during the early to mid 19th century russian political strategy in dagestan included supporting local, indigenous law, known as "‘adat". this was a careful and strategic investment against the growing religiosity and resistance founded on "sharia" law, which was championed by ghazi muhammad. the popularity and rise of ghazi muhammad has been attributed both to his charismatic personality and to an indigenous dagestani population that had grown tired of russian intrusion and reorganization of local land and resources. due to conflicting local political, legal, and religious interests, the war led by ghazi muhammad has been characterized as a war in the name of muslim resistance just as much as a war against russian imperial encroachment into the north caucasus. while ghazi muhammad gained popular support for his religious policies and military tactics, he did not find widespread support among the region's other political leaders and indeed launched assaults both against local leaders who preferred to ascribe to "‘adat" and against the encroaching russians. as such, support for ghazi muhammad was not ubiquitous in dagestan and his rise to power resulted in unrest among local political stakeholders.