30 May 2003, 12:35
Beliefs of the Laks
Laks are Moslems-sunnites of shafiit kind. Most likely Christianity came to them before Islam from the neighboring Caucasus Albania and Georgia (4-5th centuries). Laks were one of the first in Dagestan to adopt Islam (8-9th century) and were its active preachers among the other peoples. Kumukh village was one of the centers of Moslem education, here lived sheikh Jamaluddin --the murshid of the three imams of Dagestan: Gazi-Mohammed, Gamzat-bek and Shamil. Though Laks didn?t join imamat, they actively helped Shamil in his struggle.
Religious traditions were not lost during the Soviet power, greatly thanks to sufizm (nakshbandi branch). At the same time many common believers stopped to perform their main religious obligations. Islam traditions including Moslem literacy was kept by the sufi sheikhs and their murids. Nowadays there?s the revival of religious life; priests are actively preaching. There are still not many mosques and they are not visited much by the believers. Even in the famous Kumukh they sometimes don?t have the number of believers (40 people) that is needed to consider the Friday prayer valid according to the rules of Shafiit kind. The situation may change if young mullahs will come to the villages, nowadays they study in the Islam higher schools and medrese in Dagestan, Russia and abroad. Since 1992 there exists a religious society ?Nurdanul Chirakh? (Cresset of Faith). Laks have their own Ecclesiastical management.
There retain some elements of pre-monotheistic beliefs typical for the people of Upland Dagestan (Avars, Dargins etc.). A hero of albasta type is known. Vakhabit ideas are actively promoted among the Laks nowadays.
