Old Men cup their hands in prayer...

...and at the end of their prayer, say ‘Amin’ and run their hands over their faces

Khiva contains the most homogeneous example of Islamic architecture in the world and, as such, one would expect it to be a veritable bastion of Islam. Indeed, it once was, with each Madrassah full of students, many of whom had memorized the entire Koran and had traveled long distances in order to study in such an illustrious place. Wandering Sufis would make Pilgrimages to Khiva’s holy sights and the faithful would stream into the Juma Mosque for Friday prayers.
Today, all but one of Khiva’s minarets remain silent and the other mosques and madrassahs are largely used as museums, wood workshops, storage space or even cafe bars. Whilst the majority of the population would call themselves Muslim, few attend mosques and many have never prayed ‘namoz’, the prayer recited five times a day by pious Muslims.

This does not mean that the people of Khiva are secular. Every meal is finished with a prayer, few people speak of future plans without the additional, ‘Houdo hokhlasa’ (if God wills it). Pilgrimages to the tombs of saints are common and women facing problems will turn to Halpas, Tabibs and Palmins. Religious practice in Khiva ricochetes between the Koran and the Kremlin. As such it is quite normal for a vodka bingeing session to be closed in prayer by the eldest man.

Zoroastrian traditions of lamp lighting are still continued at the grave of this Muslim Holy Man...

...Animism has also left its mark with totem poles festooned with scarves placed beside the graves of Pirs

The keeping of mistresses is justified as the Muslim allowance of four wives, despite the lack of wedding vows. Those choosing to fast during Ramadan may well break their fast in the evening with a tipple of vodka and a round of pork shashlik. Those desperate for healing will turn to Soviet vitamin injections as well as to religious Halpas and shamans such as the Tabibs.
The type of Islam practiced in Khorezm has been heavily influenced by popular Sufism, also known as ‘folk Islam’. This emphasis on spiritual experience rather than Orthadox religious observance has resulted in the the Juma Mosque remaining an attraction for tourists rather than the faithful, who flock to the ‘mazars’ (tombs) of local saints such as Pakhlavan Mahmoud and Said Allaudin. Shamanism, ancestor worship and traces of Zoroastrianism have also been woven into popular Sufi practices. This melee of religious thought has come about as a result of four main influences: pre-Islamic religion, Sunni Islam, Sufism and Soviet rule.
Up to the time of the Arab invasion, the predominant religion in Khorezm was Zoroastrianism, with Nestorian Christianity and Buddhism making up sizeable minorities. Pervading all of these religions were the strong animistic rituals of the neighbouring nomadic peoples who worshipped totems, ancestral spirits and natural elements. After conversion to Islam, many people retained elements of their previous religions, blending them with Islamic theology and ritual. Even today praying at tombs is often accompanied by the Zoroastrian tradition of lighting lamps, a legacy of fire worship. Votive rags are often tied onto trees or bushes near holy sites in a throw back to Animistic practices.

Borsok, diamond shaped deep fried dough’, is given to the Mullah as an offering

Praying to ancestors, an important aspect of Animism, is prevalent during the ‘Eid’ festival that takes place at the end of the Muslim month of fasting. In the morning families visit the tombs of their deceased relatives and the living pray that God would have mercy on the souls of the dead. On their return they open the windows of their house and light lamps or switch on electric lights to welcome the spirits of their relatives and ancestors. They then deep fry diamond-shaped pieces of dough known as ‘borsok’ in order to feed the spirits with the aroma. This custom has its roots in the animistic rites of the surrounding nomadic peoples who believe that their ancestral spirits live in the eaves of their yurts. Every Friday they fry borsok to feed the spirits with the aroma, keeping them well fed and content and ensuring that they continue to offer protection and blessing on the living.

A local tabib (note the camel hair charm worn on her lapel)

Belief in the evil eye is perhaps the most prevalent of Folk Islamic beliefs and has thus been covered in a separate chapter. Fear of the evil eye, or a wish for it to be put on someone else, often leads people to consult ‘Tabibs’. A Tabib blends shaman practices with Islamic rhetoric and is often consulted at a time of need. Whilst some are simply herbalists who provide traditional remedies many are openly shamanist, acting as mediums to commune with the dead. ‘Palmin’s, or fortune tellers also employ Islamic rhetoric and both Tabibs and Palmins practice the use of ‘dwas’.

These are usually pieces of paper with Koranic or mystic writings on them in Arabic. Not only are they reputed to provide protection from the evil eye, they can also cure sickness and can even work as a love potion. Some are stuffed into pouches and worn, others are dissolved in tea and drunk and others are burnt with the ‘isfan’ herb and the smoke inhaled. Tabibs and Palmins can also help finding lost objects or identifying a thief or the new object of one’s husband’s affections. This is usually done by the Palmin randomly opening a mystic book written in Arabic and then seeing the answer written there.

