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Abstract
Although Islam is described as a fundamental aspect of Kyrgyz national identity, its theological aspects are generally elided in nationalist discourse. However, as Islam becomes more prominent in Kyrgyz society, anxieties about ‘Arabisation’ and the weakening of national traditions permeate popular and political discourse. These anxieties operate simultaneously in the national and religious registers, suggesting the extent to which theological beliefs inform national identity, even in secular states. Examining a recent controversy over veiling in Kyrgyzstan, this article argues that theology is both linked to nationality and also a site of contestation over the terms of nationalism itself.
I would like to acknowledge Dr Alisa Moldavanova, for her support and her invaluable feedback and suggestions; the anonymous reviewers whose comments helped to improve the article from its original version; Dr Alexander Diener; the University of Kansas Department of Geography and Atmospheric Science and the Wayne State Centre for Peace & Conflict Studies, where substantial portions of the research included in this article were conducted; IREX; and all of the people who participated in this research project. This work was supported by International Research and Exchanges Board: Grant Number Individual Advanced Research Opportunity.
Notes
1 See Zubrzycki (Citation2010) and Tse (Citation2014) for a critique of this paradigm.
2 ‘Shuttered Tajik Islamic Party Branded As Terrorist Group’, 29 September 2015, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, available at: http://www.rferl.org/content/tajikistan-islamic-party-terrorist-organization/27277385.html, accessed 15 July 2016.
3 The word muftiyat is derived from the term mufti, an Islamic legal expert. The Kyrgyz Muftiyat is currently headed by Mufti Maksat azhi Tokotmushev, who is assisted by a board of deputy muftis. Organisationally, the Kyrgyz Muftiyat is the descendant of a Soviet-era institution, the Dukhovnoe upravlenie Musul’man Srednei Azii i Kazakhstana, or the Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Central Asia and Kazakhstan (SADUM), which administered Islamic religious affairs from its inception in 1943 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. See Saroyan (Citation1997a, Citation1997b) and Ro'i (Citation2000).
4 ‘Atambaev: Pust’ luchshe khodyat v mini-yubkakh, no nikogo ne vzryvayut’, ASIA-Plus, 2 August 2016, available at: https://news.tj/ru/node/228994, accessed 29 July 2019.
5 ‘DUMK: banner “Kayran elim, kayda baratabiz?” mozhet naverit’ edinstvu’, Sputnik, 13 July 2016, available at: http://ru.sputnik.kg/society/20160713/1027634490.html, accessed 28 November 2016.
6 ‘Kyrgyzstan: President Throws Weight Behind Anti-Veil Posters’, Eurasianet, 14 July 2016, available at: http://www.eurasianet.org/node/79661, accessed 16 September 2016; ‘Atambaev poruchil povesit’ bannery “pro parandzhu” po vsei strane’, Sputnik, 14 July 2016, available at: http://ru.sputnik.kg/society/20160714/1027672085.html, accessed 28 November, 2016.
7 ‘Snyat’ nel’zya ostavit’! 7 avtoritetnykh mnenii o skandal’nykh bannerakh’, Sputnik, 13 July 2016, available at: http://ru.sputnik.kg/opinion/20160713/1027636498.html, accessed 28 November 2016.
8 Many people, for instance, will decamp to a jailoo, or high mountain pasture, to live in yurts during the summer.
9 A chador is a garment that covers the entire body, apart from the face. A parandzha, like the burqa, covers the face and eyes.
10 It is worth noting that, while the commission’s purview extends to all religious groups, a disproportionate focus has been placed on Islam. The reason for this, according to one analyst working at the commissions is that Islam is more politically important since most of the population are Muslim (Personal communication with Z. Tursunbekov, Bishkek, 2 December 2014).
11 Kontseptsiya gosudarstvennoi politiki Kyrgyzskoi Respubliki v religioznoi sfere na 2014–2020 gody, 2014, available at: http://www.gov.kg/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Kontseptsiya-na-rus-prilozhenie-k-Ukazu-PKR.docx, accessed 16 November 2015.
