Islam in Central Asia - Jadidism
Subject: Islam in Central Asia
Essay topic:
1. “Jadidism was a movement for cultural and social renewal in Central Asia in the early 20th century. For all their belief in progress as embodied by modern Europe, the Jadids never wavered in their commitment to seeing themselves and their audience as Muslims.” What were the main elements of the Jadids’ project, and how did they synthesise Western modernity and Islam?
Introduction:
Islam reached the Central Asian region in the 8th century A.D. since then, the whole of Central Asian (except northern part of Kazakhstan) and Caucus regions were under Muslim rule. Over time, most of the local populations of these regions embraced Islam. However, with the advance of the Tsarist Russian forces into Muslim land in Central Asia in the 19th century A.D., it was becoming apparent to the Muslims of this region that they were facing a new challenge of immense proportion, particularly at the cultural, educational, social and economic levels brought to them by the new invaders.
Confronted with this new reality, the first generation of modern Central Asian intellectuals, who were given the label: “Jadids” (which is an Arabic word which means: New), came to the realisation that the current religious, cultural and social traditions are no longer capable of fulfilling the needs of the society. They had a perception that comprehensive reforms of culture and society was needed for Central Asian people to overcome the challenges of the modern world. Adeeb Khalid has proposed a preliminary definition of who can be called a Jadidi, namely, “those individuals who took part in efforts to reform Muslim society through the use of modern means and communication and new forms of sociability”.1
The Jadids embraced modernity with a great zeal, while at the same time they tried to reshape Islamic values and provide a new understanding of what it means to be a Muslim. The arrival and popular support of this new movement had
Essay topic:
1. “Jadidism was a movement for cultural and social renewal in Central Asia in the early 20th century. For all their belief in progress as embodied by modern Europe, the Jadids never wavered in their commitment to seeing themselves and their audience as Muslims.” What were the main elements of the Jadids’ project, and how did they synthesise Western modernity and Islam?
Introduction:
Islam reached the Central Asian region in the 8th century A.D. since then, the whole of Central Asian (except northern part of Kazakhstan) and Caucus regions were under Muslim rule. Over time, most of the local populations of these regions embraced Islam. However, with the advance of the Tsarist Russian forces into Muslim land in Central Asia in the 19th century A.D., it was becoming apparent to the Muslims of this region that they were facing a new challenge of immense proportion, particularly at the cultural, educational, social and economic levels brought to them by the new invaders.
Confronted with this new reality, the first generation of modern Central Asian intellectuals, who were given the label: “Jadids” (which is an Arabic word which means: New), came to the realisation that the current religious, cultural and social traditions are no longer capable of fulfilling the needs of the society. They had a perception that comprehensive reforms of culture and society was needed for Central Asian people to overcome the challenges of the modern world. Adeeb Khalid has proposed a preliminary definition of who can be called a Jadidi, namely, “those individuals who took part in efforts to reform Muslim society through the use of modern means and communication and new forms of sociability”.1
The Jadids embraced modernity with a great zeal, while at the same time they tried to reshape Islamic values and provide a new understanding of what it means to be a Muslim. The arrival and popular support of this new movement had
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