The colloquium which is the basis for this work aimed to gather from different countries historians, political scientists, sociologists, and anthropologists dealing with modern and contemporary history of Central Eurasia, for a common reflection on various phenomena that led to a political valuation of Islam under non-Muslim domination, whether Russian or Chinese, since the beginning of the 18th century. As to present time, a comparative approach of the current situations in the Russian Federation and the new independent states of Central Asia has allowed us to study the various modes of political instrumentalization of Islam, by both political power and opposition, in such various areas as the Ferghana Valley in Uzbekistan and the Volga-Urals region of Russia.

First Published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.