Abstract
Circassians, although a small minority, are intertwined in government and civil service, and are concentrated in the army and security forces. Their historical role as the founders of modern Amman and their alliance with the Hashemite court make them an emblem of modern urban Jordanian identity. At the same time, Circassians are a non-Arab Muslim group striving to maintain their identity and heritage. In recent decades, there has been a rise of a more salient “diasporic consciousness” among them. The combination of economic success and inclusive relationships with other Jordanians raises challenges of ethnic and cultural preservation.
We would like to give gratitude to Alex Kukuk and Hadas Bram for their contribution to this article.
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Notes
- 1.
For example, four Circassians had served as Chief of Staff of the army, four served as the Commanders of the Royal Jordanian Air Force, and six as the heads of the public security directorate, along with many in other high-rank positions (see also Hedges 2018, p. 34).
- 2.
Different estimations range from 30,000 to more than 100,000 Circassians living in the Kingdom. See Rannut (2011, pp. 6–13) for a detailed discussion of different estimates and of the motivations behind them.
- 3.
- 4.
Unless noted specifically, this chapter deals mostly with the Circassians. Much of the analysis—but not all of it—is relevant also to the Chechens. For this chapter, “Circassian” can be understood as Adyghe (or Abaza who live among the Adyghe).
- 5.
Circassians once were pagans, then adopted Christianity, and then later embraced Islam. Islamisation process started in the sixteenth century but culminated only after the colonisation and the struggle with Christian Russia.
- 6.
There were even some local Arabs who became quite fluent in Circassian language, which was needed for them to trade with the Circassians.
- 7.
See, for example, recent article in Arabic on Circassian marriage customs in the Jordanian website “Al-Ain”: https://al-ain.com/article/circassians-jordan-girl-marriage-custom
- 8.
According to the interviews that we conducted, this tendency became even more salient in the last two decades.
- 9.
This system of representation is based on principles that were formed already in the proclamation of numerous laws in 1928.
- 10.
These issues came out also in the interviews and conversations that we conducted with Jordanian Circassians.
- 11.
The situation among the smaller Chechengroup approach is somehow different: their concentration in specific localities allows them to preserve a bigger degree of “cultural enclave.”
- 12.
For a recent example to this approach, see recent interview (in Arabic) with the Circassian Jordanian historian Umran Khamsh, in 137 years to the immigration of Circassians to Jordan and the Middle East, an article in the website of the magazine Raya (written on 12 December 2015): http://www.raya.com/home/print/f6451603-4dff-4ca1-9c10-122741d17432/8e5fd30b-8e82-4234-a353-1293e34f06f7. Retrieved 26-4-2018).
- 13.
The developments among the smaller Chechen community in Jordan went to different directions, following the chaos there after the first Chechen war and even more following the second Chechen war and the fractions also among Chechens themselves. Chechens in Jordan were split between supporters of different fractions (and later supporters of Kadirov and opposition), and the problematic situation in the Caucasus had a harsh impact also on the diaspora. While analysing the court involvement, the more fragile—and hence sensitive—and even potentially danger (especially when terrorism became the last refuge of Chechen struggle) should also be taken into account.
- 14.
There was also a precedent—the ICA organised a “rescue” operation for Circassians in Kosovo during the war there—with Russian permit. They were brought to the Adyghe republic in the Caucasus (Bram 2004).
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Bram, C., Shawwaf, Y. (2019). Circassians. In: Kumaraswamy, P.R. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9166-8_6
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