Negotiating Everyday Islam After Socialism: A Study of the Kazakhs of Bayan-Ulgii, Mongolia
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Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015. Using ethnographic interviews and participant observation among the Kazakh community of western Mongolia, we examine how everyday Islamic practices have been reinterpreted and reconfigured following the demise of socialism and the influx of external Islamic influences. This essay considers the local, national, and transnational dynamics that have come into play as traditional or local forms of Islam associated with the post-socialist spaces, including Mongolia, have encountered global forms of Islam from abroad. We argue that Islam in Bayan-Ulgii is integral to community and ethnic identity, but also multifaceted, dynamic and multi-scalar. This study contributes to scholarly discussions about Islam in Central Asia that challenge essentialist portrayals of Islam and create a simplistic dichotomy between high and low forms of Islam.