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Abstract

My thesis project revolves around Turkestan city in the south of Kazakhstan. Specifically, it looks at the intersection between Islam and Kazakh traditions, and how religious views and norms as well as traditions affect the social interactions between men and women in this particular city. In a daily situation, for example in a workplace or a school setting, which forces or factors determine how men and women will interact with each other? Is religion or Kazakh tradition and upbringing more influential? Turkestan is an interesting research site as it is the home to the Turkic Sufi leader Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, while it is also rapidly becoming a developing city. The research question is “how does the religious and the social space of Turkestan city impact the values and social behaviours of citizens of Turkestan city?”. The research method I have used is a qualitative method. I conducted semi-structured interviews with informants that were mainly connected with the educational institution of Bilim Innovation Lyceum in Turkestan.