The experience of converting from and to Islam in the region of Central Asia differs considerably with regard to the precise geographical area, the historical circumstances, the socioeconomic situation of the converts, their gender and individual characteristics. One needs to differentiate between conversions in early Muslim history, in the pre-Russian, pre-Soviet, Soviet, and post-Soviet eras; between rural and urban, settled and nomadic life styles; between various kinds of Islam (or rather Mu…