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Uzbekistan
Former Communists Continue to Oppress Muslims
The Caucasus has recently turned into one of the frontlines of the Islamic
world. The Muslim Turkic republics that began to gain their independence
after the collapse of the Soviet Union soon found themselves up against
Russian expansionism. Russia was still being run by people from communist
times who retained the same old mentality, and the country continued to
regard Central Asia as its own "back yard." In order to "tidy" that back
yard up, it elected to form alliances with anti-Islamic administrations
in the region.
 Today,
Muslims in both the Caucasus and Central Asia are living under the threat
of both Russian expansionism and their own administrations, which are
actively collaborating with Moscow. While the war in Chechnya continues,
the Russian Federation is actively engaged in a policy of pressure and
intimidation against the Muslim populations of some of those republics
with a Muslim majority. This policy is sometimes openly carried forward
by the Russians, and sometimes by the hand of pro-Russian local administrations.
Following Azerbaijan, Dagestan, Chechnya and Tadjikstan, another country
where tensions have been experienced is Uzbekistan.
Anti-Islamic Pressure in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan has been struggling with domestic problems for years. The
country's economy is in a serious recession and the public are facing
grave shortages. The Kerimov administration, which refuses to allow even
the most moderate opposition breathing space, is following the path of
increasing these problems instead of settling them.48
If Islam Kerimov follows a moderate policy of allowing differing opinions
to be expressed in the country, there is no doubt that this will be right
road, not only for the Uzbek people but also for his own rule. Yet he
has preferred to go for harsh measures. The country's prisons currently
hold more than 50,000 people as a result of his oppressive policies. After
bombs exploded in city centers, the Uzbek administration had thousands
of people arrested nationwide, identified everyone with religious sympathies
as a terrorist, and established an administration that completely ignores
human rights and freedoms. Yet this policy of oppression actually encouraged
fighting instead of preventing it, and ended up strengthening the opposition.
In order for Uzbekistan to enjoy peace and stability, it is essential
for dialogue to be established between the Kerimov administration and
the opposition, and for the opposition to pursue a moderate policy to
that end.
Russia Uneasy Over the Islamic Revival in Central Asia
The religious re-awakening that began in the Turkic states in the 1980s
alarmed the Kremlin. The Mikhail Gorbachev administration in particular
was greatly concerned at the growth in religious feeling. That was something
frequently reflected in the newspapers of the time, and all the measures
to be taken by the Kremlin were set out. According to the Uzbek daily
Pravda Vostoka, in a speech Gorbachev gave to local party officials
he called for a "firm and uncompromising struggle against religious phenomena."
Then he said, "We must be strict above all with Communist and senior officials,
particularly those who say they defend our morality and ideals but in
fact help promote backward views and themselves take part in religious
ceremonies."49
On Gorbachev's firm stand against faith, Time reports:
Islam A. Karimov |
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Indeed, it is rare for a Soviet General Secretary to attack religion
so directly;that is usually left to underlings. Beyond that, the critique
suggested that Kremlin is concerned that the state's struggle against
religion has not been going well. Finally, the fact that Gorbachev chose
Tashkent as the place to attack religion indicated that the Soviet
leadership is specifically fearful about the currents ...sweeping the
Islamic world, which might eventually infect the fast-growing Muslim nationalities
of Soviet Central Asia.
[Since 1918], the regime has placed rigid limits upon churches, synagogues
and mosques and waged a campaign of oppression against believers. The
training of religious leaders is tightly restricted, and religious
education of children under the age of 18 is illegal. At the same time,
all schoolchildren are indoctrinated in atheism.
Islam has become a special problem, and a special concern. Soviet Muslims
are concentrated in the U.S.S.R.'s strategic southern border regions and
maintain ties with Islamic people in neighbouring countries... There are
no reliable statistics on how many Soviet Muslims practice their faith.
But a political report adopted last year by the 16th Congress of the Kazakhstan
Communist Party noted that Islam is "still strong and growing."
