Pre-Islamic Survivals in Muslim Central Asia

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Exploring the concept of historical-cultural 'survivals,' this book examines the evolution of these ideas from late 19th-century theorists like E.B. Tylor and James Frazer through debates with monotheistic degenerationists. It traces their roots in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions, as well as secular influences from the German Enlightenment and Romanticism. The work highlights how these historical sources, especially the 'dual faith' of Russian Orthodoxy, informed Tsarist and Soviet ethnography of Muslim Central Asia and continue to influence post-Soviet historiography.