As well as charms made by tabibs, plastic, mass produced pictures of mecca or Koranic verses in Arabic are popular for hanging in cars

A commonly practised folk Islamic practice amongst women is the hosting of a Mushkulu Shard. This event is usually held seven times, always on the third day of the week and attended by seven women. A woman who has a particular problem or need that she wishes deliverance from usually hosts it. She invites seven other women and a Halpa (the older the better) and they eat a meal together. After the meal, the Halpa unwraps a scarf inside which are a book, raisins, unspun cotton, perfume the isfan herb and paper twists full of salt. The Halpa reads from a the Mushkulu Shard book and then the women take wisps of the unspun cotton and hold them to a candle. They then smear the ash onto their eyelids. Then each woman drinks a sip of milk. This is known as the ‘atala’. The white of the milk symbolises good luck (a popular Uzbek farewell is: ‘May your road be white’) Each woman then takes a clump of raw cotton and dabs perfume onto it and then onto her neck and wrists. Each woman then thinks about a particular problem or unfulfilled wish that they have and for each of these takes a raisin and places it inside the raw cotton. The raisins, wrapped around by the white raw cotton are a symbol of problems wrapped in luck. The Halpa then says a prayer and afterwards gives each woman a paper twist of salt to take home and put on food. Salt is ‘spicy’ and can thus keep the evil eye away. The isfan is also taken home, lit and the smoke wafted around the household to protect them from the evil eye. The raisins surrounded by cotton are then taken by the women to the nearest canal and thrown into it in hope that the problem will be no more. After the last Mushkulu Shard each guest takes food from the meal and distributes it amongst their own families to bring them good luck.

A Brief History of Islamic Development in Khorezm

Two Sufi Dervishes complete with cloaks and water gourds for the long journey they must make

Whilst Khorezm converted to the Sunni branch of Islam, the neighbouring Persian Empire adopted the Shiite branch. This led to constant friction as the Shiite Persians were considered heretics and often seen as worse than non-believers. Slave traders would even force Jews or Christians to convert to Shiite Islam so that they could no longer be considered believers, but heretics, fit only for slavery. Khorezm, already a remote location surrounded by two deserts, became more detached from much of the western Sunni world. This meant that Islam in Khorezm developed in relative isolation.

A group of Sufi pilgrims pray together before continuing their journey

Although scholars such as Al Khorezmi travelled extensively and many pious Khivans would make the haj to Mecca, the greatest outside religious influence on Khiva arrived as result of the wandering Sufis whose extensive pilgrimages took them all over the Muslim world. Khiva was on the regular pilgrimage route for many Sufis who would also share news from the outside world and the latest sufic practises wherever they went. In this way Sufism shaped much of Islamic practice in Khiva up to the present day.

Sufism developed in the ninth and tenth centuries as a backlash against the opulent lifestyles and increasingly political role of the orthodox Muslim ruling class who failed to emulate the simple lifestyles of the first Caliphs. Muslims who rejected this materialistic and legalistic Islam began to draw inspiration from the monastic orders of Christendom, entering a lifestyle of asceticism and a spiritual journey for Islamic enlightenment. They often adopted the simple woollen tunics that Christian monks and friars wore and became known as ‘Sufis’, a term derived from the Arabic word for wool, ‘suf’.

A wondering sufi Pir with patchworked cloak

Sufism became the mystical branch of Islam emphasising a personal quest for God and the spiritual rather than the legal aspects of Islam. As mystics, they were more open than orthodox Muslims to spirituality from other faiths and often included elements of Zoroastrianism, Animism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Buddhism into their thinking. The concept of a priestly caste found in most of these religions influenced Sufism and the concept of a holy man or saint became inherent within Sufi theology. Saints were referred to as ‘Pirs’ and were men and women who successfully communed with God on a spiritual level. The more authentic were direct descendants of the Prophet and would have the name Said or Sharif. Some performed miracles during their lifetime and nearly all had disciples who were trained to take over after their death.

To master communion with God, a disciple would need years of training from his Pir. Each Pir taught different ways in which the faithful could surrender themselves and be lost in the wonder of God. In some cases this involved taking narcotics or playing music and dancing, bringing Sufism into direct conflict with orthodox Islam. Other methods involved the recitation of Koranic verses, breath control and fasting. This oral passing down of secret mystical knowledge was an important tenet of Sufism. Mohammed was often seen as the first Sufi who passed down divine knowledge to his disciples who in turn passed it on. Some Sufis would say that for every verse written in the Koran there are two more unwritten verses that have been passed down orally by Sufi traditions.

Women praying at the tomb of Pakhlavan Mahmoud

When a disciple was finally ready to be initiated, his Pir would recite incantations over him and breathe upon him. The most cherished disciple would be bequeathed his Pir’s robe. The bequeathing of a robe, as with the biblical prophet Elijah, was considered an important aspect of handing over spiritual authority and often, Sufi pilgrims were identified by their ancient patch-worked robes that had been passed down from Pir to Pir.
The most influential Pir in Turkestan was Nakhshbandi from Bukhara who developed a Sufi sect that spanned all of Central Asia, Turkey and various Arab countries. Many people would come to him during his life asking for help or even for miracles and at his death his tomb quickly became a place of pilgrimage with people travelling thousands of miles along treacherous roads to pay homage. Within popular Sufism the tomb of a Pir is considered a sacred place of ‘barakat’ or blessing and supplicants come to pray and seek blessing or guidance. Not only is the place of prayer important, the timing can also affect the strength of the prayer. So, for example, a childless woman may have prayed for a child for many years. However, if she prays at the tomb of Pakhlavan Mahmoud, the Pir for barren women, on a certain day, such as the anniversary of his death, then her prayers will become more effective.

The tombs of Pirs were then carefully tended by a one of the disciples whose spiritual lineage includes the dead Pir; a practice that still takes place today. Another tradition that is still practised is the placing of flags next to the tomb of a Pir. These are then replaced with new flags every year in March. Disciples of the Pir and those who live near to the come together to eat plov, read the Koran and to pray for a good harvest, prosperity and so on.
With its emphasis on the spiritual rather than the legal aspects of Islam, Sufism often came into conflict with more orthodox Muslims. However, Sufism may well have saved Central Asian Islam from total obliteration as the invading Mongols, having conquered most of the Muslim world, were ill disposed to such a different religion from their own. Sufism was more appealing to them with its emphasis on the mystical and its influence from other nomadic religions. As such, many of the Mongol leaders converted, ensuring that Islam continued as the main religion in Central Asia.
By the nineteenth century, Sufism was a driving force in the Khiva Khanate as Arminius Vambery discovered whilst disguised as a Sufi Pilgrim. Vambery, a Hungarian with a gift for languages, learned Turki and much about Islam and the Sufi sects whilst in Istanbul. Having heard much of the fabled and forbidden lands beyond the Oxus, he decided to disguise himself as a wondering Sufi dervish. Despite nearly dying of thirst, he eventually arrived in Khiva where he was hailed as a man of wonder having travelled the long distance between Khiva and Istanbul. Sufism was well established and Vambery was able to stay in Tort Shalbaz, a hostelry for dervishes, typical of many such hostels that dotted Turkestan. Whilst Sufi dervishes had renounced worldly living, they still needed to live and would receive ‘sadakat’ or offerings in return for a prayer of blessing or a talisman against the evil eye. Women seemed particularly keen to receive a blessing.

“Ah, I see them now! Many a time one remains standing at my door, entreating for a little Khaki Shifa (This the pilgrims bring back with them from a house in Medina, affirmed to have been the Prophet’s. It is used by the believers of the true faith as a medicine for many different maladies) or a Nefes (holy breath) for the real or feigned illness of which she complains. I have not in my heart to refuse these poor creatures, many whom bear a striking resemblance to the daughters of Germany. She cowers before my door: I touch, moving my lips at the same time as if in prayer, the suffering part of the body; and after having thrice breathed hard upon her, a deep sigh is uttered, and my part is done. Many in these cases persist that they perceive an instantaneous alleviation of their malady”
Arminius Vambery, Travels in Central Asia, 1864

The wily Hungarian was well aware of the showmanship involved in many popular Sufi rites and the importance of these mystic elements to a people heavily influenced by the shamanism and animism of the neighbouring Turkomans and Karakalpaks. Even orthodox Islam in Khiva had been influenced by Sufi mysticism. Many students would memorise the entire Koran but understand no more than a handful of Arabic words. Understanding was not necessary as the mystical power of the words were enough. Vambery had arrived in Khiva with very little but departed laden with gifts, including presents from the Khan himself given in return for blessings and prayers. In true dervish fashion, he was careful not to hoard too many of these earthly treasures and gave many of them away to the poorer travelling companions in his caravan.

Sufism has never obliterated Orthadox Islam and throughout the nineteenth century, the faithful would still attend the Mosque and say the nomaz five times a day facing Mecca

Whilst Sufi thought heavily influenced Islam in Khiva during the years of the Khanate, orthodox Islam was still prevalent. The call to prayer continued to resound from minaret to minaret and the mosques were packed with the faithful. Mullahs and Imams played an important political role and some were the Khan’s advisors. Students would come from miles around to study at Khiva’s prestigious madrassahs and all women were kept covered under their heavy veils, away from prying eyes.

