Sufism in Central Asia: New Perspectives on Sufi Traditions, 15th-21st Centuries brings together ten original studies on historical aspects of Sufism in this region. A central question, of ongoing significance, underlies each contribution: what is the relationship between Sufism as it was manifested in this region prior to the Russian conquest and the Soviet era, on the one hand, and the features of Islamic religious life in the region during the Tsarist, Soviet, and post-Soviet eras on the other? The authors address multiple aspects of Central Asian religious life rooted in Sufism, examining interpretative strategies, realignments in Sufi communities and sources from the Russian to the post-Soviet period, and social, political and economic perspectives on Sufi communities.
Contributors include: Shahzad Bashir, Devin DeWeese, Allen Frank, Jo-Ann Gross, Kawahara Yayoi, Robert McChesney, Ashirbek Muminov, Maria Subtelny, Eren Tasar, and Waleed Ziad.
Devin DeWeese, Ph.D. (1985), Indiana University, is a Professor of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University. His publications on the religious history of Islamic Central Asia include Islamization and Native Religion in the Golden Horde (Penn State, 1994).
Jo-Ann Gross, Ph.D. (1982), New York University, is Professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian History at The College of New Jersey. Her publications on Sufism and shrine culture in Islamic Central Asia include The Letters of Khwaja ʿUbayd Allah Ahrar and his Associates, co-authored with Asom Urunbaev (Brill, 2002).
"The volume is systematic and cross-referential, and therefore fully deserves its place in Brill’s ‘Handbook of Oriental Studies’ series. Each chapter offers extensive bibliographies that also include the newest titles on regions not directly covered here, as for instance Eastern Turkestan (Xinjiang). The volume’s methodological agenda – prioritizing source studies across conventional borders for accentuating the importance of Sufi sources for social history – easily links up with studies on Sufism elsewhere in the world." - Michael Kemper, University of Amsterdam, in: Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations 30/2 (2019)
Acknowledgments Figures and Maps Contributors Note on Transcription and Style Maps
Introduction Devin DeWeese and Jo-Ann Gross
1 Re-Envisioning the History of Sufi Communities in Central Asia: Continuity and Adaptation in Sources and Social Frameworks, 16th–20th Centuries Devin DeWeese
2 Naqshband’s Lives: Sufi Hagiography between Manuscripts and Genre Devin DeWeese
3 The Works of Ḥusayn Vāʿiẓ Kāshifī as a Source for the Study of Sufism in Late 15th- and Early 16th-Century Central Asia Maria E. Subtelny
5 Valī Khān Tūra: A Makhdūmzāda Leader in Marghīnān during the Collapse of the Khanate of Khoqand Kawahara Yayoi
6 Reliquary Sufism: Sacred Fiber in Afghanistan R. D. McChesney
7 Sufism in the Face of Twentieth-Century Reformist Critiques: Three Responses from Sufi Imāms in the Volga-Ural Region Allen J. Frank
8 Sufism on the Soviet Stage: Holy People and Places in Central Asia’s Socio-Political Landscape after World War II Eren Tasar
9 Sufi Groups in Contemporary Kazakhstan: Competition and Connections with Kazakh Islamic Society Ashirbek Muminov
10 The Biographical Tradition of Muḥammad Bashārā: Sanctification and Legitimation in Tajikistan Jo-Ann Gross
Index 333
Scholars and students of Sufi studies, particularly of Central Asia and the Eastern Islamic world, early modern and modern Islamic history and religious studies, Central Asian and Middle Eastern history, and Eurasian studies.