Geiss's article discusses the role of Islamic law and kinship relations within the mahalla. It also discusses the role of oqsoqol (aksakal in Kyrgyz or arbob in Tajik) elders.
Contents: Neighbourhood Community; The Impacts of Islamic law (Sharia); Kinship and Residency; Tribal and Residential Communal Commitment
Comments: 2/9/10
With regard to Islamic law, it states on page 97 that the mahalla, "was based on the devotion to Islam and on the acknowledgement of the demands of Islamic law (sharia) interpreted and spread by supporters of orthodox or school Islam (Islam-i kitab)." In note 3, Geiss explains that in using the phrases "folk Islam" and "school Islam," he is following the lead of Will Myer to avoid misleading phrases like "official Islam" and "parallel Islam" which promote the perspective of leaders who control Islam. Abramson and Karimov (2007) review the use of such terms in their work on shrines in Uzbekistan. The following quote from page 102 seems to capture one of the themes of this article:
The Islamization of society entails a high potential for the transformation of kin-based to neighbourhood-based communal commitment. Thus the erosion of kinship is linked to the extent to which sharia is able to replace customary law in domains like hereditary customs.Descriptors: 2000s, ACTORS, archival, G, history, Islamic law, journal, mahalla, oqsoqols, pre-Tsarist, reform, SITES, Tsarist.
