Program of the course

1. Introductory seminar (Souleimanov, Horak)

Syllabus of the course

Kemper, Michael: Studying Islam in the Soviet Union. Amsterodam, 2008.

2. Understanding Islam: Introduction to basic terms and concepts (Horak)

Rippin, Andrew: "Muslims. Their religious beliefs and practices". Routledge, London - New York, 2005: 63-148.

Reference reading: Newby, Gordon: "A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam". Oneworld, Oxford, 2004.

3. A history of Islam before and during the Russian Empire (Horak, Souleimanov)

Khalid, Adeeb: "Russia, Central Asia and the Caucasus to 1917". In: The New Cambridge History of Islam, Cambridge University Press, 2011: 180-202 or Khalid, Adeeb: "Islam After Communism. Religion and Politics in Central Asia". Berkeley - Los Angeles - London: University of California Press, 2007: 19-49 (Chapters 1-2).

Khodorkovsky, Mikhail: "Of Christianity, Enlightment, and Colonialism: Russia in the North Caucasus, 1550-1800," The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 71, No. 2 (1999): 394-430.

Khodorkovsy, Mikhail: "The North Caucasus during Russian Conquests: 1600-1850," The National Council for Eurasian and East European Research Paper(2008).

4. A history of Islam in the Soviet Union (Horak, Souleimanov)

Atkin, Muriel: "Central Asia and the Caucasus from the First World War". In: The New Cambridge History of Islam, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2011: 517-541.

Bennigsen, Alexandre, Lemercier-Quelquejay, Chantal: "Muslim Religious Conservatism and Dissent in the USSR", Studies in Comparative Religion, Vol. 13, No. 1-2 (1979).

5. The Islamic Revival in the post-Soviet period (Horak, Souleimanov)

Khalid, Adeeb: "Islam After Communism. Religion and Politics in Central Asia". University of California Press, Berkeley - Los Angeles - London, 2007: 140-203 (Chapters 6-8).

Boborvnikov, Vladimir: "The Islamic Revival and the National Question in Post-Soviet Dagestan," Religion, State and Society, Vol. 24, No. 2 (1996),

Akayev, Vakhit: The Conflict between Traditional Islam and Wahhabism in the North Caucasus: Origins, Dynamics and the Means for its Resolution, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs Research Paper (2008),

6. Mid-term

7. Islam in the post-Soviet Caucasus as a socio-cultural phenomenon (Souleimanov)

Babich, Irina: "Islamic Movements in the North Caucasus in the 1990s and 2000s," Transcultural Studies, 2-3 (2006-2007): 139-151.

Wiktor-Mach, Dobroslawa: "Competing Islamic Traditions in the North Caucasus," Caucasian Review of International Affairs, Vol. 3, No 1 (2009): 63-69.

Raubisko, Ieva: "Religious ideology and idiosyncratic Islamic practices in post-soviet Chechnya," JASO-Online, Vol. 1, No. 1 (2009): 70-93.

8. Islam in the post-Soviet Caucasus as a political phenomenon (Souleimanov)

Zelkina, Anna: "Islam and Politics in the North Caucasus," Religion, State, and Society, Vol. 21, No. 1 (1993).

Sagramoso, Domitilla: The Radicalisation of Islamic Salafi "Jamaats" in the North Caucasus : Moving Closer to the Global "Jihadist" Movement? Europe Asia Studies, Vol. 64, No. 3 (2012): 561-595 (EBSCO database).

Souleimanov, Emil: "The Caucasus Emirate": A Genealogy of an Islamist Insurgency," Middle East Policy, Vol. 18, No. 4 (2012).

9. Islam in post-Soviet Central Asia as a socio-cultural phenomenon (Horak)

The traditional way of Central Asian Islam and New challenges? Is Islam in Central Asia political, cultural or social phonomena? Who is Muslim in Central Asia? What kind of Islam people believe in?

Rasanayagam, Johan: Islam in Post-Soviet Uzbekistan. The Morality of Experience", New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011: 96-121 (Jinonice library).

Then you choose one the following texts (all texts have to be covered in the class):

Montgomery, David W.: "Namaz, Wishing Trees, and Vodka: The Diversity of Everyday Religious Life in Central Asia". In: Everyday Life in Central Asia. Past and Present (eds. Sahadeo, Jeff - Zanca, Russel). Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 2007: 355-370 (available from Jinonice library)

Roberts, Sean R.: "Everyday Negotiations of Islam in Central Asia: Practicing Religion in the Uyghur Neighborhood of Zarya Vostoka in Almaty, Kazakhstan". In: Everyday Life in Central Asia. Past and Present (eds. Sahadeo, Jeff - Zanca, Russel). Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 2007: 338-354 (Jinonice library)

Louw, Marienne: "Everyday Islam in Post-Soviet Central Asia". Routledge, London, 2007: 62-83 (Jinonice Library)

10. Islam in post-Soviet Central Asia as a political phenomenon (Horak)

Andijon 2005 case. Were there any alternatives of Andijan events? Why western scholars have different approaches? Was the event rooted in the religion, society or politics? Use the different perspective on the event.

Olcott, Martha Brill: "In The Whirlwind of Jihad". Carnegie Endowment for Peace. Washington DC - Moscow - Beijing - Beirut - Brussels, 2012: 285-320 (syllabus)

Then you choose one the following texts (all texts have to be covered in the class):

Starr, Frederick S.: "Ferghana Valley: The Heart of Central Asia". M. E. Sharpe, New York - London, 2011: 296-372 (Jinonice library) or Akiner, Shirin: "Violence in Andijan 13 May 2005: Independent Assessment. Silk Road Paper. 2005.

Sarah Kendzior, "Inventing Akromiya: The Role of Uzbek Propagandists in the Andijon Massacre," Demokratizatsiya, Vol. 14, No. 4, 2006: 545-562 (available from EBSCO) or Uzbekistan: Andijan Uprising. International Crisis Group Report. Asia Briefing No. 38, May 2005.

11. Perspectives of Post-Soviet Islam