This ethnography of Muslim life among the Kazaks of Central Asia describes the sacralisation of land and ethnic identity, local understanding of Islamic purity, the Kazak ancestor cult and domestic spirituality, and pilgrimage to the tombs of Sufi saints.

The author, Professor Z. V. Togan, staged a counterrevolution, who first interacted and bargained with Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky and the rest of the Soviet and Bolshevik luminaries of his own time for Baskurdistan and Turkistan. It can be read profitably in the context of anti-colonialism, Sub-altern studies, Russian and Soviet studies.

This comprehensive account examines the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM)—the most significant Muslim militant group in China—including its origins, objectives, ideology, leadership, and tactics. To effectively engage China on counterterrorism issues, we must understand the capabilities and intentions of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), the most significant Muslim militant group in China. The ETIM: China's Islamic Militants and the Global Terrorist Threat is the first book to focus specifically on the ETIM, a terrorist group that demands an independent Muslim state for the Uyghur ethnic minority in northwest China. This fascinating study offers a comprehensive account of the group's origins, objectives, ideology, leadership, and tactics. It details the historical and contemporary contexts of the Uyghur separatist movement, the ETIM's alleged ties to international terrorist networks, and the Chinese government's interest in promoting the ETIM as a significant international problem. In addition, the book addresses conflicting claims about the membership and viability of the organization, noting where the Chinese government has apparently manipulated information about the ETIM to suit its own goals. A final chapter explores how various countries define ETIM activities and what that means for relations with China.

Based on rare firsthand historical data, Wang Ke presents the analysis of the East Turkestan from the perspective of Islamic social structure, the origin and evolution of thoughts on national revolution, the power structure of the Republic, and international politics. The original Japanese edition of this book has been recognized as the most authoritative research work on the independence movement of East Turkestan. This revised, enriched English edition provides valuable references for the prominent issues of Xinjiang today. "For those intrigued by the modern history of China's Xinjiang region, this detailed study of the 1940s invites the reader to explore a tempestuous decade marked by conflict and turmoil as Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other ethnic groups sought to form an independent state, the East Turkestan Republic. Understanding the complex involvement of powerful outside forces, a brutal world war, and an opportunity for groups that saw a chance at independence requires careful examination, and Professor Wang's book does an admirable job in doing so. His exceptionally wellwritten book offers numerous insights, many based on materials that range from diaries and documents to memoirs and personal interviews. Altogether, Wang's recently translated account strengthens our understanding of Xinjiang's mid20th century conundrum.”--Linda Benson, Professor Emerita, Oakland University

Sunni Islam has played an ambivalent role in Turkey's Kurdish conflict--both as a conflict resolution tool and as a tool of resistance. Under the Banner of Islam uses Turkey as a case study to understand how religious, ethnic, and national identities converge in ethnic conflicts between co-religionists. Gülay Türkmen asks a question that informs the way we understand religiously homogeneous ethnic conflicts today: Is it possible for religion to act as a resolution tool in these often-violent conflicts? In search for answers to this question, in Under the Banner of Islam, Türkmen journeys into the inner circles of religious elites from different backgrounds: non-state-appointed local Kurdish meles, state-appointed Kurdish and Turkish imams, heads of religious NGOs, and members of religious orders. Blending interview data with a detailed historical analysis that goes back as far as the nineteenth century, she argues that the strength of Turkish and Kurdish nationalisms, the symbiotic relationship between Turkey's religious and political fields, the religious elites' varying conceptualizations of religious and ethnic identities, and the recent political developments in the region (particularly in Syria) all contribute to the complex role religion plays in the Kurdish conflict in Turkey. Under the Banner of Islam is a specific story of religion, ethnicity, and nationalism in Turkey's Kurdish conflict, but it also tracks a broader narrative of how ethnic and religious identities are negotiated when resolving conflicts.