The town of Turkestan in Kazakhstan has become a spot of attraction of Muslims due to philosopher, preacher and Sufi poet Khoja Yasawi. A mausoleum has been built over the tomb of this saint by order of Amir Timur. It is still the place of worship for Muslims not only from Kazakhstan, but also from all over the world.
Aigerim Temirbaeva, religious scholar, researcher of Sufism in Kazakhstan, told CABAR.asia about the role of Sufism for contemporary Muslims of Kazakhstan. Her doctoral thesis and scientific papers on Sufism are based on field studies of Sufi groups in Kazakhstan and Türkiye.
CABAR.asia: Let’s start from the definition of Sufism. What is its key difference from other directions of Islam?
Aigerim Temirbaeva: There are many viewpoints in science about Sufism. Back in the 14th century, Arabic philosopher Ibn Haldun wrote that Sufism was one of the sharia-based sciences that emerged after the death of Prophet Muhammad. The core of the Sufism is generally thought to be perseverance in worship, resort to Allah, detachment from mundane seductions and abandonment of power, wealth, pleasures, pursued by most people. Western scholars describe Sufism as a mystical and ascetic movement in Islam.
The main different of Sufism from other directions of Islam is a call for spiritual perfection, purification via various spiritual practices.
Contemporary Sufism is a set of living, mental and psychological benchmarks, attitudes and practices, which are understandable and valuable to the followers, which determine the behaviour and the life journey, in general.
How did Sufism penetrate into the territory of contemporary Kazakhstan?
In the 11-12th centuries, Sufism spread in Mawarannahr, southern regions of contemporary Kazakhstan. In the Kazakh land, Sufism was spread due to the influence of Arab-Persian culture and oriental poetry.
In the 10-12th centuries, the Turkestan region, southern part of which was part of Mawarannahr, became widely known in world culture. The Sufi teachings by Khoja Ahmed Yasawi take a special place here and have given impetus to the Turkic spiritual development in the following centuries. Yasawi in its writing ‘Diwan-I Hikmet’ (a cycle of poems with religious and philosophic content – Editor’s note) together with his followers carried out soft Islamisation among people in the region.
In your opinion, why Sufism could take hold in this region?
Sufism could take hold in Kazakhstan only due to the adaptability of the teaching, its followers and religious buildings (mosques, mausoleums). However, according to Kazakhstan scholars, the tariqah (Sufi community) of Yasawi was actually lost. The researchers of Sufism do not agree on the classification of existing Sufi groups in Kazakhstan. But some groups are known to practise ‘dhikr’ (repeated recital of prayers) of the Yasawi Sufi school.
How is Sufism developing now in Kazakhstan?
In the first years of independence, Sufi groups led by preachers – ethnic Kazakhs who came from other countries – emerged in our country. The spiritual vacuum and high demand for the revival of spiritual traditions contributed to the increasing number of Sufi communities across the country. The number of Sufi groups has increased in the country in recent years. Most of them legitimise their activities via foreign sheikhs or Sufi in their family.
What is the role of these groups today?
Sufism is very important in the spiritual and social landscape of the country, which was twice stated at the National Kurultai in 2023 and 2024 by the nation’s leadership. The DUMK (Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan) publishes books on Sufism, organises conferences, publishes articles about Sufism. Moreover, the Yasawi Mausoleum in Turkestan keeps on gathering pilgrims not only from Kazakhstan, but also from neighbouring countries and beyond.
Some Sufi groups carry out charity work and provide support to vulnerable groups of Kazakhstan. Public service is being done in such initiatives as support of talented youth, novice entrepreneurs. This vector shows the eagerness to bridge the gap between mundane worries and spiritual ideals.
It is essential to note that particular Sufi communities based in Kazakhstan are part of transnational entities, and thus have a wide range of resources.
What are the issues and challenges of Sufism in today’s Kazakhstan?
Different regions of the country have different attitudes to it from state bodies and the population.
In most regions of Kazakhstan, activities of Sufi communities have been monitored systematically. For years of independence, there have been cases when representatives of Sufism have been held liable for law violation, which caused public reaction and further cautious attitude from the public. However, despite such twists and turns, Sufism is still relevant for a part of believers.
From the point of view of the followers, most Sufi groups have no specific issues: they gather and perform their rituals.
The key challenge is probably a risk of politicisation and use of Sufism followers for negative purposes.
Do Sufi practices adapt to contemporary realities?
Historically, the Sufism has proved to be adaptable and flexible. Now, Sufi leaders adapt Sufi principles for contemporary followers, including their synthesis with other practices.
Why does it happen so? A contemporary person tries to meet their needs with the best goods, while a religious person tries to know many truths in spiritual life by learning various religions, philosophical views. A believer searches for a deeper spirituality beyond the formalities of the religious practice.
Sufis use new technology, as well. A wide range of social media, live broadcasts, video and audio podcasts, online courses have become an integral part of daily routine of today’s Sufis, helping them sharing their ideas and developing the global Sufi network.
To what extent do Sufism followers contribute to the interfaith dialogue?
The Sufism is non-uniform and is represented by several groups in Kazakhstan, which follow different traditions; there are both closed and open communities. It should be noted that missions of some foreign Sufi groups are more active in promoting the interfaith dialogue.
At the global level, contemporary Sufism has more inclusive trends and gets inspired by various mystical traditions, philosophies, spiritual, energetic, meditative practices, which can go beyond the Islam (Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and others). This is how interfaith dialogue is being established, and interfaith Sufi communities emerge, where followers gather in the search of common spiritual ideals, calling for peace, mutual understanding and tolerance.
By the way, in addition to religious principles, participants of these communities share a wide range of social and economic ties: doing common business, developing entrepreneur networks and so on.