Central Asian Jadids’ Efforts to Serve the Nation by Bringing Enlightenment to the Country

Abstract

The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw fundamental changes in Central Asia’s cultural and social life. During that time, Jadidism emerged as a progressive movement throughout the emergence of new bourgeois relations, resulting in a cultural, spiritual, and moral upsurge in Central Asian society. The Jadids – educated middle-class youth – recognized the importance of studying secular sciences to keep up with Western achievements, provide a boost in development, and close the existing gap with European achievements. Today a discussion about the Jadids’ efforts for a secular society and their perspectives on the role and place of Islam in modern society is more important and relevant than ever since the Jadids worked to restore Central Asian religious traditions while introducing new ideas to the country. The paper examines how the Jadids’ ideas might be related to the changes taking place in Uzbekistan today. Uzbekistan is currently attempting to establish a new society within the framework of modern Islam, by the Islamic concept of dynamic thinking that is constantly adapting to the course of events and history.