Description: Drawing on a wide range of historical sources presenting both emic and etic views, this book offers an insight into aspects of social life among the Uyghur in pre-socialist Xinjiang and substantiates the concept of tradition which modern Uyghurs draw upon to construct their ethnic identity.
Review Quotes: "...is a pioneering effort in its historical anthropological approach. Her use of early ethnographic and primary accounts of domestic and religious life in Xinjiang reveals the importance of community in Uyghur social relations during the period in question. (...) As such Community Matters provides a useful historical foundation for further scholarship on contemporary Uyghur affairs." - James D. Frankel, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, in: Religious Studies Review, Vol. 37 (2011)