ISLAM AND POLITICS IN RUSSIA
AND CENTRAL ASIA

(Early 17th - Late 20th Centuries)

A Review by Dr.Rafis Abasov
(School of Politics, La Trobe University)

     Since the Soviet disintegration, political Islam in Central Asia and Russia remains one of the most frequently discussed issues not only among the CIS experts, but also among international academic community. This issue was brought to the wider international attention again after the Tashkent explosions, the explosions in several Russian cities and after four Japanese engineers were taken hostages in Kyrgyzstan.

    According to the Russian and Central Asian government officials the fundamentalist Islamic groups are responsible for all these events. However, can we claim that political Islam represents 'anti-systematic political forces' in the current development in Russia and the Central Asian republics?

    The international conference 'Islam and Politics in Russia and Central Asia' (the early 17th - the late 20th century), was organized by the Islamic Area Studies Research Unit 1 with the support of the Japan Foundation and the Embassy of France in Japan at the Maison Franco-Japonaise, Tokyo. The conference was an attempt to explore this issue from a historical perspective.

    The work of the conference was subdivided into four panels:
1) Community Building in the Russian Dar al-Harb
2) Towards a Restoration of the Dar al-Islam? State Building in 20th Century Muslim Central Asia
3) The Role of the Religious ('Ulama) and the Literati (Udaba)
4) Contemporary Issues: Islam and Political Mobilization: From Tajikistan to the suburbs of Moscow.

    The advantage of the discussions during at this academic forum was that the papers were presented by a well-balanced group of scholars from Central Asia, Russia, France, the USA, and Japan.

    The first panel explored the history of the interaction between the Muslim community and the Russian state in the past three hundreds years. The scholars at this panel discussed how inclusion into the Russian Empire affected the thoughts, identities and self-administration of the Muslim communities and the intellectual discourse among Muslim scholars on their life under the Christian Law.

    There were three papers presented at this panel. Christian NOACK (Universitet Koln),
Russian Politics and its Impact on the Formation of a Muslim Identity in the Volga-Urals

Ramil KHAYRUTDINOV (Tatarstan Respublikase Fannar Akademijase, Kazan),
The Tatar Municipality of Kazan (1781-1855), and the System of National Self-Administration in Autocratic Russia

Stephane A. DUDOIGNON
(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Strasbourg),
Status, Strategy, and Discourse of a Muslim "Clergy" under a Christian Law: Polemics on the Collection of the Zakat in Late Imperial Russia

    The second panel focused on the early 20th century issues, such as the intellectual background of a Central Asian Jadidist A. Fitrat, attempt to build the Qazaq (Kazakh) state, and Eastern Turkestan Republic of 1933-1934.

    There were four papers presented at this panel. KOMATSU Hisao (Tokyo Daigaku-IASP, Tokyo): Bukhara-yi Sharif and Istanbul: A Consideration on the background of the Munazara

UYAMA Tomohiko
(Hokkaido Daigaku, Sapporo):
Two Attempts at Building a Qazaq State: The Revolt of 1916 and the Alash Movement

SHINMEN Yasushi
(Tokyo Gaikokugo Daigaku, Tokyo), Eastern Turkistan Republic (1933-1934) in Historical Perspective

    The third panel covered the intellectual aspects in the life of the Muslim community in Central Asia, which included the political activities and debates among the Muslim intellectuals, the Uzbek literary heritage of the early 20th century and the activities of the Sufi brotherhoods in Southern Xinjiang.

    There were three papers presented at this panel.
Naim KARIMOV (O'zbekiston Respublikasining Fanlar Akademiyasi, Tashkent): Islam in the Uzbek Literature of the 20th Century and Politics

Thierry ZARCONE
(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris):
The Sufi Networks in Southern Xinjiang during the Republican Regime (1911-1949): An Overview

Parviz MULLOJONOV
(Tajik Center for Citizenship Education, Dushanbe):
The Role of the Muslim "Clergy" in Tajikistan since the Collapse of the Soviet Union

    The fourth section examined the modern political dynamics. The scholars at this section discussed such issues as Islamic creed and ideology, the role of the official and non-official Muslim clergy in post-Soviet Russia and Central Asia. The reporters and discussants argued that the Muslim communities in the CIS were not uniformed and there are so many discussions, debates and views within the community. The scholars have to always be careful in generalization of the opinions on Islamic issues in post-Soviet Central Asia and Russia.

    This panel included four papers.
Irina KOSTYUKOVA (Institut vostokovedenija, Moscow), Islam in Qyrghyzstan : Its Distinctive Roles and Signification for the Individuals, the Society and the State. A Surmountable Precipice?

Rafyq MOHAMMATSHIN (Tatarstan Respublikase Fannar Akademijase, Kazan),
The Formation of the Tatar Muslim Clergy and its Ideo-Political Position

John SCHOEBERLEIN (Harvard University, Cambridge, MA), Islam in the Ferghana Valley: Challenges for New States

Alexei MALASHENKO (Carnegie Endowment / Institut vostokovedenija, Moscow): Islam and Politics in Russia in the 1990's

    The polemics and questions raised during discussions illustrated a strong interest among the Japanese and international academic community to the topics presented at these panels. The organizing committee announced that it plans to publish the papers presented at this international conference as a book (edited by Stephane A. DUDOIGNON and KOMATSU Hisao) by Kegan Paul International.

    The collection of these papers will be worth of reading, especially if the final articles will reflect the questions, suggestions and issues brought to the surface during the lively academic debates.


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