Islam and Central Asia (Center for Political and Strategic Studies Book)

Historians, clerics, human rights activists and political analysts from the region and beyond chronicle the rebirth of Islam in Central Asia. What kind of Islam will define the post-Soviet transformation of the Central Asia region? Will it be a moderate and tolerant Islam, the one that has dominated the area historically? Or a newly recreated, highly politicized radical Islam with ambitions to establish control far beyond the religious affairs of these states? In answering these questions, the authors seek to add new insight and depth to our understanding of the vital spiritual and political processes now underway in this important strategic region.