Pannier, Bruce. "State Islam, Outsiders Compete for Influence in Central Asia." Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Features Section, April 5, 2010, http://www.rferl.org/content/State_Islam_Outsiders_Compete_For_Influence_In_Central_Asia/2003138.html.

While this article is mostly about contemporary state control of Islam, it does contain the following quote which might reflect on a popular/mixed version of Islamic law in the region:

The preferred alternative preached by Jumanov and other state clerics is the region's traditional Hanafi School of Islamic Law -- considered by some to be the most liberal of the four schools of Sunni Islam (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali) -- mixed with Naqshbandi Sufism, a mystic order whose founder, Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari, came from Central Asia.

Sections: Competing Sects, Clerics Under Pressure, Separation of Mosque and State, Body and Soul, 'Connections to Terrorism'.  Descriptors: 2010s, e-news, interview, journalism, P, post-Soviet, state control

Djavadi, Abbas. "Fundamentalist Calls To Ignore Norouz Go Unheard In Iran, Afghanistan." Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, March 21, 2010, Commentary Section, http://www.rferl.org/content/Fundamentalist_Calls_To_Ignore_Norouz_Go_Unheard_In_Iran_Afghanistan/1989760.html. 

Djavadi reports that clerics in Iran and Afghanistan ruled that Navruz is un-Islamic and that it should not be celebrated.  Others believe that it is a Muslim holiday.  See Navruz.  As one commentator to the piece points out, why should people not be able to celebrate non-Islamic holidays.  Maybe the tension is that since many people in the region believe it to be a Muslim holiday (see Canfield (1993)), the clerics do not believe it can be celebrated as a secular holiday.  

Descriptors: 2010s, Afghanistan, D, e-news, holidays, interview, journalism, Navruz, post-Soviet; pluralism-textual/popular

Fathi, Habiba. "Gender, Islam, and Social Change in Uzbekistan." Central Asian Survey 25, no. 3 (2006): 303-317.

This is a continuation of Fathi's (1997) prior work on otins.  In her own words: "This chapter explores the way in which the role of the otin-oyi or bibi-khalife has responded to recent socio-economic and political developments and will place the Central Asian experience within the context of the role of women in Islam more generally."  Many of her sources are in French and Russian.

Sections: The Central Asian Case in a Global Muslim Context; Otin-oyi and Bibi-Khalife Past and Present: Reproduction or Reinterpretation?; Russian Turkestan; Soviet Central Asia; Challenging Religious Tradition in the Independent States; Conclusion.  Cross References: Fathi 1997.  Descriptors: 2000s, ACTORS, archival, bibliographic, F, history, interview, journal, otins, post-Soviet, reform, Soviet, Tsarist, Uzbeks, women.

Fathi, Habiba. "Otines: The Unknown Women Clerics of Central Asian Islam." Central Asian Survey 16, no. 1 (1997): 27-44.

Fathi's article uses Soviet sources to review otins (women Islamic teachers) in Uzbekistan. It provides a good insight into the role of some women in Soviet society and how, despite Soviet attempts to promote atheism, otins helped to preserve Islam and tradition. Before describing otins, it reviews issues such as the bride price, legal age for marriage, marriage, polygamy, the hujum, the veil, parandja, etc.  See also Fathi (2006).

Contents: The Soviet State and the Central Asian Woman; The Traditional Role of the Otines; The Role of the Otines in the Survival of Islam; The Mahalla: a Place of Memory; Initiation; Authority in the Community; The Central Asian Family: An Obstacle to the Emergence of Homo Sovieticus; Islam and Independence

Lawton, John. "Muslims in China: An Introduction." Saudi Aramco World, July/August 1985, http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/198504/muslims.in.china-an.introduction.htm.

With a very brief historical introduction, Lawton discusses the relationship between contemporary Muslims in China and the Chinese government.  He portrays a modest Islamic revival in the country.  As these relations have changed since the 1980s, especially in western China, this article is out of date.  Descriptors: 1980s, China, e-article, interview, journalism, L, magazine, overview, post-Soviet.

Saidazimova, Gulnoza. "Central Asia: Region Returns To Muslim Roots (Part 1)." Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, August 4, 2005, http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1060413.html.

This is a basic overview of Islam in Central Asia, which mentions, among other things, the five pillars of Islam, the four classical Sunni madhabs (guilds of jurisprudence), and the contemporary authoritarian state control of religion.  Here are links to the next three parts: Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

Comments: 2/3/10
It is interesting that Privratsky (2001) discusses how phrases similar to the following quote from this article have become the profession of faith (shahada) for Kazakh Muslims in Turkistan, Kazakhstan: "I have no special knowledge of Islam, but Al-hamdulillah, I am a Muslim," said one man in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.

Descriptors: 2000s, e-news, interview, journalism, overview, post-Soviet, revival, S.

Najibullah, Farangis. "'SMS Divorces' Cut Tajik Migrants' Matrimonial Ties to Home." Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, December 17, 2009, Features section, http://www.rferl.org/content/SMS_Divorces_Cut_Tajik/1896511.html.

This article discusses divorce as an impact of labor migration out of Tajikistan and into places like Russia. It points out that after receiving a text message from their husbands working abroad with the words "talaq," or divorce, many women do not know how to protect themselves through divorce proceedings in state court.  Sections: Laws vs. Reality; 'Part-Time Marriage'

Najibullah, Farangis. "In Central Asia, Unofficial Madrasahs Raise Official Fears" Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, January 27, 2010, Features section, http://www.rferl.org/content/In_Central_Asia_Unofficial_Madrasahs_Raise_Official_Fears_/1935068.html.

This articles discusses families that send their children to unofficial madrasas overseas. The fear is that since many of the overseas madrasas are not sanctioned by the domestic state, the children will bring back radical ideas.   

Contents: Unsanctioned Education; Anti-Extremist Efforts.  Descriptors: 2010s, e-news, interview, journalism, madrasa, N, post-Soviet, state control.

Giovarelli, Renee and Cholpon Akmatova. "Local Institutions that Enforce Customary Law in the Kyrgyz Republic: And their Impact on Women’s Rights." Agriculture & Rural Development e-Paper (March 2002).

Giovarelli and Akmatova's article is one of the few that discuss the state aksakal courts in Kyrgyzstan. It also briefly mentions otins and briefly reviews Uzbek mahallas in Southern Kyrgyzstan. It hints that Uzbeks may use Islamic law / norms to resolve disputes and that Uzbeks may prefer to resolve their disputes through non-state elders in the mahalla rather than through the state aksakal court system. 

Descriptors: 2000s, A, ACTORS, dispute resolution, e-article, G, interview, Islamic law, Kyrgyz, Kyrgyzstan, law, oqsoqols, post-Soviet, women.  Cross References: Hanks 1999.