TRADITIONAL AND MODERN RELIGIOUS–THEOLOGICAL SCHOOLS IN CENTRAL ASIA

Ashirbek Muminov

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Ashirbek MUMINOV is Professor at the Institute of Oriental Studies, Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan.

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With its ancient cultural and religious traditions dating from the 8th century, Central Asia gradually turned into a region of one religion – Islam. The Sunni branch of Islam became firmly established there, although, to make the picture complete, it should be mentioned that there are communities of Ismaili Shi’ites in Badakhshan and immigrant Imamites from Iran in Samarkand. By the time of the Mongolian invasion, the Hanafites, one of the four Sunni schools of religious law, became dominant in most regions of Central Asia. The provisions of the Hanafites (Madhhab Hanafiyyah) covered a long road of evolution and played a big role in the shaping of the Central Asian form of Islam. Alongside the traits common to the other regions of the Muslim world, the Hanafite school has its specifics in Central Asia.

The Hanafite School of Religious Law (Madhhab Hanafiyyah)

Factors behind the spread of the Hanafite school in Central Asia. The foundations for the spread of the theologian Imam Abu Hanifa’s teachings (Abu Hanifa, 699–767) and their becoming firmly established in eastern Khurasan and Mawaraunnahr (the historic Ma wara’ an-nahr, which literally means ‘what lies across the river’, that is, the Amu Darya – the name used by Muslim geographers and theologians for Central Asia) were laid by the Murji’ites. The Murji’ah centrist religious–political movement came into being during the first civil war (656–661) and advocated reconciliation between the conflicting parties ’Ali ibn Abi Talib (656–661) and the Umayyads (661–750). However, the teaching of the Murji’ites later became transformed and in the early part of the 7th century, in the eastern part of the Arab Caliphate, came to identify itself with the struggle for equality with the Arab Muslims and for more rights for rulers of the local dynasties. The Murji’ah ideas met with support from some of the Arabs and no doubt from the majority of the local population.

Following the defeat and death of the head of the Murji’ah movement, al-Harith ibn Surayj (734–746), the Murji’ah theologian of al-Kufa, Abu Hanifa, became the spiritual leader of this movement in the east of the Caliphate.¹ This paved the way for the spread and facilitated the firm establishment in the late 8th and early 9th centuries of Abu Hanifa’s teachings in the cities of Khurasan and Mawaraunnahr – Nishapur, Marw, Balkh, Nasaf, Bukhara, and Samarkand.

A brief history of the Hanafite school in Mawaraunnahr. The Hanafiyyah school that took shape mainly in Mawaraunnahr’s cities, especially Bukhara and Samarkand, went through three stages of development:

1. The formative period (9th and 10th centuries), when local Hanafiyyah schools took shape and developed in Nasaf, Samarkand and Bukhara – in Mawaraunnahr, the eastern part of the Caliphate including Khurasan.

2. The golden age (early 11th century to the 13th century) when Hanafiyyah faqihs (Muslim jurists) in Qarakhanid Mawaraunnahr separated from the rest of the Muslim world and developed and codified the provisions of Abu Hanifa’s madhhab using local material.

3. A period of gradual decline (early 13th to 14th century) when, as a result of the destruction of urban centres, the creative activities of jurists discontinued. However, the influence of the school spills over into the internal regions of Central Asia and the neighbouring countries – India, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Asia Minor, the Crimea, the Golden Horde. Mawaraunnahr’s cities become major centres of instruction in Hanafiyyah law, where budding theologians flocked from all the regions where this madhhab has currency to compile compendiums, textbooks and manuals on Hanafiyyah law.²

