Islamism in Central Asia

PhDr. Vera Exnerova, PhD.

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This course aims to:

- provide introduction to the thought and practice of major radical Islamic actors in

Central Asia (through exploring their leaflets, sermons, journals, excerpts from

audiocassettes, etc. and examples of their political practice);

- provide comparison with the goals and practice of their predecessors and overview of

existing counter-responses (on the side of the governments, religious authorities, other

Islamic groups);

- provide students with overview of the scholarly literature on Islamism Central Asia,

and of main trends in exploring the phenomenon of political and radical Islam in

general, with the aim to allow students to develop skills to critically assess information

and to interpret Islamism in the 21st century.

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Students are expected to attend lectures, read the assigned material, and participate in

discussions. A maximum 15 points could be obtained for quality attendance.

Every student is required to deliver one presentation on a chosen topic during the course.

Presentations should be based on one´s own research and be analytical rather than descriptive,

demonstrating student´s critical approach towards the sources. For the presentation a

maximum 30 points could be obtained.

The final written exam will be based on lectures, class discussions, presentations, and

readings. A maximum of 55 points could be obtained for the exam.

Quality attendance (15%), presentation (30%), final test (55%)

Evaluation:

at least 60% Grade 3

at least 75% Grade 2

at least 90% Grade 1

Students can miss one week maximum, in exceptional cases students must excuse their

absence with me in advance. I reserve the right to hold pop quizzes if it appears students are

not keeping up with the reading. Should they be necessary, these quizzes will be included in

the participation portion of the overall grade.

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Week 1 - Introduction

- Introduction of the course framework, background, expectations and requirements

Week 2 - Islam and State in Central Asian History

- Babajanov, B.: "Islam in Uzbekistan: From the Struggle for "Religious Purity" to

Political Activism." In: Rumer, B. (ed.): Central Asia. A Gathering Storm? New York:

Sharpe, 2002, s. 299-330.

- Adeeb Khalid, Islam after Communism. Religion and Politics in Central Asia.

University of California Press (2014), chapter 1-2

- Recommended reading: B. F. Manz, Central Asian Uprising in the Nineteenth

Century: Ferghana under the Russians, Russian Review, No. 3, 1987, pp. 267-281

(available in JSTOR)

Week 3 - Fundamentalists, Basmachis and Jadids in Soviet Central Asia

- Alisherbek Muminov, Fundamentalist Challenges To Local Islamic Traditions in

Soviet and Post-Soviet Central Asia

- Adeeb Khalid, Islam after Communism. Religion and Politics in Central Asia.

University of California Press (2014), chapter 3.

- Recommended reading: Kirill Nourzhanov, "Bandits, warlords, national heroes:

interpretations of the Basmachi movement in Tajikistan," Central Asian Survey 34/2,

2015, pp. 177-189

Week 4 - The Movement of Mujaddidiya in the Ferghana Valley

- Bakhtiyar Babajanov, "The Economic and Religious History of a Kolkhoz Village:

Khojawot from Soviet Modernisation to the Aftermath of the Islamic Revival." In

Stéphane A. Dudoignon and Christian Noack, eds., Allah´s Kolkhozes. Migration, De-

Stalinisation, Privatisation and the New Muslim Congregations in the Soviet Realm

(1950s-2000s), Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag, 2014: 202-264.

- Allen J. Frank, Jahangir Mamatov, "Part I. Lectures of Islamic Reformers

(Mujadiddiya)", Uzbek Islamic Debates. Texts, Translations, and Commentary.

Dunwoody Press 2006

- Recommended reading - Martha B. Olcott "Roots of Radical Islam", Carnegie Papers

77/2007, pp. 10-27

Week 5 - Islamic Renaissance Party in Tajikistan

- Stéphane A. Dudoignon, Sayyid Ahmad Qalandar; "´They Were All from the

Country.´ The Revival and Politicisation of Islam in the Lower Wakhsh River Valley

of the Tajik SSR (1947-1997), In Stéphane A. Dudoignon and Christian Noack, eds.,

Allah´s Kolkhozes. Migration, De-Stalinisation, Privatisation and the New Muslim

Congregations in the Soviet Realm (1950s-2000s), Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag,

2014: 47-122

- Shahram Akbarzadeh, "Why did nationalism fail in Tajikistan?", Europe-Asia Studies

Vol. 48/7, 2006, pp. 1105-1129 (available in JSTOR)

