Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong? Islamic Elites, Business and the State in Tajikistan

March 23, 2012

March 23, 2012 

Dr. Tim Epkenhans, Albert-Ludwigs-University, Freiburg, Germany

Abstract:  ‘Commanding right and forbidding wrong’ is one of the central moral tenets within the Islamic tradition. In contemporary Tajikistan, Hanafi Sunni religious authorities frequently refer in their sermons and writings to the broader tradition of ‘commanding right and forbidding wrong’ as an ethical(-religious) but also societal obligation for Tajikistan’s Muslims. Whilst Muslim authorities project concepts of social justice and ‘legitimate’ social order (within the frame of ‘commanding right and forbidding wrong’) for their lay religious audience, they cultivate complex social and economic relations with representatives of the dominating elites and the state in Tajikistan. The presentation discussed three prominent representatives of the religious field, their interaction with the economic and political field as well as their own vested economic interests (and activities).

Bio: Tim Epkenhans teaches Islamic and Iranian Studies at the Albert-Ludwigs-University in Freiburg since 2009. He studied in Münster, Bamberg, Cairo and Tehran. Between 2002 and 2009 he worked in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan for the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Tim’s research and teaching is focused on modern Iran and Central Asia. Among his recent publications are “Defining normative Islam: Some remarks on contemporary Islamic Thought in Tajikistan – Hoji Akbar Turajonzoda’s Sharia and Society”, published in Central Asian Survey 2011. He is currently working on autobiographical narratives of the Tajik Civil War.

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