Muslims in Central Asia: Expressions of Identity and Change

Central Asia is distinctive in its role as a frontier region in which a unique diversity of cultural, religious and political traditions exist. This collection of essays by scholars in a range of disciplines focuses on the formation of ethnic, religious and national identities in Muslim societies of Central Asia. The study includes several geopolitical regions - Chinese Central Asia, Soviet Central Asia, Afghanistan, Transoxiana and Khurasan - and covers historical periods from the 15th century to the present. Drawing on scholarship in anthropology, religion, history, literature and language studies, it argues for an interdisciplinary, inter-regional dialogue in the development of new approaches to understanding the Muslim societies in Central Asia. The authors examine the social construction of identities as expressed through literature, Islamic discourse, historical texts, ethnic labels and genealogies, and explore how such identities are formed, changed and adopted through time.