Soviet and muslim. The institutionalization of Islam in Central Asia, 1943-1991.

433 Pages·2017·11.413 MB·English

by  Tasar, Eren

Soviet and Muslim

Soviet and Muslim
The Institutionalization of Islam
in Central Asia, 1943–1991
z
EREN TASAR
1
1
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Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Tasar, Eren, 1978– , author.
Title: Soviet and Muslim : the institutionalization of Islam in Central Asia, 1943‒1991 /
Eren Tasar.
Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2017] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017005606 (print) | LCCN 2017012743 (ebook) | 
ISBN 9780190652111 (updf) | ISBN 9780190652128 (epub) | ISBN 9780190652135 (oso) |
ISBN 9780190652104 (cloth)
Subjects: LCSH: Islam—A sia, Central— History. | Islam—Russia
(Federation)— History. | Asia, Central— History— 20th century. |
Soviet Union— History.
Classification: LCC BP63.A34 (ebook) | LCC BP63.A34 T37 2017 (print) |
DDC 322/ .109580904— dc23
LC record available at https:// lccn.loc.gov/ 2017005606
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America
To Lola, Sitora, Timur, and Leo

Contents
List of Illustrations  xi
List of Tables  xiii
Acknowledgments  xv
Note on Transliteration  xix
Introduction  1
1. World War II and Islamically Informed Soviet Patriotism  15
The Central Asian Islamic Sphere 16
Central Asia’s ‘Ulama under Tsarist and Soviet Rule 28
Islamically Informed Soviet Patriotism: The Social Setting 50
SADUM in the Mid- 1940s: A Muftiate in Name Only? 55
The Muftiate’s Centralization Drive in Kyrgyzstan 57
SADUM versus Shafoat hoji 63
Maksud Nazarbekov versus the ‘Ulama of Osh 68
SADUM versus the Miners of Kok Yangak 72
World War II and the Muslim World 75
Conclusion 76
2. Institutionalizing Soviet Islam, 1944‒1958  78
The Hard and Moderate Lines 85
CARC Meets Local Government 87
Aggressive Moderation 90
Community Activism, by CARC? 97
Rumblings of Discontent: The Hard Line during the 1950s 101
Registration 102
viii Contents
The CARC‒SADUM Alliance 110
The Conceptual Apparatus 117
Quantifying Religion 122
Expunging “Bad” Practices from Soviet Islam 124
Birth Pangs of “Progressive” Islam 129
Fanaticism 132
Conclusion 139
3. SADUM’s New Ambitions, 1943‒1958  141
Central Asia in the 1950s 142
An Institutional Agenda 146
The Anti- Innovation Struggle 150
SADUM’s Critique of Sufism 153
Control over the Registered 161
Reining in the Staff 162
Coopting Powerful ‘Ulama 167
Popular Responses 173
Control over the Unregistered 181
A Brief Comparison: Turkey 190
Conclusion 192
4. The Anti- Religious Campaign, 1959‒1964  194
Khrushchev’s Revolution 195
The Hard Line Strikes Back 201
The Attack on Idle Clergy 202
Hard- Line Moderation? 208
Implementing the Hard Line 211
The CARC—SADUM Alliance under Strain 214
Shrine Pilgrimage: Two Case Studies 226
Shoh Fozil 227
The Throne of Solomon 231
Conclusion 240
5. The Muftiate on the International Stage  242
Anti- Colonial Activism and the Image of “Soviet Islam” 247
Setting Up an Infrastructure 249
The Face of “Soviet Islam” 253
The Hajj as a Propaganda Front 262
Contents ix
An Arm of the Party-S tate 277
SADUM as a State Agency 280
Humanitarian Cosmopolitanism 287
Conclusion 295
6. The Brezhnev Era and its Aftermath, 1965‒1989  298
Central Asia in the Era of Late Socialism 299
The Fusion of the Hard and Moderate Lines 303
Reconciling the Two Lines 305
The Year 1979 as a Turning Point 312
A New Beginning for the Knowledge Project 321
SADUM’s Checked Ambitions, or the Limits
of Institutionalization 334
A New Centralization Drive 335
Innovations and the “Self-P roclaimed” 346
The New Jurisconsults 352
SADUM and the CRA as Soviet Institutions 361
Conclusion 363
Epilogue  365
Glossary  375
Bibliography  379
Index  397