The homeland of the Circassians is Circassia, and nowhere else

 

We came across a post on Facebook—written in Arabic—by someone whose name we prefer not to mention; we have no desire to give publicity to a fool, especially one whose actions harm the interests of the Circassian people.

In his post, this fool raises a major question: do we, the Circassians of the diaspora, even think about our homeland, the Caucasus? Right away, one must point out the first instance of his foolishness. The homeland of the Circassians is Circassia, not the Caucasus. The Caucasus is home to over 30 ethnic groups and comprises seven republics within the Russian Federation, three internationally recognized independent republics, and two independent republics that lack international recognition.

The second instance of foolishness lies in his complaint that many Circassians do not read his articles or watch his videos. We call him a fool because almost all his videos focus on Abkhazia rather than Circassia. Although born in Jordan, he moved to Abkhazia and seemingly wants to convince Circassians that Abkhazia is their homeland. 

First of all, the Abkhazians have no interest in Circassians immigrating there; they allow only a few dozen Circassians to settle there—a move intended to deceive us into believing that Abkhazia is welcoming Circassian immigrants. 

Abkhazia is reluctant to accept large numbers of Circassians out of a valid fear that if tens of thousands were to arrive, the region would eventually transform into a Circassian state. It is worth noting that the total population of Abkhazians and Abazins combined—both in Abkhazia and worldwide—is perhaps 200,000; in contrast, there are nearly a million Circassians in their ancestral homeland alone, not to mention the millions in Turkey, 300,000 in Syria, and 200,000 in Jordan. Naturally, the Abkhazians fear being assimilated by the Circassians.

We believe we have written enough on this subject and do not wish to burden our readers, who fully understand the situation. We Circassians will not act against the Abkhazians, but we will not let them take us for fools. The ties between Circassians and Abkhazians are merely those of neighbors—nothing more. The languages, customs, and religions differ; the Abkhazians are Christian, while the majority of Circassians are Muslim.

We, the Circassians, wish to maintain good relations with all the peoples of the world, based on mutual respect and fruitful cooperation.