ABSTRACT

Seventy years of Soviet rule changed the face of Islam dramatically in Central Asia. In total, Central Asia was under Russian and Soviet rule for around 130 years. These years spent under the Tsarist Empire did not differ radically from what occurred in other parts of the Islamic world: the administration remained relatively passive towards Islam, as long as Islam did not threaten or interfere with colonial domination. The Bolshevik revolution changed that. Among the most important turning points for the region were: the national delimitation of 1924, which created five new states in Central Asia; the nationalities policy; and the aggressive anti-Islamic stance of Stalin and his successors.9 Unlike Muslim peoples under French or English rule, the Muslim population of Central Asia has not been exposed to so-called ‘Western’ values, such as capitalism or democracy, although it has experienced Soviet-style modernisation and industrialisation.