The Enigma of Islamic Scholarship Promotion by the Uzbek Government

Abstract

Despite the repressive policy towards dissident Muslims, after 2000, the Uzbek government started to allow publishing Islamic religious books in Uzbekistan. In the last five to six years, this process has accelerated significantly. It is not easy to determine how many religious books have been published in Uzbekistan since 2000. The only clear thing is there are not many authors who can write and publish Islamic books given that only several authors who have undergone official religious education and given permission by responsible state organs can publish their books. This Thesis aims at studying what kind of religious books have been published during the independence years in Uzbekistan and analyzing the reasons behind the promotion of Islamic scholarship by the Uzbek government.