Characteristics of the Hanafites in Central Asia

Fiqh norms. These finally took shape in the late 8th and early 9th century and found their reflection in six books of Abu Hanifa’s pupil Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani (d. 805) – ‘al-Mabsud’, ‘al-Jami' as-saghir’, ‘al-Jami' al-kabir’, ‘az-Ziyadat’, ‘as-Sayar al-kabir’ and ‘as-Sayar as-saghir’. According to specialists, they contain between 60 000 and 80 000 separate subjects. They cover the areas of moral and ritual precepts (prayer, fast, zakat, Mecca pilgrimage), and relationships between people (selling and buying, renting, marriage, divorce, distribution of inheritance, freeing of slaves, etc.). The Hanafiyyah madhhab introduced and postulated things that were totally new for the religious affairs of Central Asia at the same time as it encompassed a considerable part of religious experience of the preceding periods; this body of experience, as understood by the local (mainly urban) population, was and still is ‘sacred’.

As a result of the Mawaraunnahr faqif’s activities during the second period, many ideas of law, customs and traditions of Central Asian peoples became incorporated in Islam. Mujtahids (jurists entitled to pass decisions on ‘new’ questions, those not discussed earlier) emerged during this era.³

The ‘secular’ and ‘spiritual’ in Hanafite practices. Despite the formal recognition of the authority’s theocratic character, the spheres of activities of the state and spiritual figures were actually separate in the Muslim states of Central Asia. Hanafites were active in matters of cooperation with the authorities. The original ban for ‘ulama (theologians) to cooperate with representatives of secular authorities in Mawaraunnahr was lifted in the late 9th century by faqih Abu’l-Layth al-Hafiz al-Samarqandi. ‘For the purposes of florescence of the Islamic religion’, he permitted ‘ulama ‘to become members of the retinue of the sultan (a secular ruler)’. Later on, theologians in Bukhara and Samarkand, who had accepted this condition, voiced and protected the interests of various sections of the population from the wilfulness and arbitrary nature of the unlimited powers of officials. Although such a position did not always suit the rulers, we know of cases where some faqihs were arrested and executed, but in the periods of the weakening of state power they used to become leaders of self-government bodies of central cities.

Whereas in the Samanids period (819–999) there are mentions of Hanafites and Shafi’ites being found among qazis (judges), beginning in the Qarakhanid period (999–1212) until the 1920s, judges were exclusively Hanafites. ‘Ulama were appointed to various religious positions: khatib, qazi, qazi al’mu’askar, sadr, muhtasib, mudarris, and so on. The head of secular authority decided on questions of the country’s domestic and foreign policy proceeding on the rules of state law developed on the basis of the oral or written tribal religious code (‘urf) – yasi, tora, tuzuk, jeti jarghi, and so on. We know of numerous cases in which authorities used ‘ulama to lend ‘legality’, from the point of view of religion, to their important state events. At a later date, we can observe that qazis turn into officials, people lacking in-depth knowledge of religion became qazis; they also began to form councils of those well-versed in fiqh (‘alams).

Maturidiyyah teaching and Hanafiyyah. The Murji’ites were active and prolific theologians. Their followers, the Hanafites of Samarkand, also worked hard on theological questions; the peak of this activity came in the 10th century. Resulting from the bitter struggle with the Mutazilites, Karramites, Shi’ites and other ‘opposition movements’ in the Caliphate there emerged the local theological teaching of Samarkand’s Sunnites – Ahl al-sunnah wa-l-jama'ah.⁴ This teaching was revived by the Hanafites at the turn of the 11th century under the new name of al-Maturidiyyah.⁵ It was gradually adopted by all Hanafites. However, the Mutazilite teaching was adhered to until the 14th century by members of the Hanafite school of theologians and philologists of Khorezm founded by Abu’l-Qasim al-Zamakhshari (d. 1144). It should be noted that once the state of a bitter stand-off between the Hanafites and Shafi’ites ceased from the 14th century, the Hanafites came to study Ash’arite and Maturidite works in schools.

