Despite the inconsistency of the French transcription system which provokes confusions in reading, despite also some cursory and discussable position stands (for example about the level of organisation of the turuq, or about the historical role of the Mujaddidiyya), this paper offers an interesting insight on Sufi popular practices in present-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.  Based on his fieldwork experience, the author mentions examples of magical techniques used by pirs, and he evokes the allocation of the title of murid to family members and even community members.  The main argument is as follows:  What is sometimes considered as a sign of degradation of Central Asian Sufism is actually a feature of “real” Sufism, i.e. a kind of Sufism interwoven with the region’s social structures.  One could add that this situation is not proper to Central Asia, but takes its origins in the very history of Islam.