Munavvar qori Abdurashidxonov

The life and work of Munavvar qori Abdurashidxonov, one of the prominent figures of the Uzbek people and a leader in the struggle for national liberation at the beginning of the last century, began to be studied thanks to the blessing of independence.

It was forbidden to research the activities of Munavvar qori, the leader of the Uzbek independence movement who was called the number one enemy by the Soviet government.

Unanimously recognized by 20th-century Uzbek intellectuals as a "spiritual guide" and a "servant of the nation who worked tirelessly day and night for the great goals of the nation's future," and praised by the poet Tavallo as:

Our Munavvar qori has illuminated the world,

We saw our character and disposition in his radiance.

Take heed, youth, he shed tears from his eyes.

In his speech, he corrected our very existence...

- this writer, educator, editor, enlightener, and public figure Munavvar qori Abdurashidxon o'g'li was born in 1878 into a family of a mudarris in the Darxon neighborhood of the Shayx Xovand Tohur district in Tashkent. He studied at the Eshonquli Dodxoh madrasa in Tashkent and the Mirarab madrasa in Bukhara. Upon returning to Tashkent, he served as an imam at the Darxon mosque.

Munavvar qori began actively participating in the Jadidist movements starting from the end of the 19th century. In 1901, he opened Jadid schools in his own courtyard and later in various districts of Tashkent. For these schools, he created the textbooks "Adibi avval" and "Adibi soniy" in 1907. He compiled and published manuals such as "Tajvid al-Qur'on" and "Er yuzi". He wrote a number of poetic and prose stories for children.

In 1909, he established the "Jamiyati Xayriya" (Charity Society) in Tashkent and opened a society called "Turon". In 1906, Munavvar qori published the "Xurshid" newspaper, one of the earliest examples of the Uzbek press. Later, he served as editor-in-chief of the "Najot" and "Kengash" newspapers, and as section editor for "Sadoyi Turkiston".

Munavvar qori Abdurashidxonov is one of the figures who laid the foundation for the new Uzbek theater. In 1913, he organized his peers and young people to establish the "Turon" cultural, educational, and political organization.

He viewed theatrical art as an institution for "knowing the corruption of corrupt habits" and correcting them, and as mentioned above, as a "skilled physician," and he carried out great work in this path, in particular, by breaking the resistance of narrow-minded people against theater art. The activity of the "Turon" troupe from 1914 to 1924 can serve as proof of our opinion.

After the February Revolution of 1917, Munavvar qori promoted the idea of establishing a democratic national state in Turkestan. He supported the Turkestan Autonomy formed in Kokand.

During the Soviet era, he continued his open educational work and secret political activities. In April 1918, he was elected as the founder and rector of the Turkestan People's University. In 1918, he founded the "Turk O'chog'i" scientific-educational society.

In the 1920s, Munavvar qori led the secret organizations "Milliy Ittihod" (National Union) and "Milliy Istiqlol" (National Independence), which set the task of fighting for the independence of the Uzbek land.

As a result of the intensification of persecution of national intellectuals in the mid-1920s, Munavvar qori was removed from all positions. However, not even repression could turn Munavvar qori Abdurashidxon o'g'li away from his ideals of independence.

Writers, scientists, artists, and statesmen who made a great contribution to the development of our national culture, such as Hamza, Elbek, Oybek, Akmal Ikromov, Abdulhay Tojiyev, Salimxon Tillaxonov, Qayum Ramazon, Bahrom Haydariy, and Mannon Uyg'ur, were students of Munavvar qori Abdurashidxonov.

He was arrested in 1929 and executed by firing squad in 1931. His remains are in the Vagankovo cemetery in Moscow.