Muslim Social Democratic Party


The Muslim Social Democratic Party, usually referred to as Hummet , was a political party in South Caucasus. In 1920, it merged with "Adalat" communist cell in Baku, forming the first Communist Party of Azerbaijan.

"Old" Hummet (1904 - 1920)

At the end of 1904, the Baku committee of the Russian Social Democratic Party created the Hummet in order to attract Muslim workers. Prominent Hummet politicians included Mammed Amin Rasulzade, Meshadi Azizbekov, Prokopius Dzhaparidze, Sultan Medjid Efendiev, Zeynal Zeynalov and Nariman Narimanov. A series of arrests in 1911 weakened the activities of the party, but after the February Revolution, the Hummet renewed its operations.
From 1918 to 1920 the Hummet was represented in the parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.
On February 20, 1920, it merged with the Adalat Party, the Ahrar Party of Iran and Baku Bolsheviks to establish the Azerbaijan Communist Party.
Some sources report that pro-Bolshevik Muslims from the Hummet party participated in the March Events, massacres by the Shaumyan-led Bolshevik Baku Soviet and Dashnak militia against Azerbaijanis in Baku, in a bid to suppress the Musavat party and to gain control of Baku. Other sources, on the contrary, report that Hummet party members were very critical of the conduct of the events. This is confirmed by the words of Sultan Majid Efendiyev who wrote: