Being Sufi in Central Asia

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Sufi groups in Tajikistan have faced significant changes, from growth and public celebration to repression by governing elites. In this talk, Benjamin Gatling draws on ethnographic fieldwork to examine how Tajikistan’s Sufis have adapted since 2010. It discusses how murids cope with missing pirs, closed teaching circles, and limited ritual opportunities, while highlighting resilient expressions of Sufi piety, such as pilgrimage practices and narratives.