Tucker, Noah. "They Might Be Muslims!? (Part 2)." Registan.net: All Central Asia, All the Time (March 13, 2009), http://www.registan.net/index.php/2009/03/13/they-might-be-muslims-part-1-of-a-critique-on-the-study-of-religion-in-central-asia/.

In Tucker's own words: "This section advocates another way of understanding Central Asian Islam as an alternative to forcing it to one end or another of the “real=dangerous, unreal=safe” spectrum.  The paper closes with what I think are serious potential dangers of cramming the whole religious life of a region on one end or another of a faulty black/white paradigm."  He warns that the contemporary political oppression and poverty in the region, especially Uzbekistan, could create conflict and that Islam, while not the cause of conflict, could be a rallying point.  To avoid conflict, he argues that religion (including Islam) should not be set aside and more popular expression (including religious) should be granted.  See also (Part 1).  Descriptors: 2000s, bibliographic, blog, CA studies, diversity, post-Soviet, T, Uzbekistan

Tucker, Noah. "They Might Be Muslims!? (Part 1)." Registan.net: All Central Asia, All the Time (March 13, 2009), http://www.registan.net/index.php/2009/03/13/they-might-be-muslims-part-1-of-a-critique-on-the-study-of-religion-in-central-asia/%20.

Tucker critiques the contemporary scholarship on religion (including Islam) in Central Asia and the debate over the "nature" of Central Asian Islam (e.g. "real Islam" v. "Central Asian Islam").  He argues that scholarship on Islam in Central Asia should not accept or be based on the misconceived premise that "Muslim=violent fanatic." See also (Part 2).

Descriptors: 2000s, bibliographic, blog, CA studies, diversity, post-Soviet, T.