Sum up what you learned from these articles Essay

Sum up what you learned from these articles - Essay Example Islam has existed in Central Asia for centuries. After being conquered by Turkish Arabs, the native cultures converted to Islam. Yet it was not a pure Islam, but an Islam mixed with local customs. Another issue that impacted Islam in Central Asia was the Soviet occupation. Damrel suggests: The understanding of what happened to Islam and Muslim society under first Tsarist and then Soviet domination is an important part of modern Uzbek self-perception. According to a well-known historical paradigm, the overwhelmingly Muslim communities of Central Asia were subjugated by a European colonial power that attempted to discredit, eviscerate and indeed expunge Islam from culture and society. The Soviets, in contrast, launched a full-scale assault on Islamic institutions and practices in the mid-1920s, a campaign that intensified dramatically during Stalin’s â€Å"revolution from above† and the purges of the late 1920s and 1930s. Although oppression is not favorable, the result was positive. Due to the oppression, Central Asia has formed its own brand of Islam. While it might be repressive to some, the Islam in Central Asia is not as threatening as in neighboring Afghanistan. Plus, Central Asia has formed their religion and culture in the meantime. It is much better than having another occupation. The announced goals of the new university vividly portray a state vision of Islam that intersects both with issues of nation-building in Central Asia and with a larger global Muslim discourse about the nature of Islam itself. (Damrel) mazhab), one of the four main branches of Sunni Islam (the other three being the Shafi’, Hanbali’i, and Maliki’i mazhabs). The standard argument is that Sunni Islam ultimately prevailed over Shia Islam in the region because it was better able to accommodate local practices and traditions, including eventually Sufism, a mystical and popularized form of Islamic worship that is very open to