The innovative methods in teaching foreign languages: the role of skill and translation in teaching namangan, uzbekistan

Фойдаланилган адабиётлар: 
1. Заҳириддин Муҳаммад Бобур. «Бобурнома». – Тошкент: Шарқ НМАК, 2002. – 
Б.37. 
2. Исақова Ш. Бадиий таржимада миллийлик ва тарихийликнинг акс 
эттирилиши (Ойбекнинг Навоий романининг французча таржимаси 
мисолида). Филол. фан. ном. ... дисс. – Тошкент, 2004. – Б.26. 
3. Қуронов Д. ва бошқ. Адабиётшунослик луғати. – Тошкент: Akademnashr, 
2010. – Б.226-227. 
4. Ҳотамов Н., Саримсоқов Б. Адабиётшунослик терминларининг русча-
ўзбекча изоҳли луғати. – Тошкент: Ўқитувчи, 1979. – Б.238. 
5. Жамолов С., Отажонов Н. Заҳириддин Муҳаммад Бобур ижодини 
ўрганиш (ўқув қўлланмаси). – Тошкент, 1990. – Б.93. 
6. Заҳириддин Муҳаммад Бобур. «Бобурнома». – Тошкент: Шарқ НМАК, 2002. – 
Б.37
 
Rahimjon Abdugafurov, 
Deputy Director of the Program on Law and Islam,
Emory University.
 
James Pickett, 
Polymaths of Islam:Power and Networks of Knowledge in Central Asia
. 
James Pickett’s 
Polymaths of Islam: Power and Networks of Knowledge in Central Asia
is a 
welcome addition to Central Asian Studies – a field that appears to be perpetually 
on the margins. Both well-researched and richly sourced, this addition to regional 
scholarship looks set to inspire further scholarship in future with its sharp 
observation on the power of elite religious scholars (
ulama
) over the development 
of Bukhara. 
The central inquiry is one concerning the role of knowledge in the social, 
economic, political, and even psychological development of civilization. Equally 
important, this volume draws attention to the participation of non-Muslims in this 

---

15
process, revealing the intricate networks and exchanges across social and religious 
divides. Beyond Central Asian studies, 
Polymaths of Islam
will be a vital source for 
students of the Middle East and beyond. 
Pickett also does a remarkable job of identifying the complexity of the polity of 
Bukhara. The scholars Pickett has chosen to study were typically fluent in three 
languages – Arabic, Persian, and Turkic. They spent at least a decade becoming 
what the author defines as a “polymath,” those with an “authoritative command 
over many different forms of knowledge – from medicine to law to epistolography 
and beyond – allowed to accumulate substantial power (p.2).” In the words of the 
author, Jews, Zoroastrians, Hindus, and Christians “reproduced and re-enforced a 
cosmopolis that intrinsically embraced a larger, Islamic “shadow” cosmopolis 
(p.35).” To give an example, the literary works done in Judeo-Tajik, which uses 
the Hebrew script to produce writing in Tajik, was almost identical in terms of 
style and genre to the works of Muslim authors. The author’s inclusion of 
Zabiha’s Poetry is an excellent example in which the late eighteenth century 
Jewish poet from Samarkand combined Persian, Islamic mystical, and Jewish 
elements to produce a unique poetic voice (pp.36-37). 
In sum, the author’s comprehensive coverage of not only Muslim, but also non-
Muslim intellectuals makes it all the more illuminating for those who seek to learn 
more about the city of Bukhara and its diverse mix of faiths and professions. 
Pickett explores the ways in which the Persian language deeply penetrated into 
local religious and cultural productions and practices while preserving their 
distinct texture. The scholarship does have gaps however, most evident in its 
exclusion of certain important works produced in Arabic or Turkic. 
Tatimat al-
Yatima
 and its coverage of the city of Bukhara by the famed Arab traveler as-
Sa’alibi, is but one example, of a source which could offer an Arab perspective on 
the city. Furthermore, the employment of literature and scholarly works done in 
Turkic, including in Uzbek, focusing on the city of Bukhara by well-known 
scholars such as Bo’riboy Ahmedov or Ismatulla Abdullayev, could have 
improved the completeness of the picture of early modern Bukhara offered in the 
book. 
Despite these minor shortcomings, 
Polymaths of Islam
successfully unpacks its 
ultimate line of inquiry, that is, whether these Bukharan religious elite scholars 
were loyal to the rulers in whose realms they resided, or to Islam. The author 
states that these scholars were not dedicated to one ruler but became their own 
men. At the same time, such elite religious scholars were pillars of the emirates in 
which they served. The rulers of the Central Asian region relied on the expertise 
and knowledge of such Muslim scholars, who wielded substantial amount of 
influence, power and authority in many areas of everyday life.