12 Madhabs are schools of Islamic jurisprudence. In Sunni Islam, the four main madhabs are the Hanbali, Shafi, Maliki and Hanafi schools.
13 Kontseptsiya gosudarstvennoi politiki Kyrgyzskoi Respubliki v religioznoi sfere na 2014–2020 gody, 2014, available at: http://www.gov.kg/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Kontseptsiya-na-rus-prilozhenie-k-Ukazu-PKR.docx, accessed 16 November 2015.
14 Kontseptsiya gosudarstvennoi politiki Kyrgyzskoi Respubliki v religioznoi sfere na 2014–2020 gody, 2014, available at: http://www.gov.kg/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Kontseptsiya-na-rus-prilozhenie-k-Ukazu-PKR.docx, accessed 16 November 2015.
15 Personal communication with Z. Tursunbekov, Bishkek, 2 December 2014.
16 It is important to note that, while the Muftiyat is independent from the state and derives the majority of funding from the Muslim community itself (Isci Citation2010), the government has not hesitated to intervene in its business. Despite its complex relationship with the state, however, the Muftiyat largely ‘enjoys independence and regulates its own affairs’ (Isci Citation2010, pp. 77–8). Moreover, while there have at times been tensions between the government and the Muftiyat, the Deputy Kazi of the Bishkek Central Mosque maintains that ‘there is no strict control [by the state]. There is no contradiction between the followers of Islam and those who are in power’ (Personal communication with Imam Almanbet, Bishkek, 11 November 2014).
17 ‘Kyrgyzstan Testing Clerics’ Knowledge of Islam’, Eurasianet, 28 May 2015, available at: http://www.eurasianet.org/node/73636, accessed 16 November 2016.
18 Personal communication with Z. Tursunbekov, Bishkek, 2 December 2014.
19 The director of one madrasah located on the outskirts of Bishkek explains that the Muftiyat provides the school with money based on enrolment, and periodically allocates funds for activities linked to Ramadan and holidays such as Kurman Ait, the Feast of Sacrifice. The director also noted, however, that most of the school’s funding was still derived from the community. Personal communication with M. Sulaymanov, Chong Aryk, 9 October 2014.
20 Personal communication with K. Malikov, Bishkek, 17 December 2014.
21 A pseudonym. Personal communication with Ainura, Bishkek, 1 October 2014.
22 Personal communication with Z. Tursunbekov, Bishkek, 2 December 2014.
23 Personal communication with Ainura, Bishkek, 1 October 2014.
24 ‘Mezhdunarodnyi Den’ Platka V Bishkeke’, Umma. Islamskii zhurnal, 2017, available at: http://ummamag.kg/ru/news/752_mezhdunarodnyi_den_platka_v_bishkeke, accessed 2 February 2017.
25 ‘Vsemirnyi Den’ Platka Obedinil Bolee Trekhsot Zhenshin’, Umma. Islamskii zhurnal, 2017, available at: http://ummamag.kg/ru/news/757_vsemirnyi_den_platka_obedinil_bolee_trehsot_zhenschin, accessed 14 April 2017.
26 ‘Mezhdunarodnyi Den’ Platka V Bishkeke’, Umma. Islamskii zhurnal, 2017, available at: http://ummamag.kg/ru/news/752_mezhdunarodnyi_den_platka_v_bishkeke, accessed 2 February 2017.
27 ‘Segodnya my mozhem tochno skazat'’, Facebook, 4 January 2017, available at: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1454650814547905&id=731591116853882, accessed 30 January 2017.
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Vincent M. Artman
Vincent M. Artman, Visiting Assistant Professor, Havighurst Centre for Russian and Post-Soviet Studies, Miami University, 322 Harrison Hall, 349 E. High St., Oxford, OH, USA.