Christianity and Nationality in Soviet and Post-Soviet Central Asia: Mutual Intrusions and Instrumentalizations

2004 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 651-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastien Peyrouse
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
The Other ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Protestant Missions ◽  
Soviet Central Asia

The five Central Asian Muslim republics (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan) count many Christian—Orthodox, Catholic, Armenian and Protestant—minorities. Unlike the religious communities in the Near and Middle East, most Christians in Central Asia consist of Slavic/European minorities (Russians, Germans, Poles, Armenians, Greeks, etc.), which came in the area during the Russian colonization in the eighteenth-nineteenth centuries. The main traditionally Christian nationalities living in Central Asia are Slavs and Germans. Today, Russians are mainly present in Kazakhstan (4.5 million), in Kyrgyzstan (600,000) and in Uzbekistan (at least half a million). There are only several tens of thousand Russians in Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Like Russians, the number of the other Slavic nationalities has considerably decreased in Central Asia since the last three decades. There are 50,000 Ukrainians in Kyrgyzstan, 500,000 in Kazakhstan and about 100,000 in Uzbekistan. Byelorussians number 111,000 in Kazakhstan, and about 20,000 in Uzbekistan. According to the 1999 census, there are only 47,000 Poles in Kazakhstan. Today there are 353,000 Germans in Kazakhstan, 21,000 in Kyrgyzstan, and less than 8,000 in Uzbekistan, and their community is nearly nonexistent in Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Other nationalities are also present in the Christian communities, though more modestly: among them, Koreans (about 160,000 in Uzbekistan, close to 100,000 in Kazakhstan in 1999), Greeks (10,000 in Uzbekistan), Tatars (248,000 in Kazakhstan) as well as Armenians (there remained 40,000 Armenians in Turkmenistan in 1995, with 42,000 in Uzbekistan today). Armenians have only one cult building in Samarkand. Moreover, after the fall of the USSR, more and more natives have been converted to Christianity: many—especially Protestant—missions, are now acting among Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, etc.

Kazakstan and the Rest of Central Asia: Fifteen Shades of Difference

1998 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 573-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Rywkin
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Past History ◽  
The Other ◽  
Geographic Position ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Soviet Central Asia ◽  
Central Asian Republics

Kazakstan is both part of former Soviet Central Asia and yet stands apart in many respects. Its geographic position, past history and present development are unique for the area. It is significant that Soviet-era writings treated Kazakstan distinctly from the other four Central Asian republics. This essay is devoted to these differences.

Regulating religion in Post-Soviet Central Asia: Some remarks on Religious Association Law and 'official' Islamic institutions in Tajikistan

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Epkenhans
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
The Public ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Religious Associations ◽  
The Government ◽  
Soviet Central Asia ◽  
Islamic Institutions

AbstractAlthough Tajikistan is a participating state of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and has acceded to the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), religious associations are under increasingly scrutiny limiting the freedom of conscience. Tajikistan's government follows a similar policy as her Central Asian neighbors Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. While a restrictive and contradictory religious association law limits the public space for religious associations, the government successively strengthens 'official' Islamic institutions and therefore directly interferes in internal religious affairs. Considering the diversity of Islamic beliefs in and practices in Central Asia and Tajikistan in particular, this policy could generate further friction among religious communities.

China’s Role and Interest in Central Asia

2019 ◽  
pp. 385-396
Author(s):  
Manzoor Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Investment Strategy ◽  
The Other ◽  
Energy Resources ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Central Asian Countries ◽  
Alternative Routes

The chapter gives an overview of the Chinese investments in the Central Asian states and also provides an in-depth analysis of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (or CPEC). These investments constitute important components of China’s three-pronged investment strategy comprising bilateral, regional, and global tracks. The roads, rails and pipelines not only ensure supply of energy resources from and through these countries but also enable China and these countries to become connected to Europe, Middle East, and Africa through alternative routes. Moreover, linking of these countries through BRI also provides the landlocked Central Asian countries access to open seas. The chapter also discusses the challenges that will have to be addressed to make the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor a success that can be replicated in the other five main corridors.

