Since the fall of communism the countries of central asia, once soviet republics, have remerged independent. The rise of militant islam in central asia by ahmed rashid. Unfortunately, local governments saw religion that was independent of the state as a threat. Mar 06, 2011 enayatollah yazdani, globalization and the role of islam in the postsoviet central asia, alternatives. Seventy years of soviet rule in central asia did not crush islam but it had a profound effect in secularising society and political elites. Ahmed rashids taliban, militant islam, oil and fundamentalism in central asia, is an intelligent analysis of repeated international failures to respond to calls for help and why foreign policy cannot be just trade policy. The kubrawiya, yasawiya, and khwajagan naqshbandiya movements originated in central asia.
Islam is the most widely practiced religion in central asia. Islam a brief overview of the history of islam the origin of islam is placed around 610 ce when muhammad, a highly spiritual and religious man who spent months in praying and self contemplation in a secluded cave near the town of mecca, is thought to have received divine messages. Archived from the original pdf on 24 september 2015. Evaluating islams role in central asia by raja sutherland. In short, militant islam in central asia and south asia is tied. The dictators of uzbekistan and the rest of central asia, and the backing of those dictators by the coalition, generates instability and fuels militancy in central asia as well as south asia. Abu kholdun almahmud, my dear student and a noted medical expert. Quietly tucked away in the rugged region of central asia, uzbekistan is often overlooked by western policy analysts, treated as little more than an afterthought in the grand scheme of global affairs. As official islam could not gain ground in the muslims of central asia and it rather gave way to parallel. For the united states, central asia states represent a buffer on the.
The revival of islam is accepted to elites o f central asia on ly to the exte nt up to which it serves t he purposes of establishment of secular state, the r ediscovery of ancient culture and a. The five republics of central asia, and their historical connection to islam. The diversity of muslims in asia from the middle east to southeastern asia, from central asia to the pacific islands, the diversity in asia is striking. This book has now been translated in english by dr. Central asias muslims have traditionally practiced islam as it is interpreted by the hanafi school of islamic jurisprudence, which is known for its liberalness and respect for personal freedom. Khans and emirs tried to keep a very close and very public connection to islam, understanding it was the greatest unifier for social discontent. Casww syllabi john schoeberlein, the meanings of islam in central asia islamic civilizations 160. Islam is the second largest religion in south asia with about 600 million muslims, forming about one third of south asia s population. This paper examines the islamic movement of uzbekistan imu, one of the three key islamic groups active in central asia. Anna munster, robert bosch visiting fellow, russia and eurasia programme, chatham house. Aug 16, 2001 when the soviet empire broke up, millions of people in central asia began to practice islam.
The hanafi school of thought of sunnism is the most popular, with shiism of imami and ismaili denominations predominating in the pamir plateau and the western tian shan mountains almost exclusively ismailis, while boasting to a large minority population in the. Jan 14, 2015 at a time of religious tensions and extremist violence, the commotion about the islamic threat in central asia needs careful analysis. Nov 24, 2014 the tactic is as old as islam in central asia. I shall show, the author promises at the outset, that for the countries of central asia and the caucasus, islam is a force for integration into the international community. Facing radical islam erlan karin 8 balance and see no interest in destabilising the region since any resulting conflict could spread to the caucasus, xinjiang, or the countries of south asia. Islam, society, and politics in central asia on jstor. The taliban movement in afghanistan by michael griffin. Religious education and state ideology is the fourth paper of the ongoing series on islam in central asia. Islam in central asia has existed since the beginning of islamic history. Islam came to central asia in the early part of the 8th century as part of the muslim conquest of the region. Islam in russia and central asia preface to first english edition his book was published in bangla national language of bangladesh in june 1976 under the title islam in the soviet union. The meanings of islam in central asia spring term, wednesdays, 2. The nations which make up central asia are five of the former soviet republics.
Muslims of central asia edinburgh university press. Central asia is a diverse land with many ethnic groups, languages, religions and tribes. The meanings of islam in central asia harvard university. This research has been produced within the framework of the contributing to stability and peace in central asia through media literacy, improved reporting and regional cooperation project. The bad news is that it corrects, first and foremost, its authors own central thesis. During the 1990s, there was a general consensus that central asia was witnessing an islamic revival after independence, and that this occurrence would follow similar events throughout the islamic world in the prior two decades, which had negative effects on both social and political. This book is the result of a workshop held at cidob on 1. Islam in central asia and the caucasus since the fall of the. Central asia and kazakhstan sadum, established in 1943 in tashkent, was the state body to control islamic affairs and served as an indicator for the reduced role of islam in soviet central asia tazmini 2001.
