This book explores issues of cultural tension that affect Muslim and Christian interaction within the Central Asian context. It looks at the ways that Christians have interacted with Central Asian Muslims in the past, and discusses what might need to be done to improve Muslim-Christian relations in the region in the present and future. Since the time that Nestorian Christian missionaries traveled eastward from Asia Minor along the Silk Road, and Islamic cultures came to the region in the 7th century, Christians and Muslims have shared a unique relationship in a fascinating cultural milieu. Under the reigns of various conquerors, Czars, Soviets and modern nationalist strong-men, the ever changing political and economic situation of these former Soviet Republics has dramatically affected the ways that Muslims and Christians have practiced their faith. Today, as Muslims and Christians work to stabilize their interactions, they face new challenges because of the activities of Protestant Christian and Islamist missionaries who are flooding into Central Asia as never before. The book corrects common misunderstandings of Central Asia as a cultural backwater, and is a valuable introduction to Muslim and Christian interactions in one of the most quickly changing regions of the globe. It will appeal to readers interested in Muslim-Christian interaction, and for researchers in the field of World Religions, Central Asian Studies and Intercultural Studies.

There are hundreds of books on Islam; after all, it is the second largest religion on the planet. Few, however, are the books written by Christian scholars of Islam who live and work in Muslim-majority countries. Here lies the value of this current volume. It addresses Islam, Islamic history, Islamic theology, and Christian-Muslim relations from global Christian perspectives where contributors describe experiences and narratives of conversations, obstacles, cohabitation, understanding, and cooperative efforts between Christians and Muslims in a variety of Middle Eastern, African, and Asian nations, including Egypt, Ghana, India, Jordan, Lebanon, and Nigeria. This book treats Islam academically and from a Christian standpoint. Authors discuss historical interactions between Christians and Muslims and, where relevant, current avenues for work for the common good.

This comprehensive reference volume covers every country in South and Central Asia, offering reliable demographic information and original interpretative essays by indigenous scholars and practitioners. It maps patterns of growth and decline, assesses major traditions and movements, analyses key themes and examines current trends.

A comprehensive study of one of the most feared - but least understood - international Islamist organizations in post-Soviet Central Asia: Hizb ut-Tahrir. Using primary sources and first-hand accounts it analyses its leadership, ideology, political methodology and party structure, and its future relationship to violence in this key region.

Named by the International Bulletin of Missionary Studies as an Outstanding Book of 2014 for Mission Studies Despite the ongoing global expansion of Christianity, there remains a lack of comprehensive scholarship on its development in Asia. This volume fills the gap by exploring the world of Asian Christianity and its manifold expressions, including worship, theology, spirituality, inter-religious relations, interventions in society, and mission. The contributors, from over twenty countries, deconstruct many of the widespread misconceptions and interpretations of Christianity in Asia. They analyze how the growth of Christian beliefs throughout the continent is linked with the socio-political and cultural processes of colonization, decolonization, modernization, democratization, identity construction of social groups, and various social movements. With a particular focus on inter-religious encounters and emerging theological and spiritual paradigms, the volume provides alternative frames for understanding the phenomenon of conversion and studies how the scriptures of other religious traditions are used in the practice of Christianity within Asia.

No detailed description available for "Central Eurasian Reader".

Throughout the nineteenth century, Central Asia was the scene of periodic confrontations between Britain and Russia. Sir Martin Ewans provides a ‘history of thought' of this crucial period in Central Asia by examining of the strategic thinking and diplomatic discourse of the most intense decades of the confrontation.

Christianity has transformed many times in its 2,000-year history, from its roots in the Middle East to its presence around the world today. From the mid-twentieth century onward the presence of Christianity has increased dramatically in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and the majority of the world’s Christians are now nonwhite and non-Western. The Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South traces both the historical evolution and contemporary themes in Christianity in more than 150 countries and regions. The volumes include maps, images, and a detailed timeline of key events. The phrases “Global Christianity” and “World Christianity” are inadequate to convey the complexity of the countries and regions involved—this encyclopedia, with its more than 500 entries, aims to offer rich perspectives on the varieties of Christianity where it is growing, how the spread of Christianity shapes the faith in various regions, and how the faith is changing worldwide.

The countries of Central Asia are increasingly the focus of intense international attention due to their geopolitical and economic importance as well as their unsettled transition processes. The region faced enormous challenges when the Soviet Union disintegrated, and this book focuses on the reforms of the institutional environment that have been largely neglected. Through an interdisciplinary approach, the book explores key aspects of institution building as well as economic and political governance in Central Asia. Contributors from a variety of disciplines, such as economics, political economy, political science, sociology, law, and ethnology, investigate the challenges of institutional transition in a non-democratic region. The book discusses how the lack of effective institution building as well as rule enforcement in the economic and political realms represents one of the key weaknesses and drawbacks of transition, and goes on to look at how crafting market institutions will be of utmost importance in the years ahead. Making an important contribution to understanding of political-economic developments in Central Asia, this book is of interest to students and scholars of political economy, comparative economics, development studies and Central Asian studies.

This book examines the dangerous tendency of counterterrorism policies of the Central Asian states to grow more alike amid propensities for divergence and attributes this trend to the impact of the social context in which these states operate. It underscores the importance of international setting that shapes governments’ perceptions of terrorism and their counterterrorism policies.