Mahalla: traditional institution in Tajikistan and civil society in the West - 7

The guiding theme of the book is a traditional institution of Tajik culture: mahalla - neighborhood.

For centuries it has sustained the existence of Tajik culture, and in times of the greatest religious persecution in the USSR it has helped Islam to survive.

In this book the author does not limit himself to the description of mahalla and the explanation of its social functions; a significant part of the book is constituted by a comparison of mahalla with the concept of civil society existing in contemporary Western culture.