the emergence of modern national consciousness and the spread of literacy in local languages, shaping later reform movements and nationalist discourse in the region.