202 · Alanna E. Cooper
strongly informed their conceptions of who they were. In this sense, the
Jews very much belonged to this group, sharing most elements of the
settled peoples’ culture, including dress, cuisine, architecture, language
and custom.^5
However, historians make it clear that as Jews living in a predomi-
nantly Muslim society, they were still outsiders. As dhimmi, they were al-
lowed a degree of tolerance and protection in return for their acceptance
of certain discriminatory measures.^6 In Central Asia, like other areas un-
der Muslim rule, these measures included numerous prohibitions. Jews
were allowed to repair existing synagogues, but were not permitted to
build new ones. They were allowed to build homes as long as they were
no higher than any Muslim home in the area. They were not permit-
ted to ride donkeys or horses, but had to transport themselves by foot
alone. They were required to pay a special poll tax, which the Muslim
receiver acknowledged by delivering a slap in the face. Jewish men were
not permitted to wear elaborate, fashionable belts and could only close
their robes with a “simple rope.”^7 So too, Jewish men were not permit-
ted to wear turbans like Muslim men. Instead, they were allowed only
a particular style hat called a “tilpak,” which signified their identity as
Jews.^8 Their homes were also marked as Jewish by a dark or dirty cloth
that they were forced to nail to their front doors.^9 Finally, the evidence of
a Jew was inadmissible in any court cases that involved a Muslim.^10 Such
restrictions were not adhered to evenly during the many centuries that
the Jews lived in Central Asia under Muslim rule. In periods of economic
and social stability, the restrictions were generally relaxed, whereas in
periods of hardship or crisis, they tended to be more strictly enforced.
In the late nineteenth century, Russia’s encroachment upon Central
Asia brought improvements in communication and travel, new avenues
for trade, and new forms of technology. Russian colonial efforts also in-
troduced western, secular ideologies to the region. As new worldviews
began to undermine the traditional ones that were dominant in the area,
the stigma attached to the Jews was also undermined. Under colonial
rule the label dhimmi began to lose its meaning, and the lines dividing
Muslim and Jew lost their harshness.
The distinction between Muslim and Jew further eroded as a result of
the antireligious policies that the Soviets imposed on Central Asia when
the area came under their control. Synagogues were shut down, as were