Otines refer to the female
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
religious scholars in
Central Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
. They were regarded as the guardian of the
Islamic faith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion".
According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, includ ...
in the era of
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
.
Otines are recognised as leaders in the local community. Their position has a high status, somewhat similar to a
mullah's, and certain otines are officially recognized by their country's Muslim board. Otines also serve as teachers at
religious schools
A religious school is a school that either has a religious component in its operations or its curriculum, or exists primarily for the purpose of teaching aspects of a particular religion.
For children
A 2002 study in the United States found highe ...
for girls.
References
Further reading
* Fathi, Habiba. (March 1997). "Otines: The unknown women clerics of Central Asian Islam". ''
Central Asian Survey
''Central Asian Survey'' is an academic journal first published in 1982 concerning Caucasus and Central Asian studies. It is published by Taylor & Francis, and has four issues a year.
According to the editorial staff, The editor is Rico Isaacs, t ...
'' 16 (1): 27-43.
oTIN
Central Asia
Islamic honorifics
Islam and women
Female religious leaders
Female Islamic religious leaders
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