Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
are preceded if possible by washing, at least of the hands, face and feet.
For Ismailis the style of prayer is a personal matter (eg there is no pros-
tration), the mosque is replaced by a community shrine or meditation
room and women are less excluded.
Just before fixed prayers a muezzin calls the Sunni and Shiite faithful,
traditionally from a minaret, nowadays mostly through a loudspeaker.
Islam has no ordained priesthood, but mullahs (scholars, teachers or re-
ligious leaders) are trained in theology, respected as interpreters of scrip-
ture, and are quite influential in conservative rural areas.
The Quran is considered above criticism: it is the direct word of God
as spoken to his Prophet Mohammed. It is supplemented by various tra-
ditions such as the Hadith, the collected acts and sayings of the Prophet
Mohammed. In its fullest sense Islam is an entire way of life, with guide-
lines for nearly everything, from preparing and eating food to banking
and dress.
The melancholy
sounding Arabic
azan (call to
prayer) translates
roughly as 'God is
most great. There
is no god but
Allah. Mohammed
is God's mes-
senger. Come to
prayer, come to
security. God is
most great'.
Islam in Central Asia
Islam first appeared in Central Asia with Arab invaders in the 7th and
8th centuries, though it was mostly itinerant Sufi missionaries who con-
verted the region over the subsequent centuries.
Islam never was a potent force in the former nomadic societies of the
Turkmen, Kazakhs and Kyrgyz, and still isn't. Islam's appeal for nomadic
rulers was as much an organisational and political tool as a collection of
moral precepts. The nomad's customary law, known as adat, has always
superceded Islamic sharia law.
There is also a significant blurring between religious and national
characteristics, partly because the region was for so long cut of from
mainstream Islamic teachings. The majority of Central Asians, although
interested in Islam as a common denominator, seem quite happy to toast
the Prophet's health with a shot of Russian vodka.
The Soviet Era
The Soviet regime long distrusted Islam because of its potential for co-
herent resistance, both domestically and internationally. Three of the
five pillars of Islam (the fast of Ramadan, the haj or pilgrimage to Mecca
and the zakat tax) were outlawed in the 1920s. The banning of polygamy,
child marriage, the paying of bride price and the wearing of the paranja
(veil) possibly pleased many women but the banning of Arabic script,
the holy script of the Quran, was much less popular. Clerical (Christian,
Jewish and Buddhist as well as Muslim) land and property were seized.
Medressas and other religious schools were closed down. Islam's judi-
cial power was curbed with the dismantling of traditional sharia courts
(which were based on Quranic law).
Some archaeolo-
gists believe that
the Bronze Age
site of Gonur-
Depe was the
birthplace of
the world's first
monotheist faith,
Zoroastrianism,
while others
believe it to be
Balkh just over
the border in
northern
Afghanistan.
FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
Devout Muslims express their faith through the ive pillars of Islam.
¨ The creed that 'There is only one god, Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet'.
¨ Prayer, five times a day, prostrating towards the holy city of Mecca, in a mosque
(for men only) when possible, but at least on Friday, the Muslim holy day.
¨ Dawn-to-dusk fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.
¨ Making the haj (pilgrimage to Mecca) at least once in one's life.
¨ Alms giving, in the form of the zakat , an obligatory 2.5% tax.
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