Beyond Islam: Rethinking Central Asia's Religious Identity through Pre-Islamic Traditions.

This essay explores the intricate dynamics of Central Asian religious identity in the context of global and local changes. It examines the interactions between Islam and local pre-Islamic traditions, with a primary focus on R. Charles Weller's book titled, Pre-Islamic Survivals in Muslim Central Asia: Tsarist, Soviet, and Post-Soviet Ethnography in World Historical Perspective. Through a comprehensive assessment of the book, the essay investigates the survival and evolution of pre-Islamic traditions within Central Asia's Muslim communities. The book contributes to the field of Central Asian studies by offering a specialised analysis and shedding light on the formation of religious history and identity in Central Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]