Mohamed Ajayoglu (1912 - 1978)

Born 1912 in Caucasus, Georgia

Died 2 Mar 1978 at about age 66 in Victoria, Australia

Biography

Mohamed was born in 1912. He passed away in 1978.

• Mohamed/ Mehmet Ajayoglu was born in the Caucusus, Georgia and died in Victoria, Australia. ^{[1] [2]}

Salih Yucel, Associate Professor and lecturer at the Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation, Charles Sturt University, in his essay "Sayyid Ibrahim Dellal: An Analysis of Untold Stories of a 'Living History' ", writes of Mehmet (Mohamed) Ajayoglu, who emigrating to Melbourne in 1952 and was a mentor to Ibrahim Dellal in his role as president of the Turanian Historical and Cultural Association. Yucel describes Ajayoglu as a Pan-Turanist who, inspired by secularism and Nationalism, aimed to unite all Turks under one flag. Yucel writes: "The Ajayoglu family originally lived in the Karachai region, which was populated by the Muslim Turkic people of North Caucasus. Karachai is on the border of Russia near Georgia. When Germany invaded Russia during World War Two, the German army occupied Karachai. The people of Karachai lived under Ottoman rule before the Russian annexation of Karachai in 1828. However, they always resisted Russian domination and periodically established an autonomous state. Mehmet (Mohamed) was an activist and community leader in Karachai. The Ajayoglu family and others who remained behind in Karachai and did not resist the German occupation were branded as traitors by Stalin. When the German army began withdrawing from Russia in 1943, many residents of Karachai feared the Communist government's harsh punishments and fled with the German army. They were prepared to settle in any land where they would be safe, since those who remained behind would be executed or deported. However, they could not imagine it would take seven years to finally settle, nor could they imagine their final home would be Australia." Salih Yucel goes on to speak of Mehmet Ajayoglu as "very proud to be of Caucasian ancestry and referred to noble blood running in his veins." ^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ Australia, Death Index, 1787-1985
2. ↑ Victoria, Australia, Wills & Probates Records, 1841-2009
3. ↑ Australian Journal of Islamic Studies Volume 3, Issue 3, 2018. "Sayyid Ibrahim Dellal: An Analysis of Untold Stories of a 'Living History'"