Aga Khan Program Fall 2026 An Evening With Lecture Series: Anna Pronina: The “waqf question” in Soviet Turkestan and Architectural Restoration
Building 3, Room 133, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA
Ernst Cohn-Wiener, Photo of the Madrasah-i Ulugh Beg in Samarkand, 1924-25 Source: The British museum Abstract In the early Soviet period, the preservation of Islamic architecture in Central Asia became entangled with a struggle over the property and revenues that had historically sustained it. This talk examines the relationship between Islamic charitable endowments and Soviet preservation agencies in Samarkand between 1922 and 1927, focusing on the activities of the Samarkand Commission for the Preservation and Restoration of Monuments and its parent institution, Turkomstaris. Facing chronic shortages of funding, Turkomstaris sought access to waqf revenues traditionally used to support mosques, madrasas, and shrines. Their claims brought them into conflict with the newly established Soviet waqf administration, as well as local Muslim communities and custodians of endowed property. These disputes raised fundamental questions about who controlled waqf resources, who had authority over Islamic buildings, and what constituted legitimate restoration. Drawing on archival records, administrative correspondence, and local press, the talk explores how preservationists, Soviet officials,…