Norms of Hanafite fiqh and people’s beliefs. Central Asia has various historical and cultural regions and ethnic groups with various religious traditions. A well-known provision of Hanafite teaching recognizes the secondary nature of actions (’amal) compared with faith; in accordance with this provision, verbal admission (al-iqrar bi-l-lisan) and internal accord, or understanding with one’s heart (at-tasdiq bi-l-qalb), of Allah’s truth, His scriptures and messengers are sufficient for a person to be regarded as a believing Muslim. This made it possible for the local people to preserve their old traditions. Mawaraunnahr Hanafites gradually developed tolerance to the existence of the old traditions outside the fiqh framework. For example, one of the requirements for a mujtahid is that a newly introduced norm of fiqh should not hamper the customary life of the believers. Should this be the case, the decision (fatwa) should be abolished through the method called istihsan (a fiqh term, one of the ra’y categories), the judgement leading to the abolition of a previous decision by analogy – qiyas), and the mujtahid would resume solving this problem. At the same time, Hanafites firmly and consistently upheld the provisions of traditionalist Islam and never yielded ground on questions of principle.

The victory of Hanafites in the major urban centres forced their ‘ideological competition’ out to the rural and mountainous regions of Central Asia. There they came into close contact with local beliefs and religious practices. They used various manners and methods to superficially Islamize many aspects of what was ‘sacred’ in the life of the population. Especially active in this respect were ‘Ash’ab al-hadith’ – the Shafi’ites, Karramites, as well as Kaysanite-mubayydas and Qarmat-isma’ilis. In the final analysis, such activities led to their losing their bearings and to degradation. Later on, Hanafites were obliged to re-Islamize Fergana’s foothill and mountainous regions to end the Quarmat-isma’il influence, to free regions in Turkestan from Mubayydites, and the rural regions of Soghd, Shash, Isfijab and Taraz from the Shafi’ites. However, the provisions of ‘popular religion’ that were Islamized superficially, and not accepted by Hanafites, continued to remain in people’s memory and were regarded by the people as ‘sacred Islamic’.

Theoretical Islam and popular Islam. As many people know, the Arab literary language (al-Fusha, the language of the Qur’an) was and remains the language of traditionalist Islam. Unlike the peoples of Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Egypt and North Africa, the peoples of Central Asia use their own languages when they have adopted the religion. As a result, a language barrier arose between the provisions of Islam and the absolute majority of the local population, which few people succeed in overcoming.⁶

The local population maintained their customs and traditions. They were getting their ideas about the basics of Islam, its norms and rules as interpreted by the local theologians. The ‘ulama were connected with the life of the local population by thousands of invisible strands. It is they who guaranteed a sensible balance between the teaching of normative Islam and popular beliefs, myths, rites and ceremonies, and so on. The transmitters and preservers of ‘theoretical Islam’ were members of the substantial section of intellectuals: the learned 'ulama theologians, priests, teachers and students of religious schools. The centres of existence of popular religion were the family, urban and rural communities (mahallah), clans, tribes, corporations, closed ethnic minorities and religious communities.

Madrasahs (schools) were of great importance for ‘theoretical Islam’. Knowledge of Islam is transmitted from an individual teacher to an individual pupil. The first such schools were set up spontaneously and subsequently became the main institutions where one could get a religious education. Rulers and influential dignitaries immediately realized the importance of the newly emerged teaching and educational institutions and, with the objective of influencing the course of events in the country in a direction of their choice, they came to finance the madrasahs. The waqf foundations (property donated in perpetuity to some charitable purpose) became among the important sources of support for the schools. They provided general training (for the majority) and specialized training (the training of fiqhs). The textbooks were the Islamic ‘canonical’ literature (exegesis of the Qur’an, collections of hadiths, textbooks on the Arab language, philological subjects, theology, jurisprudence, logic) mainly compiled by Mawaraunnahr Hanafites. ‘Theoretical Islam’ responded to the changes in its own manner as time went by. This can be seen in the numerous works by Mawaraunnahr Hanafite authors of the 15th–19th centuries.

