Goals of the Socio-Political Organization “Habze”
The Meaning of the Word “Habze”
What is Habze? Some believe that Habze is merely etiquette. Sometimes Adyghe Habze is translated simply as “Circassian Etiquette.” However, this reflects only the narrow meaning of the word. Habze is not only — and not so much — about etiquette. Khabze is a complete philosophical and worldview system, a moral and legal code of the Circassians, and much more.
Habze, as an extensive philosophical and ethical system, regulates absolutely all aspects of human life. Habze is not a prohibitive system; it is not built upon bans and restrictions. Habze shows the path along which a person develops in harmony with oneself, with other people, with nature, and the outer world. The word “Habze” translated from Circassian means “the language of everything” or “the language of the universe.”
As we can see: we are a people with the self-designation “Adyghe,” possessing “Adygaghe” as long as we have Habze and our language “Adyghebze.” Just as every living creature in this world possesses an instinct for self-preservation, the essence of our people lies in preserving our language “Adyghebze” and Habze.
Today, Circassians live compactly in more than 50 countries around the world. We number in the millions. Yet only about 10% of our people live in the historical homeland. Those Circassians who live in the Caucasus, on their native land, have been artificially divided into four supposedly separate peoples (Kabardians, Adyghe, Circassians, Shapsugs), although we share one self-designation — “Adyghe,” one language — “Adyghebze,” one Habze, and one historical past. And like any self-respecting nation, we have our own national interests.
Over the past 10 years, the national consciousness of the Circassians has been rising at a significant pace. Despite this, there is still no organization on the political arena that would represent the interests of all Circassians in the world as a single entity. That is precisely why the “Habze” organization has set itself this task.
Our Goals:
- Achieve historical justice and restore the historical borders of Circassia as they were before the Russian-Circassian War.
- Ensure that all Circassians have the opportunity to study and be native speakers of their mother tongue and to live according to Habze.
- Ensure that all Circassians in the world have the opportunity to freely return to their historical homeland, so that every Circassian strives for the reunification and development of their people and their homeland — Circassia.
- Ensure that the Circassian people, as a single entity, stand for the health, safety, dignified life, and personal development of every Circassian.
Our Approach:
We fundamentally believe that all the goals we have set for ourselves are goals shared by the entire nation. We see that there are like-minded people around the world. Despite the fact that a united front has not yet been created, there are many like us. For us, it is not essential whether a particular person joins our organization or not. What matters to us is whether a person understands the problem and shares the goals outlined above. Based on this, we as an organization are completely open and ready to cooperate with everyone whose actions and views in any way intersect with the interests of our people.
We do not limit ourselves to politics or culture alone. We will do everything that our available resources allow, within the laws of the country in which we operate. We are not concerned with Russian interests, nor American interests, nor Turkish interests, nor the interests of European or Arab countries. We will promote exclusively the interests of the Circassian people. And we will cooperate with all who are ready to contribute to the advancement of our national interests.
Adopted by the Council of the “Habze” Organization on June 21, 2018, in the city of Nalchik.