2011 年 46 巻 p. 29-50
This article focuses on the ways the Soviet authorities in Uzbekistan, and specially the scholars, dealt with the figure of ‘Ali Shîr Nawâ’î (844-906/ 1441-1501), the great poet of Central Asia, and his connections with Sufism, within an ideological framework dominated by the dogma of “scientific atheism.”
Nawâ’î was initiated into the Naqshshbandiyya order by his spiritual master and lifelong friend, the great Persian poet and mystic, Jâmî, in 881/ 1476-7. His work was deeply influenced by Sufism and Naqshbandî doctrine. During the Soviet period, due to his historical importance, the authorities had no choice but to take him into consideration in a way that would not detract the materialist ideology. Emphasis was therefore put on his “humanist” and “materialistic” conceptions, and even when the scholars had to speak of Bahâ ud-Dîn Naqshband they tried to conceal as much as they could his religious and mystical influences on the poet. So along with Nawâ’î, even Bahâ ud-Dîn Naqshband became some kind of pre-communist figure.
This sort of “patrimonalisation,” that is to say a kind of official exploitation of two major historical and religious figures in Central Asia turned into pre-Soviet characters, had soon had to face the independence of the country in 1991. During this period, speaking of Sufism was encouraged by the new authorities who wanted to promote what they regarded as “the golden heritage” of free Uzbekistan. But ten years after the independence, some Uzbek scholars pointed out the fact that in the field of “Navoishunoslik” (“Studies on Nawâ’î’s life and work”) Sufi matters were still not enough investigated. This shows how significant has been the impact of the Soviet ideological policies on modern Uzbekistan and some of the difficulties the country has to face to recover its own heritage.