The reform movements that had just begun were channelled in a different direction as a result of the Russian conquest. The new authorities were the first to launch a struggle with the transmitters of ‘theoretical Islam’ on the territory of the former khanate of Kokand (now mainly the Fergana Valley) by sequestering waqf foundations and by repeated reforms of qazi and popular courts. The drive against religion that ensued in the Soviet era all over the territory of Central Asia resulted in the destruction of religious literature, the closure of religious institutions of learning, and the physical elimination of transmitters of ‘theoretical Islam’. All these things led to the actual transformation of Islam, which was reduced to the level of ‘popular’ religion (‘everyday Islam’).

‘Popular Islam’

Popular Islam manifests itself more often than not in funeral rites, the cult of the dead, the cult of the saints, travelling to holy places, wedding and celebratory ceremonies, superstitions, magic, and so on. It differs greatly from one urban or rural region and ethnic group to the next.

Teachings of the Sufi Brotherhoods. Religious practices of rural communities, some traits of which had probably been interpreted in the Islamic spirit of ‘Ahl al-hadith’‚ were made legal within the framework of traditionalist Islam in the 14th century under the name of the Brotherhood Naqshbandiyyah teaching.⁷ Despite the copious quotes from the Qur’an and hadiths, and the use of Islamic terminology in works, Sufi teaching came under bitter criticism from many traditionalist groups and was not regarded as ‘genuinely Islamic’. They condemned with special bitterness such Sufi provisions as Murshid shaikhs, worship of holy places, collection of donations (nadhr), shaikhs’ miracle making (karamah), and so on. Traditionalists assess these traits of Sufism as polytheism (shirk) and innovations in Islam (bid’ah). Sufi shaikhs were declared reactionaries and were persecuted in Soviet times. Despite this, Naqshbandiyyah groups in Central Asia survived and preserved their traditions. Several Naqshbandiyyah shaikhs are already conducting their activities openly at the present time.⁸

Unlike the Naqshbandiyyah, the teaching of the Yasawiyyah Brotherhood was not completely traditionalized. Many people gathered to perform the ‘vocal Yasawiyyah dhikr’ (ritual prayer). The practice of dhikr and the performance of rituals connected to it were passed on in the oral form. Groups practicing the vocal method of dhikr are found in our day and age in Chust, Namangan and Andizhan.

Sacred families. One of the features of Islam’s existence in Central Asia is the presence in it of a prodigious number of groups of people who possess, according to the locals, the barakah, or special divine gift. They are descendants of the Prophet, of the first four righteous caliphs and other sahabahs, or companions of the Prophet, and early Arabs who were disseminating Islam in that region. They enjoy special authority among nomads. Since the religious culture of each separate Central Asian people has its own features, it is a good idea to regard these families separately.

1. The Kazakh qojas. Together with several tribes, they comprise a group of Kazakhs that did not join the three groups, or juzge kirmeytin qazaqtar. The qojas embody Islam among the Kazakhs. In the past, they supervised rituals, performed circumcisions, were imams of mosques or mudarrises. The qojas are from cities and settlements in the middle and lower reaches of the Sir Darya. Each Kazakh clan and tribe were followers of certain clans of qojas.⁹ An important part in the Kazakh’s religious life is to visit (ziyarah) a holy place (awliya’) in the southern regions of Kazakhstan and meet with their spiritual teachers (pirs, qojas, ishans). The ishan–believer link is of key importance for studying the peculiarities of Islam among the Kazakhs.¹⁰

2. Turkmen awlads. Living among Turkmen tribes, they determine many things in the religious life of Turkmens.¹¹

3. Khojas among the Qaraqalpaqs. A special place among the Qaraqalpaqs is held by Beksiyiq khojas and Qaraqum ishans.

4. We know of many sacred clans and groups in the agricultural regions of Central Asia. Especially well-known are the Ahrari (Khoja Ahrar’s descendants), Mahdum-i a’zami, Juibari khwaja, Mrihaydari, Mirkulali, Sayyid-ata’i, the White Mountain and Black Mountain khojas, Tahuri, Miyan haztratlar, Termith khwajalari, and so on.

