Musa Bigiev

Musa Bigeev
Musa Bigeev, 1910s
Born	December 25, 1873 Kikino, Penza Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	October 28, 1949 Cairo, Egypt
Occupation	philosopher, theologian, publicist

Musa (Bigi) Bigeev (pen name Musa Jarullah, Tatar: Муса Җаруллаһ Бигеев) (موسى جارالله بيكييف) – a Tatar philosopher and theologian, publicist, one of the leaders of the Muslims’ progressive movement in Russia of the 20th century. Musa Jarullah was also called in Arabic as Musa Jarullah ibn Fatima at-Turkistani al-Qazani at-Tatari ar-Rostofdoni ar-Rusi (موسى جار الله ابن فاطمة التركستاني القازانى التاتارى الروستوفدونى الروسى), Musa Jarullah ibn Fatima at-Turkistani ar-Rostofdoni ar-Rusi (موسى جار الله، ابن فاطمة، التركستاني الروستوفدوني الروسي), ibn Fatima ar-Rusi (ابن فاطمة الروسي), Musa bin Jarullah ibn Fatima at-Turkistani al-Qazani ar-Rusi (موسى بن جار الله ابن فاطمة التركستاني القازاني الروسي), Musa bin Jarullah at-Turkistani al-Qazani ar-Rusi (موسى بن جار الله التركستاني القازاني الروسي), or as Musa Effendi Jarullah ar-Rusi (موسى أفندي جار الله الروسي).

Musa Jarullah Bigeev was born on December 25, 1873 (Old style) in the Mishar village of Kikino of Kamenskiy region in Penza Governorate. Thereat his father after getting tenure as an akhoond was ready to move with his family to Rostov-on-Don. These facts are known from Bigeev’s wife words as told to his youngest daughter Fatima Musovna Tagirdjanova, who diarized them, and were introduced into scientific use in 2010 after publication of biographical “Book about Musa-effendi, His time and Contemporaries”. Bigeev himself didn’t give due attention to the date and place of his birth, which lead to various readings. Bigeev got secular and theological education. He graduated from the non-classical secondary school in Rostov-on-Don, studied in madrassahs in Bakhchysarai, Kazan, Bukhara, at the oldest Cairo University – Al Azhar. After returning to his motherland he married a daughter of merchant and leader of the Ismaili community from Tatar town of Chistopol M.Z. Kamalov, who also founded madrassah “Kamalia”.

Bigeev moved to St. Petersburg and there he attended lectures at the Law Department of St. Petersburg Imperial University as a non-matriculated student, was published in Abdrashid Ibragimov’s newspaper “Ulfat” (Consonance), worked on initiation of a party “Ittifaq al-Muslimin” (The Union of the Muslims), and its line was similar to Kadets. Bigeev participated in the work of the first Muslim’s Organizational Congress on August 15, 1905 which was held during the largest Nizhny Novgorod Fair. He was an activist of the second and third convention of Muslims in 1906, was selected as a member of the party’s Central Bureau. Bigeev published a tract in Russian “A Statute of All-Russian Muslims Union” with an introduction “The Beginning of Our Movement”. He was a secretary of the fourth Muslims congress, which took place in Petersburg in 1914. Hereafter he published congress materials in his book “Reform Principles”. Bigeev started to publish his theological since 1906. Soon he enjoyed wide popularity. Bigeev published a book of his deceased elder brother Muhammed-Zakir Bigeev “A Trip to Mesopotamia” in 1908 (1870 Kikino, Penza oblast – 1902, Rostov-on-Don). Muhammed-Zakir Bigeev was one of the first Tatar writers, an author of secular novels “Thousands, or a Beauty of Khadich” (1887) and “The Great Sins” (1890).