The Middle East's Relations with Asia and Russia by Hannah Carter Anoushiravan Ehteshami

Author:Hannah Carter, Anoushiravan Ehteshami [Hannah Carter, Anoushiravan Ehteshami]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780415650137
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2014-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Radical Islam

The third trend in Central Asian Islam, here categorised as ‘radical’, embraces a loose grouping of activists who want to purge Islam of the distortions that have been introduced over time. They are collectively referred to as ‘Wahhabis’, a term that today, as during the Soviet era, is a generic expression of abuse rather than a literal description of religious affiliation (a usage that has incensed Saudi visitors, who try to explain that the Wahhabis are the respected, dominant sect in their country). The post-Soviet purging of radical elements from the state-controlled Muslim bodies (especially in Uzbekistan) broke the tacit alliance that existed at the end of the Soviet period between the radicals and the official religious hierarchy. This left the former in a very vulnerable position. They reacted by adopting a stance that was aggressively antagonistic, railing against both debased folk interpretations of Islam and the compromised government-sponsored interpretation. Meanwhile the official hierarchy was implacably ranged against the radicals. By contrast, the traditionalists were regarded as allies. Thus, in the early 1990s, there was a tactical realignment amongst the Muslims, with the traditionalists and the representatives of government institutions reaching a degree of accommodation, united by their opposition to the radicals.

It is impossible to set a figure either to the number of individuals or to the number of separate groups who espouse radical sympathies. It is equally impossible to gauge how much popular support they enjoy, but to the extent that publicly expressed opinions can be trusted, the prevalent attitude towards them seems to be extremely negative. Names of some of these groups appear in the press from time to time, but with almost no background information. Most seem to be relatively new (scarcely any are mentioned in sources prior to 1994). However, where it is possible to trace the biographies of the leaders of these groups, and likewise the genealogy of their ideas, it is obvious that they emanate from Soviet-era revivalist circles. The great majority of them are Uzbeks. In the 1990s many fled the country and began to operate from bases in Afghanistan and, allegedly, Tajikistan (though the present Tajik authorities firmly reject this accusation). They are active also in southern Kyrgyzstan and southern Kazakhstan, where they are said to find support mainly among the Uzbek minorities found in these areas.19 There are no reports of unregistered Islamic movements in Turkmenistan, which could mean either that they do not exist or that they are suppressed more effectively than elsewhere.

The two groups that are currently mentioned most frequently are the Hezb-i Tahrir (transliterated in various forms and translated as either Liberation or Correction Party), and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.20

The former is an international organisation established in 1952/53 in Jerusalem;21 it is now active in the Russian Federation and other parts of the CIS. The latter is a local group, based predominantly in the Ferghana Valley (eastern Uzbekistan and bordering regions of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan). It is impossible, given the dearth of reliable information, to establish the degree to which they are linked.

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