Radical Islam in the Former Soviet Union

This collected volume examines how in selected post-Soviet regions the particular histories of the Muslim peoples, especially of their Islamization, have influenced the nature and scope of their engagement and activism with Islamic ideology and practice. The book offers seven contributions, four from Russia, one from Azerbaijan, and one on the Ferghana valley in Central Asia (which forms a triangle along the borders of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan). Most chapters offer a background on specific Muslim communities, their spiritual and political organizations, and their leadership with a quick overview of the historical, geo-strategic, ethnic, cultural and political dimensions that affect most Muslim populated areas in South Western Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia.