Transformation of Islam in Central Asia: From Faith to Traditional Islam
The article contends that the expanding regional and global terrorism, purportedly by the ‘Islamists’, led to the transformation of Islam in post-Soviet Central Asia, from ‘faith’ to ‘traditional’ Islam. This change was the nadir of a process that commenced with the origin of Islam in the region. The evolution, which was gradual till the pre-Soviet times, pronounced with the emergence of post-Soviet regimes, mainly due to security compulsions. The article further asserts that though this change seems innocent, it has serious implications for the region, per se, increased security threats to existing regimes, their ‘reimagined’ Islam, and the region’s pristine legacy of inter-cultural and intra-faith bonding.
- Mushtaq A. Kaw |
- September-October 2025 |