The origin of these religious and social groups is connected to the ancient cult centres, ‘extreme’ Islamic movements and teachings widespread in the peripheral regions of Central Asia. They have close relations with Sufi brotherhoods and nomadic tribes. With the growth of the influence of the nomadic tribes in the political life of Mawaraunnahr, the importance of these groups in the country’s political life is growing. The khojas pioneered the idea of ‘sacredness’ of authority. Bowing to the force of public opinion, khans were working on the question of sacredness of their own authority. For example, the khans in all three recent Central Asian khanates ruled bearing the title of ‘sayyid’. Khojas came to take state posts connected with religion. They thus made a smooth transition to the corps of ‘ulama. The importance of Khojas subsequently grew constantly as transmitters of ‘theoretical’ Islam. In the 18th and 19th centuries, for example, we could see khojas in the capacity of qazis, muftis, shaikh al-islam, ‘alams, khatibs, akhunds, sadrs and they rewrote many works of ‘canonical’ Islam.

Hanafites in the contemporary period

The position of religion and religious leaders could not be regarded as legitimate before 1943 from the point of view of the atheist orientation of the ruling regime. However, considering that a considerable proportion of the population of Central Asia, for example, continued to regard themselves as Muslims, and that Islam no longer posed a direct threat to the Soviet Government, Stalin and those close to him decided to show some ‘leniency’ with regard to religious figures. One result was the creation of centralized ‘religious administrations’ on the territory of the USSR, one of which was the Central Asian Spiritual Board of Muslims (SADUM).

1. The Spiritual Board of Central Asian and Kazakhstan Muslims (SADUM, 1943–91)¹² concentrated on shaping the ‘loyalist attitudes’ of the faithful, serving the population with regard to holding religious rites and ceremonies. The Board’s inconsistent and conformist position began to be criticized by unofficial spiritual leaders. First to come under their fire were religious rites in which representatives of the Board used to take part. Criticism was later levelled at provisions of the Hanafite madhhab.

Personnel for SADUM were at first trained in the Mir-i ’Arab secondary school in Bukhara, which resumed functioning in 1948.

There was no special need to train highly skilled personnel. For example, there were as few as 84 mosques on the territory of Uzbekistan in 1980. Later the Tashkent Islamic Institute (’Oliy ma’had, named after Imam al-Bukhari) – a non-governmental higher school of learning of the Board of Muslims of Uzbekistan (Uzbekistan musulmonlari yodrasi). It was founded in 1969 and began functioning in October 1971. It trains specialists in the following areas: imam-khatib, teachers of religious scholarship and researchers into religious scholarship. Instruction is in Uzbek and Arabic and the term of study is four years. The students are also taught English, Persian and Russian. In addition to the traditional Muslim subjects they are taught such secular subjects as the history of the peoples of Uzbekistan and national spirituality, among others. There are 25 teachers. 378 students graduated from the institute up to 1994, 160 of whom now work in the mosques and madrasahs of Uzbekistan. The institute is housed in the building of the former mosque called Namaz-gah (in the city of Tashkent). At the present time it has 300 students.

2. Unofficial Hanafites. Alongside semi-official structures there were non-official imams, otin-oyi, or female religious leaders, who officiated at ceremonies and taught religious disciplines (hujra). Some were not happy with the subjects taken up by priests (readings from the Qur’an, sermons on neutral topics instead of discussing burning issues), the low-standard of the imams’ knowledge, their remoteness from the people, etc. At this time unofficial authorities began to emerge.