Intraseasonal Teleconnection between the Summer Eurasian Wave Train and the Indian Monsoon*

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (15) ◽  
pp. 3751-3767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qinghua Ding ◽  
Bin Wang
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Summer Monsoon ◽  
Indian Summer Monsoon ◽  
Wave Train ◽  
Intraseasonal Variability ◽  
The Other ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Northeastern Atlantic

Abstract This study investigated the most recurrent coupled pattern of intraseasonal variability between midlatitude circulation and the Indian summer monsoon (ISM). The leading singular vector decomposition (SVD) pattern reveals a significant, coupled intraseasonal variation between a Rossby wave train across the Eurasian continent and the summer monsoon convection in northwestern India and Pakistan (hereafter referred to as NISM). The wave train associated with an active phase of NISM rainfall displays two high pressure anomalies, one located over central Asia and the other over northeastern Asia. They are accompanied by increased rainfall over the western Siberia plain and northern China and decreased rainfall over the eastern Mediterranean Sea and southern Japan. The circulation of the wave train shows a barotropic structure everywhere except the anomalous central Asian high, located to the northwest of India, where a heat-induced baroclinic circulation structure dominates. The time-lagged SVD analysis shows that the midlatitude wave train originates from the northeastern Atlantic and traverses Europe to central Asia. The wave train enhances the upper-level high pressure and reinforces the convection over the NISM region; meanwhile, it propagates farther toward East Asia along the waveguide provided by the westerly jet. After an outbreak of NISM convection, the anomalous central Asian high retreats westward. Composite analysis suggests a coupling between the central Asian high and the convective fluctuation in the NISM. The significance of the midlatitude–ISM interaction is also revealed by the close resemblance between the individual empirical orthogonal functions and the coupled (SVD) modes of the midlatitude circulation and the ISM. It is hypothesized that the eastward and southward propagation of the wave train originating from the northeastern Atlantic contributes to the intraseasonal variability in the NISM by changing the intensity of the monsoonal easterly vertical shear and its associated moist dynamic instability. On the other hand, the rainfall variations over the NISM reinforce the variations of the central Asian high through the “monsoon–desert” mechanism, thus reenergizing the downstream propagation of the wave train. The coupling between the Eurasian wave train and NISM may be instrumental for understanding their interaction and can provide a way to predict the intraseasonal variations of the Indian summer monsoon and East Asian summer monsoon.

Buddhism and Islam: Past to Present Encounters and Interfaith Lessons

Numen ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Scott
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Social Action ◽  
The Other ◽  
The West ◽  
Common Concern ◽  
Se Asia ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Political Perspective ◽  
Negative Images ◽  
Positive Images

AbstractThe paper deals with the encounter and ensuing responses that can be traced between Buddhism and Islam, during their centuries of contact across Asia (Anatolia, Iran, Central Asia, India), and more recently in the West. Within this panorama of history certain immediate overtly negative images of the other can be perceived in both traditions, manifested in terms of actions and literature. However some more positive images seem to have crystallised in Islam, particularly and significantly within the mystical Sufi streams that emerged in the East Iranian and Central Asian lands. Such historical patterns of confrontation, convergence and mysticism lead into the more modern second part of the study. A geographical-political perspective is first used, as the variations in their relationship in the various countries of SE Asia, and the British situation are noted. This is followed by a review of potential approaches between Islam and Buddhism in the current inter-faith dialogue arena. Whilst some doctrinal areas may be reconcilable (according to Cleary), it is primarily in other areas that more promising avenues of approach may be discerned. One is the area of ethics and social action on issues of common concern, as suggested by figures like Badawi, Gilliat, Askari and Vajiragnana. Another one is in contemplational areas of mysticism, as acknowledged by figures like Idries Shah. In both areas this can be echoed in greater clarity in the Christian-Buddhist dialogue. A further implication may be to bring out the need to view religions in functionalist and transformational terms, rather than culture bound doctrinal norms.

Nomad Migration in Central Asia

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
KAZIM ABDULLAEV
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Second Century ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
Migration Routes ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Migration

This chapter examines the ethnic and cultural identities and migration routes of nomadic tribes in Central Asia. It explains that the migration of Central Asian nomads, particularly into Transoxiana, can be divided into two categories. One is the long trans-regional route ascribable to the migration of the Yuezhi tribe from the valley of Gansu to the territory north of the Oxus River, and the other is the local migration attributed to the tribes such as the Dahae, Sakaraules, and Appasiakes. The chapter suggests that the events which determined nomad migration are connected with the history of the northern and western borders of Han China in the second century BC.

