Islam after Communism: Religion and Politics in Central Asia

A study on the history of Islam in five Central Asian countries that have become independent after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Islam after Communism: Religion and Politics in Central Asia, has been translated and published as the 11th book in the SNUAC Modern Asian History Series. The original (2^nd Edition, 2014; 1^st Edition 2007) was written by Adeeb Khalid, an Islamic scholar working in the Anglophone academia and a professor in the department of history at Carleton College, and translated into Korean by Dr. Won-kyo Oh.Prof. Khalid breaks away from the essentialist and dualist view on the Islam world and takes on an advanced perspective that emphasizes the complexity and internal variety of Islam. From the Islam world that has disseminated into all parts of the world and holds uniqueness in each part, he examines the Central Asian countries. The book holds a distinct view that in order to understand the singularity of Islam in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan, the five Central Asian countries that have experienced the Communist system, one must examine their historical processes under Communism and grasp the historical context. Islam after Communism: Religion and Politics in Central Asia consists of an introduction, seven chapters and a conclusion, as well as an afterword that was added in the 2014 edition, covering the situation and author’s impressions after the first edition was published.Chapter 1 surveys the overall Islam history of 1,400 years in Central Asia, while Chapter 2 introduces the conflicts and changes in the Islam culture in the process of the Russian Empire ruling the area.

Chapters 3 and 4 introduce the process of leftist ideology and Islam undergoing conflicts and continuing to coexist after the Russian Revolution, and Chapters 5, 6, and 7 examine in detail the process of the Islamic religion, politics, and society interacting as the Central Asian countries become independent after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

SNU Asia Center has been opening new horizons in the regional research on Central Asia through China’s Rise & Central Asia and The Heart of Eurasian Beats Again: The Historic Formation and Dynamics of Central Asia, the 10th and 19th books respectively in SNUAC Asian Studies in a Global Context Series. With this latest publication, we seek an opportunity to focus on the uniqueness that the Islam culture –religion, politics, society, and culture distinctively combined– has earned through the special process of 70 years under the Soviet regime.

We wish for this book to provide an even deeper understanding of Central Asia for researchers, policymakers, and members of the private sector with interests in the region.

Table of Contents

List of Maps and Tables 4

Acknowledgments 5

Maps 7

Introduction 11

Islam in Central Asia 37
Empire and the Challenge of Modernity 59
The Soviet Assault on Islam 81
Islam as National Heritage 129
The Revival of Islam 175
Islam in Opposition 207
The Politics of Antiterrorism 247

Conclusion: Andijan and Beyond 283

Afterword 301

Glossary 311

Notes 315

Select Bibliography 331

Index 333