Introduction

Abstract

and monitoring religious practice. These have been 'nationalised', with each republic forming its own independent board and religious training institutions. While all are formally non-governmental institutions, as they were in the Soviet Union, the extent to which they remain under the control of state authorities depends on how tightly religious practice is regulated in a particular republic. Thus, the Muslim Board of Uzbekistan is much more closely tied to central government than its counterparts in, for example, Dagestan or Tatarstan.Up to now, analysis of Islam in the former Soviet Union has been principally dominated by a concern about religious extremism. A large body of literature has been produced by journalists, policy think tanks, and international conflict resolution organisations speculating upon the challenge Islam poses to secular governments and regional stability. Much of this analysis places Islamic extremism within a volatile mix of poverty, water scarcity, inter-ethnic tensions, and repressive local regimes which threatens to explode at any moment 1 . Unfortunately academic studies have not been immune to this view. Even if analysis by social scientists tends to be more measured, the question of Islam is too often framed in terms of an Islamic 'resurgence', evidenced by such phenomena as the dramatic increase in the number of mosques, the formation of Islamic political parties, and the activities of missionaries from other Muslim countries 2 .Many have discussed whether 'extremist' or 'fundamentalist' movements have gained a foothold in post-Soviet states and whether local populations are likely to be attracted to these trends or to remain loyal to 'traditional', locally rooted forms of 'moderate' Islam 3 . These studies confine themselves to the macro-level of government policy and religious movements. When the practice of ordinary Muslims is touched upon, it is generally glossed over as 'traditional' or 'parallel' Islam and left largely unexamined. The study of Islam in both the Soviet Union and in post-Soviet societies has suffered from being placed within an overly limiting analytical framework. Before the 'tradition' to reveal the dynamic interactions between the actors in central governments, officials within the quasi-state religious administrations, religious groups not sponsored by local governments, and the diversity of Muslim believers, all of whom are motivated by their individual agendas, interests and beliefs. Most importantly, we need to adopt an analytical frame which can accommodate the study Islam in the region on its own terms and at the same time place Islam in post-Soviet space within a comparative perspective of Islam as practiced in the wider Muslim world. The study of Islam in the Soviet UnionSome of the richest ethnographic accounts of the practice of Islam in the Soviet period and earlier are provided by Soviet ethnographers. However, the analytical slant of this literature was shaped by the necessity of writing in accordance with Soviet state policy and Marxist-Lenini...

Defining normative Islam: some remarks on contemporary Islamic thought in Tajikistan – Hoji Akbar Turajonzoda'sSharia and society

“…Additionally, a special edition of Central Asian Survey in 2006 deals with anthropological research on Islam in Central Asia (cf. especially the Introduction by Rasanayagam [2006], pp. 219 -233).…”

Even honey may become bitter when there is too much of it: Islam and the struggle for a balanced existence in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan

“…Most studies and reports that were published throughout the 1990s and early 2000s were concerned with the threat Islam might pose to secular governments and regional stability: the appearance of radical Islamist groups, together with the risk that such groups might appeal to the broader population in societies haunted by economic despair, ethnic tensions, social injustice and -in some cases -authoritarianism. Many of these publications were highly speculative and tended to give a somewhat skewed picture of the meanings of Islam among people in the region (see also Montgomery 2007;Rasanayagam 2006). Fortunately, they have recently been balanced with fine-grained fieldworkbased ethnographic accounts which explore the complex meanings of Islam and being Muslim in everyday religious life and demonstrate that in spite of the predicaments of everyday life, for most people, engagement in Islam mainly seems to be driven by the effort to lead pious lives and cultivate moral selves.…”

5. Listening In on Uyghur Wedding Videos: Piety, Tradition, and Self-Fashioning

“…Forms of bodily practice have been a key focus of analysis in discussion of the Islamic revival in the Middle East (Mahmood 2005, Hirschkind 2006). As Johan Rasanayagam (2006) argues, in contexts where governments maintain tight control over religious expression, lived experience is often privileged over debate as a site for moral reasoning, and in Xinjiang, debates over correct religious practice and tradition were often played out through embodied conflicts. As is common right across the world, women found themselves at the sharp end of changing ethical standards, and dance was a particular site of tension.…”