...[I]nformal gatherings suggest that the number of believers far exceeds
the capacity of the country's 300 to 500 legally registered mosques (there
were 24,000 before the Communist takeover).50
Sadly, this mentality, left over from the Soviet period, is still influential,
both in one section of the Russian bureaucracy and in some bodies in the
Turkic Republics. Tension is developing between devout sections of society
and central authority. The fact that one out of every 500 people in Uzbekistan
is in prison because of his religious identity is one of the most striking
examples of this.
The tension in Uzbekistan is rising every day, showing that unless a
moderate policy is adopted the chaos will continue for a long time yet.
When we consider such phenomena as terror, water shortages, internal chaos,
economic difficulties, extra legalities and violations of human rights
as a whole, it is clear the situation can only be put right by radical
changes. At the head of this radical change come giving the opposition
in the country the right of free expression, putting an end to political
detentions and imprisonment, and lowering the tension in an atmosphere
of mutual tolerance.
The Cause of the Oppression:The Move Away from Islamic
Values in the Administration
Where religious morality is absent, there can be no safety or peace.
In many Islamic countries, however, administrations of an allegedly Islamic
nature ignore how turning away from Qur'anic morality leads their nations
into terrible chaos. That is why some Central Asian countries, which every
day face a worse danger of turning from their own religious identities,
are unable to find any well-being. In a society where empty communist
and materialist ideologies are propagated rather than the blessings of
religion, the end result can only be collapse, as we have seen from past
examples. That is because in an environment lacking religious morality,
rulers prefer their own private interests, advantage, selfishness and
an oppressive regime over justice, peace and a philosophy of mutual aid.
The Qur'an draws attention to the danger represented by people following
such a misguided path:
ISRAEL'S CUNNING CALCULATIONS
IN CENTRAL ASIA
 
The significance of the
way that Islamic republics in Central Asia gained their independence
one after another following the dissolution of the USSR was understood
by Israel before most other nations. The Jewish state realized
that this development carried with it an important strategic significance,
and believed that the emergence of a powerful Islamic union would
not be in its interests. For that reason, Israel's presence in
the region has been growing rapidly since the beginning of the
1990s. Israeli leaders carried out visits to the republics in
question, especially Uzbekistan, and some of those countries'
leaders went to show off in Israel. Israel drew close to those
republics, and presented itself as a friend by such means as "agricultural
cooperation," "military training" and "technological assistance."
Uzbekistan's Karimov administration has always been close to Russia
and Israel. In league with those two powers, it began a violent
anti-Islamic campaign which in recent years has picked up speed.
The above news reports demonstrate the truth of that deep relationship.
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Whenever he holds the upperhand, he goes about
the earth corrupting it, destroying (people's) crops and animals. Allah
does not love corruption. (Qur'an, 2: 205)
As we have seen, such people as mentioned in the above verse will continue
to exist so long as Allah's book is not put into practice. Whereas a country
run by people who fear Allah will see cooperation, justice, and great
mutual assistance. No one will be permitted to perpetrate injustice against
another, everyone's needs will be met, and new services and solutions
will spring forth. Every possibility will be mobilized for the peace and
well-being of the people. People living in accordance with Islamic morality
will provide all kinds of service with no expectation of any worldly reward,
but for the good pleasure of Allah and the rewards in the hereafter.
The very best example of this is the messengers that Allah has sent down
to mankind throughout history. Allah reveals in His verses how those messengers
reminded his people to worship Allah and live according to religion:
My people! I do not ask you for any wage for it.
My wage is the responsibility of Him who brought me into being. So will
you not use your intellect? (Qur'an, 11: 51)
 
Who could do greater
wrong than someone who bars access to the mosques of Allah, preventing
His name from being remembered in them, and goes about destroying
them? Such people will never be able to enter them - except in fear.
They will have disgrace in the world and in the hereafter they will
have a terrible punishment.
(Qur'an, 2: 114)
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