Sufi Islam and the State in Central Asia

John Schoeberlein, Co-Director of the Program on Central Asia and the Caucasus and Director of the Project on Islam in Eurasia at Harvard University, presents on the impact of contradictory ways Muslims in Central Asia conceptualize and practice Islam, in particular, Sufism.  This lecture will examine the ways that people both adopt and circumvent the version of Sufism put forward by the state.

Schoeberlein’s research interests include the anthropology of the former Soviet Union, especially of Islamic peoples of Central Asia and the Caucasus.