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Abstract

In Uzbekistan, over the past eight years, the factor of religion has sharply intensified, which, in turn, creates the need to revise the regulations between the state and religion. People are forced to live in limbo at the crossroads of religion, state, and liberalism. Although the population accepts the visual signs, elements, and norms of religion, they do not fully understand it. Most women have a misconception that religious clothing (hijab), while men have beards, is a sign of accepting religion, and most importantly, this is becoming an indicator of acceptance in society as a criterion of honesty. Girls wear hijab when they need to get married, and in general, when people want to gain someone's trust, they wear the mask of a religious person, pretending to be religious. It's natural to ask why liberalism has been added to the intersection of religion and state relations. Both religion and the state, from a practical point of view, are institutions of population restraint, while liberalism is freedom. Given that people are naturally predisposed to hedonistic pleasures, freedom satisfies this inclination, but widely accepted norms of society, especially those related to religion, limit this freedom, as a result of which people are forced to disguise themselves. For example, in Uzbek society, where the virginity of a girl is considered an important criterion, girls try to deceive society with hijabs, hymen, capsules to cover up their immoral behavior. This leads to the breakdown of social relations.

These issues are not related to the state; the aspect related to the state is that although the state guarantees freedom of conscience in its constitution, there are restrictions related to the religious status and practices of citizens in state organizations and educational institutions.

In general, two main research questions can be derived from the above:

1. Religion is becoming a tool of false honesty through visual signs;

2. Clarification of state regulations with religion.

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Abstract

This paper examines the emerging roles of Muslim women, particularly young ethnic Qazaq women, in social activism and civic engagement in Mongolia. Since the post-socialist era, the liberalization of religion and the rise of civil society have opened new avenues for women to engage in public life beyond traditional domestic roles. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews in Bayan-Ulgii, Mongolia, this study explores how Muslim women mobilize religious and cultural values to create spaces for civic participation and social engagement.

Far from being passive or marginalized, these young Qazaq women leverage their networks to organize social events, lead women’s associations, and advocate for local development within their ethnic communities and the broader Mongolian society. While their activism often avoids overtly political agendas, it challenges conventional gender norms by fostering women’s visibility and leadership in community affairs.

Situating these developments within Mongolia’s transition from socialism to democracy, this paper considers how the weakening of state welfare systems has shifted social responsibilities to grassroots organizations. It also explores how global Islamic discourses intersect with local traditions, shaping women’s approaches to civic engagement. By analyzing these social initiatives, the paper contributes to anthropological understandings of gender, religion, and social activism in post-socialist societies.

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In scholarly and political discourse, the revival of Islam in Central Asia is frequently presented within national identity construction or political radicalization paradigms. Beyond these frameworks, this article explores how the Islamic revival has influenced gender norms, moral discourse, and daily life in modern-day Uzbekistan. It focuses specifically on how women negotiate and engage in the re-Islamization of the public and private realms since the fall of the Soviet Union, especially in urban and semi-urban areas. Islam has been eliminated from public life and transformed into a private, frequently symbolic identity under Soviet control, reducing it to a closely monitored, folklorized heritage. A secular national ideology with occasional allusions to Islamic history (such as Imam Bukhari and Sufism) was promoted by the Uzbek state in the early years after independence, while unauthorized practice of religion was suppressed. However, over the last ten years, Islamic ethics and practices, often headed by women, have become more and more vernacularized. This has shown up in family life, clothing, moral discourse, and informal religious education.

Through a cultural lens that draws on ethnographic insights, media analysis, and interviews, this paper explores how pious Muslim women reclaim religious subjectivity in ways that both conform to and subtly challenge dominant secular-nationalist narratives. These women participate in informal Quranic study circles, engage with Islamic digital content, and promote halal aesthetics and modesty not as mere imitations of Arab or Turkish models but as rooted expressions of an emerging local Islamic modernity. The study also argues that the revival of Islam in Uzbekistan cannot be understood solely through state policy or geopolitical concerns; rather, it must be situated within the evolving cultural negotiations of meaning, morality, and modernity where women are not only shaped by revivalist currents but actively participate in changing the moral landscape of Uzbekistan’s post-Soviet society.

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Kazakhstan’s law on religious activities and religious associations recognizes the historical role of Hanafi Islam and Orthodox Christianity, which makes these religious traditions officially state-recognized. However, there are dozens of other religious traditions present in modern Kazakhstan, though Hanafi Muslims remain the majority. Muslim clerics and scholars often describe Hanafi Islam as a tradition that upholds moderation, tolerance, and cultural continuity. This paper examines the role of Hanafi-Maturidi Islam in shaping interreligious engagement in contemporary Kazakhstan. Drawing on recent cross-cultural religious awareness events in Almaty and Astana, featuring participation from Muslim, Christian, and government officials, this paper argues that Islamic clerics are consciously aligning their public engagement with the theological tradition’s emphasis on reason, ethical coexistence, and accommodation of local customs. Rather than analyzing Islamic revival in Kazakhstan through securitized or identitarian frameworks, this paper focuses on the social impact of Islamic discourse in pluralist spaces. It highlights how references to Hanafi theology enable clerics to support interfaith understanding without compromising religious integrity, and how such efforts subtly reshape public notions of religious pluralism and historical memory, including renewed acknowledgment of the region’s Christian heritage. By combining textual analysis of official sermons, event transcripts, and interviews with organizers and participants, this paper seeks to demonstrate that the Hanafi-Maturidi tradition is not merely a symbolic reference point but an active resource for reimagining Islam’s public role in post-Soviet Central Asia.

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My study examines the securitization of Islam in post-Soviet Central Asia through a comparative lens, focusing on Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. While both countries share a Soviet legacy of religious suppression and classification, their post-independence trajectories diverged significantly in terms of religious governance. Kazakhstan has implemented a centralized model of religious control, prioritizing state-sanctioned “traditional” Islam and suppressing unauthorized forms of religious expression. In contrast, Kyrgyzstan historically maintained a more pluralistic and decentralized approach. However, recent policy developments indicate a shift in Kyrgyzstan toward Kazakhstan’s securitized model.

Drawing on legal documents, media discourse, and sociological data, I explore how the binary framing of Islam as either “traditional” or “radical” serves as a political tool to legitimize authoritarian governance and suppress dissent. The study situates this securitization within a broader context of global Islamophobia and inherited Soviet epistemologies of religion. It further challenges the prevailing narrative of widespread politicized Islamization in the region by highlighting emerging trends of individualized and depoliticized religious engagement among ordinary believers.

Ultimately, the study calls for a reconceptualization of Islamic revival in Central Asia - one that moves beyond simplistic threat-based frameworks and recognizes the diversity and personal dimensions of Muslim religious life.