{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,19]],"date-time":"2026-10-19T15:35:19Z","timestamp":1792424119029,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,20]],"date-time":"2024-11-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1732060800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Sociol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>The article embarks upon a study of political Sufism in contemporary Kazakhstan and patterns of religious continuity through an examination of Islamic manifestations that stretch back centuries, juxtaposed with the current state religious policy. It examines the role of the Muftiate\u2019s \u201cofficial Islam\u201d in shaping the life of religious communities, exploring the intricate interplay between religious identity, secularism, and public perception in the post-Soviet landscape. The author employed a multi-faceted research approach, integrating historical analysis, policy examination, and an ethnographic study of contemporary religious dynamics in the country. The historical analysis provides a foundation of the religious landscape, while policy analysis examines the state\u2019s contemporary role in shaping religious practices. Ethnography, focusing on groups such as the Jahriyya, Naqshbandiyya, and the Suhba, involves respondents from diverse regions of Kazakhstan, offering firsthand insights into the experiences and perceptions of Sufi communities at the grassroots level, which enriches the study with a contextual perspective. Notably, fieldwork surveys, where the author engaged with respondents, provide valuable insights into the diverse experiences shaping the dynamics of political Sufism and religious continuity. They involved a diverse group of respondents, including religious leaders, community members, and secular intellectuals, from multiple regions of Kazakhstan at both urban and rural levels. The article is of scientific and practical significance as it enhances understanding of religious dynamics in the country, offering policymakers, scholars, and practitioners valuable perspectives for informed decision-making and policy development. The research\u2019s limitations include its focus on specific Sufi groups within Kazakhstan, which may not represent the full spectrum of Islamic practices across the region. The recommendations emphasize the need for further analysis of how prioritizing doctrinal adherence over individual freedoms contributes to the erosion of authentic religious institutions and the politicization of Islam. It also recommends to investigate the roles of Sufi groups in filling spiritual and social vacuums, their potential for politicization, and how this interplay affects religious freedom and national identity in Kazakhstan. This is particularly significant given the state\u2019s efforts to appropriate Islamic traditions for ideological purposes, which has led to a separation between Islamic doctrine and its lived expressions. Finally, it emphasizes the need for further comparative research on Sufi movements across Central Asia to better understand how different state policies impact religious communities.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fsoc.2024.1447966","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,20]],"date-time":"2024-11-20T12:39:19Z","timestamp":1732106359000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["Revitalizing faith: an inquiry into political Sufism and religious continuity in contemporary Kazakhstan"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"Nodar","family":"Karimov","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Risalat-Bibi","family":"Karimova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Khalminyam","family":"Massimova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gulzhakhan","family":"Khajiyeva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","volume-title":"Islam. A short history","author":"Armstrong","year":"2002"},{"key":"ref2","author":"Ayupov","year":"2004"},{"key":"ref3","author":"Babadzhanov","year":"2001"},{"key":"ref4","author":"Babadzhanov","year":"2009"},{"key":"ref5","author":"Basri","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref1004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9780511812507","volume-title":"Outline of a Theory of Practice","author":"Bourdieu","year":"1977"},{"key":"ref1002","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e12931","DOI":"10.1111\/eci.12931","article-title":"Time to challenge the spurious hierarchy of systematic over narrative reviews?","volume":"48","author":"Greenhalgh","year":"2018","journal-title":"Europ. J. Clinical Invest."},{"key":"ref6","volume-title":"Sufism in Central Asia. Foreign research","author":"Hismatullin","year":"2001"},{"key":"ref7","author":"Izbairov","year":"2008"},{"key":"ref8","volume-title":"Political Islam in Central Asia. The challenge of Hizb ut-Tahrir","author":"Karagiannis","year":"2010"},{"key":"ref9","volume-title":"Islam after communism, religion and politics in Central Asia","author":"Khalid","year":"2007"},{"key":"ref10","volume-title":"Opisanie Kirgiz-Kazachikh ili Kirgiz-Kaysakskikh Ord i Stepey","author":"Levshin","year":"1832"},{"key":"ref11","volume-title":"Opisanie Kirgiz-Kazachikh ili Kirgiz-Kaysakskikh Ord i Stepey","author":"Levshin","year":"1996"},{"key":"ref12","author":"Mavloniy","year":"2010"},{"key":"ref13","author":"Moghaddam","year":"2011"},{"key":"ref14","author":"Mostovoi","year":"2018"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1163\/9789004373075_011","article-title":"Sufi groups in contemporary Kazakhstan: Competition and connections with Kazakh Islamic society","volume-title":"Handbook of oriental studies. Uralic and central Asian studies","author":"Muminov","year":"2018"},{"key":"ref16","author":"Mustafina","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref17","author":"Nabawi","year":"2015"},{"key":"ref18","volume-title":"Molodezh Kazakhstana","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref1003","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"71","DOI":"10.1016\/j.avb.2018.06.007","article-title":"What we know, what we do not know, and what we need to know about workplace bullying: An overview of the literature and agenda for future research.","volume":"42","author":"Nielsen","year":"2018","journal-title":"Aggress. Violent Behav."},{"key":"ref19","volume-title":"The Kazakhs","author":"Olcott","year":"1987"},{"key":"ref20","volume-title":"Sufism in Central Asia. A force for moderation or a cause of politicization?","author":"Olcott","year":"2007"},{"key":"ref21","volume-title":"Genesis of religiosity in Kazakhstan","author":"Orynbekov","year":"2005"},{"key":"ref22","volume-title":"Muslim Turkistan: Kazak religion and collective memory","author":"Privratsky","year":"2001"},{"key":"ref23","author":"Sabitov","year":"2015"},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"091","DOI":"10.37178\/ca-c.21.1.08","article-title":"Sufi practices in modern Kazakhstan: traditions and innovations","volume":"22","author":"Temirbayeva","year":"2022","journal-title":"Central Asia Caucasus"},{"key":"ref25","author":"Toguzbayev","year":"2011"},{"key":"ref26","volume-title":"Relics of pre-Islamic beliefs in the family rites of the Kazakhs (19th and early 20th centuries)","author":"Toleubaev","year":"1972"},{"key":"ref27","volume-title":"Arabisch-islamische Organisationen in Kasachstan: Exogener Einfluss auf die islamische Erneuerung, 1991\u20132007","author":"Wilkowsky","year":"2009"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Sociology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fsoc.2024.1447966\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,20]],"date-time":"2024-11-20T12:39:26Z","timestamp":1732106366000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fsoc.2024.1447966\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,20]]},"references-count":30,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fsoc.2024.1447966"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fsoc.2024.1447966","relation":{},"ISSN":["2297-7775"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2297-7775","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,20]]},"article-number":"1447966"}}