Muhammad Hindustani Rustamov, known by the name of Hojji domla (1895–86), was an authoritative and well-trained Hanafite theologian. He was born and went to school in Kokand. He continued his studies in Bukhara, Afghanistan, and India. He went to Mecca, lived in Tajikistan for some time and died in Dushanbe in 1989. He taught on a private basis and delivered sermons on subjects of vital importance to his audiences. These ‘thematic addresses’ have been preserved on tape. He wrote exegesis to the entire text of the Qur’an which he translated into the Uzbek language. He also wrote the ‘Sharkh Muhtasar al-Waqaya’ and ‘Sharkh al-Aka’id’.¹³

With regard to methods and ways in which different theological questions are tackled, it is possible to divide Hindustani’s pupils (by analogy with the old classical schools) into two schools: Ahl al-hadith¹⁴ and ’Ahl al-Qur’an’¹⁵

Whereas at the time these groups were beginning to form the customs and beliefs of ‘popular religion’ (khurofat, bid’ah) came under criticism, provisions bearing directly on the Hanafite madhhab are now increasingly debated. This concerns the raising of both hands at every sujud (raf’ al-yadayn), something that is rejected by the Hanafites, saying the word ‘amin’ out loud in prayer, saying part of the prayer (fard) next to the imam in the mosque and saying the remaining part (sunnah) at home. As a result, the opposing sides accuse each other of lack of faith (kufr). This conflict is a cause for criticism of the official clergy for their conformist stance and inconsistency of actions. There is also clear evidence of the desire to become popular and a competition between priests for influence on the believers. Both sides revealed insufficient knowledge of the fiqh fundamentals, while the differences between the four schools have long been recognized as legitimate and it has been recommended not to make an issue of the insignificant differences.

Religious–Political Groups

1. The ‘Islom lashkarlari’ (Warriors of Islam) religious–political group. This group appeared in the Namangan region during the years of the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Its stronghold was the Ata’ Wali han Tura mosque in the city of Namangan. The imam of the mosque was ‘Abd al-Ahad, a Wahabbite and follower of Rahmatulloh ‘Allam. Two wings can be distinguished: (a) ‘Adolat’, or Party Congress.¹⁶ Members of the group tried independently to take care of the maintenance of public order and to forcibly replace the organs of law and order. Shari’ah rules were proclaimed as judicial rules. In these attempts processes can be discerned similar to the inception of the ideals of medieval secret associations of craftsmen with a ‘knightly’ code of honour and structure (fityan, 'ayyarun, olifta). This wing of the group was crushed during March and April 1992. (b) ‘Wahhabites’. They concentrated on the discussion of religious questions under the leadership of Tohir Yoldoshev. They created groups of 20 to 50 people each. All in all there were 60 groups. Tendencies to merge with the ‘Hizb at-Tahrir’ movement have been noticed.

2. The ‘Tawba’ (‘Hizb Allah’) group. This was in operation in 1992–95 and condemned the deaths of conscripts and relations between servicemen which are at variance with army regulations

The religious–political ‘Hizb at-Tahrir al-Islam’ party (Party of Islamic Liberation) was organized in Jerusalem in 1953 by Taqi al-Din al-Nabahani (1909–79) after the split of Jami’at al-Ikhwan al-Muslimin. The principal goal is to establish a single Islamic state of ‘Caliphate’ through conducting ideological work for the minds of people. The work with proselytes proceeds in two stages: (a) general instruction; and (b) political education. Party members take an oath to take part in jihad (holy war). The party operates in strict secrecy in groups of 3–10 people. They translate into the languages of the peoples of Central Asia books by the party founders (23 books) which expound the main ideas, objectives and methods of reaching them, and describe the future state system. Quotations from the Qur’an and hadiths are selected in a tendentious manner, the history of the Caliphate and the Muslim world has been presented unscientifically and without adherence to historicity. The party does not accept ideas of national statehood, democracy and, as regards foreign policy, it sharply condemns cooperation by Muslim leaders with the West and especially with Israel.

The party promises that it will bring people’s hopes for social wellbeing and justice true in the shortest span of time. It has revived the ‘messianic’ idea of Allah’s speedy and miraculous help.

