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The Shi'i Ismaili Muslims of Central Asia have a complex political history. This open access book is the first English-language study of the Ismaili Muslims in this region, based on analysis of the Russian, Soviet and post-Soviet scholarship about them. It sheds new light on their history and heritage, and also shows how the Ismailis of Central Asia have been understood and presented in the academic literature. Divided into three parts, the first covers the spread of the Ismaili da'wa (mission) throughout Central Asia - known as Khurasan - from the 3rd/9th century until modern times. This part examines the prominent poet da'i Nasir-i Khusraw, who played an instrumental role in the expansion and development of Ismailism in Badakhshan in the eleventh century and reveals the impact of his religio-philosophical legacy in the life of the contemporary community. The second part examines the initial interest in Ismaili Studies engendered by Russian imperial rule. It also shows how approaches to the study of Ismailism were affected by 70 years of Communist atheist rule and the demise of the Communist political and ideological system. The third part presents an annotated bibliography of books, articles, and published and unpublished materials, including documents and oral materials on the history, thought and practices of the Ismailis of Central Asia, most of which has not been hitherto easily accessible to Western scholarship. The comprehensive survey and rich bibliography aims to illuminate the history and historiography of the Ismailis in Central Asia and facilitate further study on the subject by experts around the world.

Presenting a study of regime transition, political transformation, and the challenges that faced the post-Communist republics of Central Asia on independence, this book focuses on the process of transition in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and the obstacles that these newly-independent states are facing in the post-Communist period. The book analyses how in the early stages of their independence, the governments of Central Asia declared that they would build democratic states, but that in practice, they demonstrated that they are more inclined towards authoritarianism. With the declaration of inde.

Locating Pamiri communities in Central Asia / Carole Faucher and Dagikhudo Dagiev -- Identity formation, borders and political transformations -- Geography, ethnicity and cultural heritage in interplay in the context of the Tajik Pamiri identity / Sunatullo Jonboboev -- Pamiri ethnic identity and its re-emergence in post-Soviet Tajikistan / Dagikhudo Dagiev -- Transformations and lost in the Wakhi language / Sherali Gulomaliev -- The Tajiks of China: identity in the age of transition / Amier Saidula -- Archaeology, myths, intellectual and cultural heritage -- A Badakhshani origin for Zoroaster / Yusufsho Yaqubov and Dagikhudo Dagiev -- The Silk Road castles and temples: ancient Wakhan in legends and history / Abdulmamad Iloliev -- Nasir-i Khusraw's intellectual contribution: the meaning of pleasure and pain in his philosophy / Ghulam Abbas Hunzai -- Religious identity in the Pamirs: the institutionalisation of the Ismaili dawa in Shughnan / Daniel Beben -- Forgotten figures of Badakhshan: Sayyid Munir al-Din Badakhshani and Sayyid Haydar Shah Mubarakshahzada / Muzaffar Zoolshoev -- Social cohesion, interactions and globalization -- Blessed people in a barren land: the Bartangi and their success catalyser Barakat / Stefanie Kicherer -- Promoting peace and pluralism in the rural, mountainous region of Chitral, Pakistan, Mir Afzal Tajik / Ali Nawab, Abdul Wali Khan -- A "shift" in values: mother's educational role in the Gorno-Badakhshan Region / Nazira Sodatsayrova -- Project identity: the discursive formation of Pamiri identity in the age of the internet / Aslisho Qurboniev -- Religious education and self-identification among Tajik Pamiri youth / Carole Faucher