[TATAR EMIGRES / FIRST HAND ACCOUNT OF ISLAM IN MEIJI JAPAN BY THE FIRST IMAM OF TOKYO EXPELLED FROM RUSSIA] Alem-i Islâm ve Japonya’da intisâr-i Islâmiyyet [i.e., The world of Islam and the spread of Islam in Japan]. 2 volumes set

IBRAHIM, ABDURRESID (1857-1944).

Ahmed Sâki Bey Matbaasi, Istanbul, AH 1328 = [1910].

Contemporary quarter black morocco with five raised bands on the spine, gilt lettering to compartments: title, volume number, with additional decorative elements. Original endpapers. Large roy. 8vo. (25 x 18 cm). Text in Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). 2 volumes set: (620 p., a photographic portrait of Ibrahim and 41 numbered photographic plates (b/w); 1 b/w portrait of author, 243, [5] p.). Slight foxing on pages; otherwise, a very good copy.

The first edition of this exceedingly rare, richly illustrated travel book is the earliest first-hand account in book form of Islam in Meiji Japan between 1907 and 1910. It was published recently after being serialized in the "Beyanü’l-Haq" newspaper in Kazan, which was owned by Ibrahim’s son Ahmed Münir. According to Cilâci, “This is the first comprehensive book on the Muslim communities of Japan and China,” and “this book was the first work to introduce Japanese customs, morals, national characteristics, and the factors that led to their progress to the modern Islamic world.”

This very scarce set focuses on Ibrahim's travels and memoirs, and his eyewitness account of the Islamic world and communities in Japan, China, and Korea, as well as his travels through Russia, Siberia, Turkestan, Mongolia, and Singapore. The book covers Korea (pp. 459 and others), Japan (pp. 180-620), Manchuria (pp. 133-179), Mongolia (pp. 126-132), and more. The second and final volume includes the narrative of the author's return journey from Japan to the Port of Singapore, continuing onward through India.

Ibrahim embarked on his journey to Japan in 1908 to meet with his contacts from the Kokuryûkai (Black Dragon Society). During his travels, he provided detailed accounts of Japan’s cultural, historical, geographical, and socio-economic structure, as well as insights into the Muslim communities of the early 20th century. His observations spanned from the bustling metropolises of Tokyo to the smallest traditional villages. Ibrahim also concluded that the activities of Christian missionaries in Japan negatively impacted the moral fabric of Japanese society.

In 1909, Ibrahim travelled to China, where he stayed from June to September to study the lives of Chinese Muslims. During his visit, he formed an amicable relationship with Wang Kuan (1848–1919), an Ahong at the Oxen Street Mosque in Beijing, though he critiqued Wang Kuan's proficiency in Arabic. Ibrahim also documented detailed and invaluable information on printing activities in China at the time, including some of the earliest 20th-century accounts of the Islamic world in China.

On his return journey, Ibrahim spent approximately ten days in the Korean Empire. Convinced of the 'barbarism' of the West, he identified numerous examples in Korea that reinforced his theory of 'Eastern civilization,' much as he had during his time in Japan. During his stay, he interacted with a diverse range of individuals, from humble porters to the Korean Empire’s Interior Minister.

Ibrahim was a Russia-born Tatar Muslim scholar (ulama), journalist, and traveller who spearheaded a movement to unite the Crimean Tatars in the early 20th century. He visited Meiji Japan and became the first imam of the Tokyo Mosque. His first visit to Japan in 1902–1903 was marked by his involvement in anti-Russian propaganda, which led to his expulsion at the request of the Russian consul. Upon arriving in Istanbul in 1904, Ibrahim was arrested and transported under guard to Odessa, where he was held until his release in late 1905 or early 1906.

As a former board member of the Muslim community in Orenburg, Ibrahim emerged as a leading figure in the Ittifaq al-Muslimin movement, organizing several Muslim congresses. At the First All-Russian Muslim Congress in Nizhny Novgorod, his main rival was Ayaz Ishaki.

Ibrahim was born on April 23, 1857, in Tara, now part of the Omsk Oblast. His ancestors were Turkic peoples, and his father, Gumer, was descended from the Siberian Bukharans. Ibrahim began his education at the age of seven and, at ten, entered the Almenevo village Madrasa. Orphaned at seventeen, he moved to Tyumen, where he continued his studies at the Yana Avyl Madrasa and later at the Qyshqar village Madrasa (now in the Arsky District of Tatarstan).

From 1878 to 1879, he taught in the Akmolinsk Oblast (Russian Empire). Between 1879 and 1885, he pursued further studies in Medina, Mecca, and Istanbul. Returning to Russia in 1885, Ibrahim became the imam-khatib of the cathedral mosque in Tara, where he also served as a mudarris at the madrasa.

From 1892 to 1894, he held the position of qadi of the Orenburg Muslim Spiritual Assembly. Between 1905 and 1907, he was a member of the central committee of the Ittifaq al-Muslimin (Union of Muslims).

Ibrahim founded the 'Ajia Gikai' association to promote Islam in Japan and sought to build a mosque in Tokyo. However, following the deposition of Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II, he postponed his mosque project and traveled to Korea in 1909. He returned to Istanbul in 1910, where he informed the Ottoman people about Japan.

In 1933, Ibrahim returned to Japan and began the construction of a mosque in 1934, which would later become the Tokyo Mosque. The mosque, completed in 1938, was financed by affluent Japanese donors. Ibrahim was appointed the mosque’s first imam, or prayer leader.

Overall, this rare and richly illustrated set, documenting the early 20th-century Islamic world in Japan, China, and Korea through captivating photographs, offers invaluable insight into the lives of Muslims in the Far East & Asia.

Özege 411.; TBTK 718.; As set, we couldn’t trace any records in the OCLC, although only the first volume is located in more than fifteen libraries.