- Recommend reading - M. Kabiri, "Tajikistan´s Islamic Renaissance Party Rebrands,

Using Social Projects to Reach Voters"; Saodat Olimova, "Political Islam and Conflict

in Tajikistan", Central Asia and the Caucasus Online

Week 6 - Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami in Central Asia

- ICG, "Radical Islam in Central Asia: Responding to Hizb-ut-Tahrir", Report 2003

- Allen J. Frank, Jahangir Mamatov "Part III. Hizb-ut-Tahrir: Political Polemics", in

Uzbek Islamic Debates. Texts, Translations, and Commentary. Dunwoody Press 2006

- Recommended reading - Emmanuel Karagiannis, "Political Islam in Uzbekistan: Hizb

ut-Tahrir al-Islami, Europe-Asia Studies 58/2, 2006, pp. 261-280.

Week 7 - Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan in Exile

- Martha B. Olcott and Bakhtiyar Babajanov "The Terrorist Notebooks", Foreign Policy

135/2003, pp. 30-40 (available in JSTOR or at "The Terrorist Notebooks")

- Allen J. Frank, Jahangir Mamatov "Part V. The Rhetoric of exile and Insurgency", in

Uzbek Islamic Debates. Texts, Translations, and Commentary. Dunwoody Press 2006

- Recommended reading - Martha B. Olcott "Roots of Radical Islam", Carnegie Papers

77/2007, pp. 28-35

Week 8 - Akromiyah in Ferghana Valley

- ICG, "Uzbekistan: The Andijon Uprising", Report 2005

- Allen J. Frank, Jahangir Mamatov "Part IV: Islamic Philosophical Thought and the

Akromiya Controversy", Uzbek Islamic Debates. Texts, Translations, and

Commentary. Dunwoody Press 2006

- Additional reading - Sarah Kendzior "Inventing Akromiya: The Role of Uzbek

Propagandists in the Andijon Massacre", 2006

Week 9 - Counter-responses in Central Asia

- Baktiyar Babajanov, A.K. von Kügelgen, Alisherbek Muminov (2007), Disputes on

Muslim Authority in Central Asia in 20th Century. Almaty, Kaz: Daik Press, part on

Hindustani, Mohammad Sodiq (available with lecturer)

- Allen J. Frank, Jahangir Mamatov "Official Rebuttal", Uzbek Islamic Debates. Texts,

Translations, and Commentary. Dunwoody Press 2006, pp. 279-318

- Recommended reading - Central Asia: Islam and the State, ICG Report 59, 2003

Week 10 - How Islamism in Central Asia is studied in contemporary scholarly literature

- Kathleen Collins, "Ideas, Networks, and Islamist Movements: Evidence from Central

Asia and the Caucasus." World Politics 60/1, 2007, pp. 64-96.

- Eric McGlinchey, "Islamic Revivalism and State Failure in Kyrgyzstan." Problems of

Post-Communism 56, no. 3 (May/June 2009), pp. 16-28

- Additional reading - John Heathershaw, Sophie Roche, "Islam and Political Violence

in Tajikistan. An Ethnographic Perspective on the Causes and Consequences of the

2010 Armed Conflict in the Kamarob Gorge", Ethnopolitics Papers, No. 8, 2011

Week 11 - Main trends in study of political Islam in general

- Quintan Wiktorowicz (ed.), "Introduction", in Islamic Activism and Social Movement

Theory, Indiana University Press 2003

- Asef Bayat (ed.) "Chapter 1. Post-Islamism at large", in Post-Islamism. The Changing

Faces of Political Islam. Oxford University Press 2013

Week 12 - Contextualizing Islamism - a threat, state failure, or beyond?

- Yahya Sadowski, "Political Islam: Asking Wrong Questions?", Annual Review of

Political Science Vol. 9, 2006, pp. 215-240

- Khaled Hroub (ed.), "Introduction" in Political Islam. Context versus Ideology.

London Middle East Institute at SOAS 2010, pp. 9-19.

Required Readings:

Allen J. Frank, Jahangir Mamatov. Uzbek Islamic Debates. Texts, Translations, and

Commentary. Dunwoody Press 2006 (available with lecturer)

+ all other texts mentioned in the Course Outline

This syllabus is a general plan for the course; changes announced to the class by the lecturer

may be necessary and may occur with reasonable advance notice.