Imagined democracy? Nation-building and elections in Central Asia

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donnacha Ó Beacháin ◽  
Rob Kevlihan
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Weak States ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Central Asian Countries ◽  
Soviet Central Asia ◽  
Nation State Formation

Is an imagined democracy more important than actual democracy for nation-building purposes? After 20 years of independence, Central Asian countries present a mixed bag of strong and weak states, consolidated and fragmented nations. The equation of nation and state and the construction of genuine nation states remains an elusive goal in all of post-Soviet Central Asia. This paper examines the role that electoral politics has played in nation-state formation. We argue that electoral processes have been central to attempted nation-state building processes as part of efforts to legitimize authoritarian regimes; paradoxically in those few countries where (for brief periods) partial democratization actually occurred, elections contributed, at least in the short term, to nation-state fragmentation.

Central Asia drives Syria repatriations to reduce risk

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Direct Link ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Women And Children ◽  
Muslim Majority ◽  
Reduce Risk

Subject Central Asian policies on repatriating nationals associated with Middle East insurgency. Significance Central Asian governments' concerns about radicalisation among Muslim-majority populations were amplified when hundreds of nationals went to Syria and Iraq in 2014-15 to join Islamic State (IS) and other jihadist groups. They are prioritising the repatriation of women and children, in contrast to European governments' reluctance to approve blanket returns. Impacts The security drive against local extremists will be sustained across Central Asia. Policies towards returning women will not be affected by IS-attributed attacks unless a direct link is made. In Russia, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is leading on repatriation efforts focused on children.

The “Imperial Minority”: An Interpretative Framework of the Russians in Kazakhstan in the 1990s

2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sébastien Peyrouse
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Political ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Near Abroad ◽  
Political Scene ◽  
Central Asian Republics ◽  
Interpretative Framework

This paper is devoted to the Russian minorities living in Central Asia (nearly 10 million people in 1989, about 5.5 million today), and more specifically to the Russians living in Kazakhstan, who constitute the main Russian minority in the near abroad, apart from Ukraine. Unlike the Russians living in the other Central Asian republics, Russians in Kazakhstan created political parties. Kazakhstan even experienced some significant secessionist trends in the mid-1990s. Today, the political, social and economic situation of the Russian minority is rather different. Since about 2 million Russians have left the country, those who remain have tried to find their niche within the economic growth that Kazakhstan has experienced since the 2000s. The political parties and associations that represented the interests of the Russian minority have largely disappeared from the political scene. The “Russian question” no longer threatens to destabilize the territorial integrity of the country.

Modeling Ethnic Protest: The Case of the Middle East and Central Asia

2002 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
EMILE SAHLIYEH ◽  
SANGEETA SINHA ◽  
VIJAYAN PILLAI
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Political Mobilization ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Empirical Measures ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Organizational Cohesiveness

ABSTRACT Theory: Literature on ethnic protest in the Middle East and Central Asia does not provide empirical measures necessary for rigorous hypothesis testing, nor does it incorporate a comprehensive theoretical foundation needed to identify the conditions for ethnic protest. There is also no consensus on the causes of ethnic protest in the Middle East and Central Asia. Hypotheses: To improve our ability to explain ethnic protest in the Middle East and Central Asia and to identify the necessary conditions for ethnic dissent, we test five hypotheses embodied in grievance and political mobilization. The literature on ethnic protest in the Middle East and Central Asia references both models but does not systematically test their relevance. Methodology: We use Logistic Regression to test the explanatory potential of the five hypotheses of the Grievance and Mobilization models. We use Ted Gurr's Minorities at Risk data set, which presents data on 40 ethnic groups in the Middle East and Central Asia. The dependent variable is protest for 1990-95. Findings: Our research does not lend much empirical support for the grievance model, which dominates the Middle Eastern and Central Asian area study literature. Cultural identity and religious freedom variables of grievance model do not provide sufficient condition for the outbreak of ethnic protest. The mobilization model has better explanatory power. It lends significant support to the three hypotheses associated with the mobilization model and suggests that ethnic protest is more likely to occur under conditions of organizational cohesiveness, low levels of autocracy, and international support.

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