This chapter is very interesting and based on archival information and fieldwork. It reviews the contemporary practice of visiting sacred shrines in Uzbekistan. In doing so it shows the difference between Islam as interpreted by ordinary people and those who have religious education and how the state controls Islam in contemporary Uzbekistan.
Sections: Definition of a Sacred Site; Shared Shrines, Contested Practices (The Shrine of Ughlanjon-ota; The Tomb of Bahauddin Naqshband); Rethinking Religion in the Post-Soviet World; Conclusions: Islam and the Anthropology of Social Change
Comments: 2/5/10
Lighting lamps or candles and tying shawls or pieces of cloth on tree branches are the main practices pilgrims engage in at sacred sites. Historically these practices derive from pre-Islamic traditions, but today they bear significance for Muslims in Uzbekistan that is inseparable from Islam. The official Islamic establishment (e.g., the Mufti of Uzbekistan and Muslim clerics such as imams credentialed in Tashkent) now reject many of these practices as being inconsistent with Islamic tradition. This position is communicated most often in mosque sermons but is also seen on instructive plaques sometimes placed at holy sites. At the same time, religious authorities facilitate such practices by supporting sacred sites and encouraging visits. Besides mosques attendance, pilgrimages are one of the most visible manifestations of popular interest in Islam and are a considerable financial source for religious communities. (p. 320)At the end of the article there is a theoretical discussion about how to label Islam in Central Asia. While this discussion is very important, it appeared a bit confusing and contradictory in this chapter. On page 332, for example, the authors state, "we set aside categories of 'official' and 'unofficial' Islam commonly used in Soviet, sovietological, and post-Soviet studies." Later, on the same page, however, they state twice that these same categories are relevant and useful to their work.
Cross References: Geiss 2001
Descriptors: 2000s, A, anthropology, archival, chapter, ethnography, K, Naqshbandi Complex, post-Soviet, sacred sites, state control, Ughlan-ota Shrine, Uzbekistan