The Party of Islamic Revival was created in Astrakhan in 1990 for uniting Islamic political groups active in the CIS.¹⁷

Sufi Groups

Nurchilar – followers of Badi’ az-Zaman Sa’id Nursi (1870–1960), active in Tashkent and Samarkand.

Naqshbanddiylar are active in several parts of the Fergana region.¹⁸

Behaites were active in the Navoi and Samarkand regions mostly among the ‘Irani’, or ethnic Iranians. The Administration of Uzbekistan Muslims denied them membership.

Prospects for the Future

Thus, following the physical destruction of most of the transmitters of ‘theoretical Islam’ during the 1920s and 1930s, the recognized religious centres of Bukhara and Khiva ceased to exist. The slow processes of revival of traditions took place during the 1950s and 1960s in Dushanbe and the Fergana Valley. The latent processes in the area of religion began to develop openly in the wake of the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The artificially restrained reform processes began moving. A politicization of Islam is in evidence. The political extremism and terrorism taking place in other Muslim countries have become a reality in Central Asia too. There is growing realization that there is a need for scholarly religious studies and for a different approach to the training of theologians. There is also a need to respond appropriately to the changes in the religious–political situation in the countries of Central Asia.

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¹ Madelung, W., ‘The early Murji'a and Transoxania and the spread of Hanafism’, Der Islam, Band LIX. 1982, pp. 32–39.

² Muminov, A. K., ‘Mawaraunnajr School of Fiqh (IX–XIII centuries)’, Obshchestvennyye nauki v Uzbekistane, no. 10 (1990), pp. 38–42.

³ Shams al-A’imma ’Abd al-’Aziz ibn Ahmad al-Halwani al-Buhari (d. 1056), Fahr al-Islam ’Ali ibn Muhammad al-Pazdawi (d. 1089), Shams al-A’imma Muhammad ibn Ahmad as-Sarahsi (d. 1093–94), ‘Umar ibn ’Abd al-’Aziz al-Buhari known as as-Sadr ash-Shahid (d. 1141), Iftikhar ad-Din Takhir ibn Ahmad al-Buhari (d. 1147), Burkhan ad-Din Mahmud ibn Ahmad al-Buhari (d. 1174), Fahr ad-Din al-Hasan ibn Mansur al-Uzgandi Qadikhan (d. 1196).

⁴ Rudolf U., Al-Maturidi und die sunnitische Theologie in Samarkand (Leiden, New York, Koeln: E. J. Brill, 1997).

⁵ Hanafites from Nasaf Abu-l-Mu’in an-Nasafi (d. 1114), Abu-l-Yusr al-Pazdavi (d. 1099-1100), Abu Khafs an-Nasafi (d. 1142).

⁶ True, there are an insignificant number of Arabs living in Central Asia, most of whom migrated there from Afghanistan in earlier times. However, by the 1930s the Arabs preserved their native language only in 3 villages of the Bukhara and Kashkadarya regions, having borrowed many elements of the Uzbek and Tajik languages. Akhvlediani, V. G., Bukhara Arabic Dialect (Tbilisi; Metsniereba, 1985), p. 3. It is noteworthy that Central Asian ethnic minorities are inclined to link their historical origin to the Arabs. E.g., Gypsies and Baluchis who migrated to Central Asia from Afghanistan say during censuses that they are Arabs. Saidov, M., Ravshanov, P., ‘Zheynov Tarikhi’, Tashkent, 1996, pp. 39–43.

⁷ A major role in this was played by the Hanafite faqih and pupil of Baha' al-Din Naqshband, Khwaja Muhammad Parsa (1345–1420). He tried to bring together provisions of the Hanafite fiqh, Maturidiyyah Kalam, the Sufi teaching and practice dhikri khafi to a single whole. A similar albeit more successful attempt was later made by Sufi Allah-Yar (d. 1733). His works – ‘Sabat 'ajizin’, ‘Maslaq al-muttaqin’, ‘Murad al-'arifin’, ‘Makhzan al-muti'in’ – were widely taught in the madrasahs.