However, this state of affairs was not to last forever. Whilst the Tsarists, having invaded Khiva, were largely content to collect taxes and left religion well alone, the Soviets were not. As Khorezm came under the hammer and sickle, religion was decried as backward and as an oppression of the people. It was certainly true that the clergy were largely landed and wealthy and they were soon labelled as parasites of the proletariat. At this point the majority of people began to either shrug off the old Islamic beliefs or to keep their religious practices to themselves. However, a significant minority refused to accept Communism and began an armed uprising that lasted well into Soviet rule. They were known as the basmachi rebels.
The Soviets were keen to stamp out Islam, aware that it was the most threatening ideology to their rule in Turkestan and also aware that Islam united the various peoples of Central Asia. Using the classic ‘divide and conquer’ strategy, they began creating national identities, exacerbating ethnic and linguistic differences and creating the nation states that today make up Central Asia.
However, the Soviets were also aware that, even with revolutions, change would take time. So, when a madrassah in Khiva was torn down it was done so ostensibly because the bricks and timber were needed for collective farms and not because it was a threat to Soviet governance. Muslims in Central Asia were given more religious freedom than in Russia, providing religion was seen as more of a cultural tradition and the realm of the elderly. Khiva had one functioning mosque during the Soviet times but surveillance was kept on the congregation with KGB plants. Young Mosque attendees were considered more of a threat and were often intimidated.
Over the generations, Islam became more of a cultural and ethnic identity than a religious one for many people. The people of Khiva would still refer to themselves proudly as Muslims. However, few would say the ‘namoz’ five times a day and those who fasted did so discreetly. Instead, being a Muslim was linked with identity rather than practise. It meant affiliation with the other Muslim peoples of the Soviet Union and maintaining traditions such as male circumcision, praying after meals etc giving Muslim names to offspring etc.

However, the mystical, Sufi elements of Central Asian Islam were both harder to stamp out and also more tolerated as they were less threatening to Soviet rule. If people wished to pray at the tombs of Saints they might be considered backward, but at least they weren’t calling for ‘jihad’. As a result, by the time the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, the majority of people in Khiva had little real understanding of orthodox Islam and saw Islam largely as an ethnic and cultural identity and a series of Sufi practices.
During the early years of independence, the post-Soviet government rapidly re-invented themselves as staunch nationalists and included Islam as part of the forging of national identity. Muslim missionaries were allowed to enter the country, derelict mosques were reopened and more pilgrims were allowed to make the journey to Mecca. Being a Muslim nation was seen as an important declaration of independence from Christian Mother Russia. In Khiva, whilst there was still only one open mosque, Friday prayers saw larger numbers of attendees including many young men. Most had little knowledge of Islam and wanted to learn more about the religion of their forefathers.
However, the government was concerned with the rise of radical Islam and the many foreign Muslims coming to Uzbekistan who were members of the ‘Wahabite’ sect of Saudi Arabia. This sect was particularly antagonistic of Sufi traditions which were considered heretical and called for a return to Shariah (Islamic) law and the establishment of the Caliphate, an Islamic rule that would make nation states and their leaders obsolete. Conspiracy theories abounded including the unsubstantiated allegation that President Karimov was a Jew and part of an anti-Muslim plot.
Not surprisingly, this message was not well received by the government and by the mid-1990s zealous young men were considered more of a threat than an ally of the state. The foreign Muslim missionaries were expelled and their teachings were branded as foreign conspiracies to overthrow the government. At the same time, in neighbouring Tajikistan a bloody civil war was being fought between secular and Muslim factions, whilst in Afghanistan to the south, the Taliban had captured Kabul and introduced Shariah law.
In February 1999 after a series of explosions in Tashkent, (including one allegedly aimed at the President) which were blamed on Islamic fundamentalists, the government began to crack down on all radical Muslims including those who were non violent. In Khiva this purge led to arrests of radical Muslims, or ‘wahabis’ as they were referred to, and many religious young men no longer attended Friday prayers for fear of losing their job or being branded a ‘wahabi’. For young men, wearing a beard was enough to ensure a visit from the secret police. The result today is that most Khivans who are still devout now practice their faith covertly unless they are elderly. Many who were religious have become disillusioned with religion and today popular Sufi traditions are the main outlets for religious expression.

Muslims in Khiva today are more likely to pray with a mullah at one of the holy tombs than to pray in a Mosque

Since independence, the void left by Communism has been filled by nationalism rather than by Islam. Today, young people sing songs and write poetry dedicated to the sacred motherland. Radical Islam has been demonised by the government-controlled media and is seen by some as an attempt to draw attention away from the ailing economy, rampant corruption and rising unemployment. For the average Khivan, Islam is seen as a dangerous pursuit best left to the elderly. Most people live a day to day struggle to put food on the table and are far more attracted to the protection from the evil eye obtained from a Tabib or the blessing found by pilgrimage to the tomb of a local saint.