Chapter one the social significance of islam in postsoviet central asia. Pdf this article investigates the changing intersections between religion and politics in muslim central asia. At the end of the soviet period, this was particularly true of kazakhstan and. Islamic central asia is the first englishlanguage anthology of primary documents for the study of central asian history. Articles islamic history in detail in modern terms, central asia comprises. Brought by arabs, the religion flourished in central asia, where it thrived and molded to fit the. Soviet government attempted to eradicate islam in central asia by forcing a. The tragic events of september 11th brought the taliban into sharp focus as the most radical and extreme islamic movement in the world, but little is still known about them because of the deep secrecy that always surrounded their organization and leadership. Yet, despite cultural differences, the religion of islam forms a common thread across asia.
By aisha stacey 2019 published on 26 aug 2019 last modified on 01 sep 2019 category. Being muslim in central asia practices, politics, and identities brill. Introduction reassessing the islamic revival in central asia. Galina yemelianovas muslims in central asia is a unique study which traces the history of muslims and islam in what, in the 19 th century, became russia and later sovietcontrolled central asia. Islamic radicalism in central asia and the caucasus. By paolo sorbello for the diplomat january 14, 2015. Ahmed rashid, who has been reporting on afghanistan since 1979, is one of the few international journalists to have interviewed the. Geographically, central asia comprising modern kazakhstan, kyrgyzstan, tajikistan, turkmenistan, and uzbekistan may be divided into three zones. December 2009 on the topic of islam and democracy in. No longer bound by the constraints of soviet ideology, islam, which has been traditionally considered the regions dominant religion, has seen a comeback since the.
It has been linked to terrorist activity and to the attempted overthrow of uzbek president. Islamic extremism and central asia by ian sethre reaping the whirlwind. Parallel and nonofficial islam would not be controlled by soviet higher authorities or the socalled muslim spiritual directorates. In this meticulously researched book, yemelianova offers a panoramic overview of the political, economic, cultural and religious developments in. The spread of buddhism and islam in central asia xinru liu pdf aijrhass. The survival of islam in ussr owes to the constant struggle of these sufi orders.
The world of islam and the challenge of islamism 2. The age of islam and the mongols article pdf available in central asian survey 372. South asia has the largest population of muslims in the world in the world, with about onethird of all muslims being from south asia. Apr 10, 2015 quietly tucked away in the rugged region of central asia, uzbekistan is often overlooked by western policy analysts, treated as little more than an afterthought in the grand scheme of global affairs. Kazakhstan, kyrgyzstan, turkmenistan, tajikistan, and uzbekistan, which have a total population of about 72 million. Evaluating islams role in central asia by raja sutherland abstract. Central asias sufi orders historically, four sufi orders had a significant presence in the region. The silk road papers series is the occasional papers series of the joint center, published jointly on topical and timely subjects. Levi and ron sela draw from a vast array of historical sources to illustrate important aspects of the social, cultural, political, and economic history of islamic central asia. Growing islamic extremism in central asia and the caucasus.
Turkish journal of international relations, 82 2009, pp. Islam, society, and politics in central asia book description. Pdf islam and ideology in central asia researchgate. Introduction in 1904 sir halford mackinder, one of the fathers of geopolitics, put forward a heartland theory. Many wellknown islamic scientists and philosophers came from central asia, and several major muslim empires, including the timurid empire and the mughal empire, originated in central asia. Many wellknown islamic scientists and philosophers. Islamic revival in central asia the web site cannot be found. The imu is a militant and extremist islamic organization, one that has been listed by the us state department as a terrorist organization. Nevertheless, after independence there was a surge of interest in islam, including the emergence of political islamist groups seeking to challenge the secular nature of these new states. At a time of religious tensions and extremist violence, the commotion about the islamic threat in central asia needs careful analysis. The very current question in the last decades after the perestroika among the muslim countries of central asia which once belonged to the soviet block is.