AHMAD YASAWI’S HIKMATS: ETHNOCULTURAL IDENTITY AND SOCIAL COHESION
Keywords:
Ahmad Yasawi, Dīwān-i Hikmet, Kazakhstan, ethnocultural identity, social cohesion, language policy, youth, digital media, public ethicsAbstract
This article examines how the ethical vocabulary of the Yasawi tradition can inform contemporary debates on ethnocultural identity and social cohesion in Kazakhstan. Using qualitative document analysis, it reads a verified Turkish edition of the Dīwān-i Hikmet alongside recent scholarship on civic and ethnic identity, language practices, young people’s media use, and inequality. The analysis is organised around four themes: responsibility towards vulnerable people; self-discipline as a counterweight to pride and ostentation; justice in public conduct; and the integrative function of accessible language. The findings indicate that Yasawi’s legacy can furnish a shared moral vocabulary, but only when interpreted inclusively and without turning a historical Sufi corpus into a direct policy manual. Its contemporary value lies less in supplying ready-made solutions than in sustaining ethically grounded deliberation across education, cultural institutions, and digital media. Social cohesion nevertheless also depends on credible language policy, equality of opportunity, and institutional justice. The article therefore proposes a critical appropriation of Yasawi’s legacy that joins historical awareness to civic inclusion.
References
1. Bureau of National Statistics of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan. (2023). National Composition, Religion and Language Proficiency in the Republic of Kazakhstan: Results of the National Population Census of 2021. Astana. https://stat.gov.kz/en/national/2021/
2. Burkhanov, A. (2017). Kazakhstan’s National Identity-Building Policy: Soviet Legacy, State Efforts, and Societal Reactions. Cornell International Law Journal, 50(1), 1-14. https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cilj/vol50/iss1/1/
3. Burkhanov, A., Sharipova, D., & Alpeissova, A. (2017). The Determinants of Civic and Ethnic Nationalisms in Kazakhstan: Evidence from the Grass-Roots Level. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 23(2), 203-226. https://doi.org/10.1080/13537113.2017.1311143
4. Çetin, H. (2025). Hoca Ahmet Yesevi Geleneğinin Kazak Halkının Maneviyatındaki Rolü ve Önemi [The Role and Importance of the Khoja Ahmad Yasawi Tradition in the Spiritual Life of the Kazakh People]. Türk Kültürü ve Hacı Bektaş Velî Araştırma Dergisi, 113, 405-419. https://doi.org/10.60163/tkhcbva.1604710
5. Eraslan, K. (1989). Ahmed Yesevî [Ahmad Yasawi]. TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, 2, 159-161. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/ahmed-yesevi
6. Eraslan, K. (1994). Dîvân-ı Hikmet [The Book of Wisdom]. TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, 9, 429-430. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/divan-i-hikmet
7. Jarlhøj, M. E., & Valijärvi, R.-L. (2024). Changing Language Policies and Ideologies in Kazakhstan: An Interview-Based Study. SN Social Sciences, 4, 30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-024-00829-5
8. Kalın, İ. (2017). Hoca Ahmed Yesevî, Hüküm ve Hikmet [Khoja Ahmad Yasawi, Judgment and Wisdom]. Bilig, 80, 1-14. https://izlik.org/JA39CP73DN
9. Nussipova, A. U., & Slanbekova, G. K. (2024). Social Media Landscape in the Republic of Kazakhstan: Navigating Youth Behavior and Ensuring Information Security. Journal of Philosophy, Culture and Political Science, 89(3), 68-78. https://doi.org/10.26577/jpcp.2024.v89-i3-07
10. Rees, K. M., & Williams, N. W. (2017). Explaining Kazakhstani Identity: Supraethnic Identity, Ethnicity, Language, and Citizenship. Nationalities Papers, 45(5), 815-839. https://doi.org/10.1080/00905992.2017.1288204
11. Sadvokassova, A., Burkhanov, A., & Sharipova, D. (2024). In Search for Kazakhstani Identity: Societal Perceptions of Kazakhstan’s Nation-Building. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 31(1), 114-137. https://doi.org/10.1080/13537113.2024.2422198
12. Schatz, E. A. D. (2000). Framing Strategies and Non-Conflict in Multi-Ethnic Kazakhstan. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 6(2), 71-94.
13. Tosun, N. (2013). Yeseviyye [The Yasawi Order]. TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, 43, 487-490. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/yeseviyye
14. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. (2003). Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1103
15. World Bank. (2024). Kazakhstan: Poverty and Equity Assessment. World Bank. https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/099121024150515312
16. Yesevî, A. (1993). Dîvân-ı Hikmet [The Book of Wisdom] (H. Bice, Ed.). Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı Publications.
17. Zharkynbekova, S., Ayupova, G., Galiyeva, B., Shakhputova, Z., & Zabrodskaja, A. (2025). Ethno-Linguistic Identity of Kazakhstani Student Youth in Modern Multinational Context of Kazakhstan: Sociolinguistic Analysis of Empirical Research. Languages, 10(2), 33. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages10020033