⁸ Babadzhanov, B., Le renouveau des communautes soufies en Ouzbekistan/Cahiers d’Asie centrale, N 5-6 (1998), pp. 285–311; Babadzhanov, B., Vozrozhdeniye deyatel’nosti sufiyskikh grup v Uzbekistane, Tsentral’naya Azia i Kavkaz, no. 1 (2), 1999, pp. 181–92.

⁹ Clans of qojas such as (a) aqqorgan, (b) khorasan, (c) duwana, (d) qarakhan, (e) seyit, (f) qiriq sadaq, (g) qilawuz, and (h) kishi juz qojlari, among others.

¹⁰ See Muminov, A. K., Die Qozas. Arabische Genalogien in Kasachstan/Muslim Culture in Russia and Central Asia from the 18th to the Early 20th Centuries. Vol. 2: Inter-Regional and Inter-Ethnic Relations, ed. A. von Kuegelgen, M. Kemper and A. Frank (Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag, 1998), pp. 193–209.

¹¹ The khoja, shikh, seit, maghtim, and mujawar clans have been studied in detail by S. M. Demidov. Demidov, S. M., Turkmenskiye ovlyady (Ashkhabad: Ylym, 1976).

¹² The first muftis (Ishan Babakhan and his descendants) were from the family of Sayram khojas.

¹³ At his own initiative, Hindustani held, for the benefit of his pupils and associates, readings from ‘Muhtasar al-Waqaya’ (muhtasarhanlik) and from the works by Mirza, ’Abd al-Qadir Bedil (bedilhanlik). He trained pupils who subsequently won public acclaim: Rahmatullah qori ’Allama, ’Abduwali qori Mirzayev, Ishoq qori, Ism’il domla, Ibrohimjan Khuqandi (in Kokand), Hikmatullah qori (in Dushanbe, Muhammad 'Ali Marginani (Yazyawan), ’Ubaydallah makhsum (Namangan), ’Abd al-Latif Andijani, Muhammad Sadiq qori who subsequently became a mufti (1989–93), among others.

¹⁴ 1. Rahmatulloh qori ’Allama (d. 1981). When in Andizhan, he joined the Wahhabites, for which Hojji domla even damned (do'o'-yi bad) his former pupil and repudiated him in a sharply negative reaction.

2. ’Abduwali qori Mirzayev – imam ‘Jome masjidi’ in Andizhan. He issued many fatwas on different matters. He used to say in his sermons that Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal had called for the non-recognition of Abu Hanifa, Malik, al-Shafi’i. ‘Abduwali qori’s erudition qualified him to turning directly to the original sources and practice ijtihad. His addresses survive in 86 audio cassettes (each treating a separate subject).

3. ‘Abdulhakim qori (the city of Margelan) is thought to be the father of the Wahhabites. He became a Wahhabite as early as 1954.

4. ‘Obid qori Nazarov, a pupil of Rahmatuloh ’Allam is regarded a Wahhabite and takes up a sharply critical position. Audi tapes of his addresses are available.

¹⁵ 1. Tolqin qori, Imam of the ‘Sahobalar’ Mosque in Tashkent. A follower of the ’Ahl al-Qur’an’ school and pupil of ‘Obid qori Nazarov. He does not recognize madhhabs and urges that one should turn directly to the sources for the purposes of ijtihad.

2. Akramites. See B. Babadzhanov’s contribution for more detail on the Akramites.

¹⁶ By a strange quirk of fate this name originates from the old name of the collective farm in the neighbourhood – ‘The 20^th Congress of the CPSU’ or ‘Partsyezd kolkhozi’ for short in Uzbek.

¹⁷ Roy, O., La nouvelle Asie centrale ou la Fabrication des Nations (Seuil, 1997), pp. 234–38.

¹⁸ See the contribution by Babadzhanov.