Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-jr42d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T07:04:04.440Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Challenge of Radical Islam in Tajikistan: Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

Emmanuel Karagiannis*
Affiliation:
Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict, University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A. mkaragiannis@yahoo.com

Extract

Islam is by far the dominant religious faith in Tajikistan. At the end of the seventh century and the beginning of the eighth century Arab armies led by Qutayba Ibn Muslim conquered the region of Sogdiana, which included the northern part of present-day Tajikistan. The Arab invaders converted the local population to Islam and since then the Muslim faith has become an integral part of the Tajik culture. According to Tajikistan's State Committee on Religious Affairs, 97% of the Tajik population is currently Muslim and is served by 3224 mosques, 19 medresses (Muslim theological schools) and an Islamic university. An estimated 30–40% of the rural population and 5–10% of the urban population regularly follow Muslim practices or attend mosques.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 Association for the Study of Nationalities 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Notes

1. Interview with Rabi Aliev, Vice Chairman of the State Committee on Religious Affairs, Dushanbe, January 2005.Google Scholar

2. See Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, International Religious Freedom Report 2004- Tajikistan (Washington: U.S. Department of State, 2004).Google Scholar

4. In May 2004, for example, the Tajik security services arrested alleged members of the Islamic group Bayat (the Vow) in northern Tajikistan, who were suspected of committing terrorist attacks. See Yuri Yegorov, “Unknown Group Draws Attention of Tajik Authorities,” Jamestown Foundation—Eurasia Daily Monitor, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2004.Google Scholar

5. See for example Zeyno Baran, Hizb ut-Tahrir: Islam's Political Insurgency (Washington: Nixon Center, 2004); Alisher Khamidov, Countering the Call: The U.S., Hizb ut-Tahrir, and Religious Extremism in Central Asia (Washington: Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, 2003); International Crisis Group, Radical Islam in Central Asia: Responding to Hizb ut-Tahrir (Osh: Kyrgyzstan ICG Asia, 2003).Google Scholar

6. Interview with Professor Muso Dinorshoev, Tajik Academy of Sciences, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, January 2005.Google Scholar

7. Ludmila Polonskaya and Alexei Malashenko, Islam in Central Asia (Reading, England: Ithaca Press, 1994), p. 124.Google Scholar

8. Mehrdad Haghayeghi, Islam and Politics in Central Asia (New York: St Martin's Press, 1995), pp. 8791.Google Scholar

9. Mohammed M. Hafez, Why Muslims Rebel (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2003), p. 102.Google Scholar

10. United Nations Development Programme, Tajikistan Human Development Report 1998 (Dushanbe, 1998), p. 35.Google Scholar

11. On the Tajik peace process see Abdullaev and Catherine Barnes, eds, Accord—Politics of Compromise: The Tajikistan Peace Process (London: Conciliation Resources, 2001).Google Scholar

12. Accordingly Khodji akbar Turadjonzoda and Mirzo Ziyoev, senior members of the IRPT, took over the posts of first deputy prime minister and minister of emergencies, respectively.Google Scholar

13. Yaacov Ro'i, Islam in the CIS (London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 2001), p. 29.Google Scholar

14. Nevertheless, both sides included groups and individuals that interpreted the war as one between Islam and secularism. Hard-line Communists fought on the government side to eliminate the Muslim religion from public life, whereas Uzbek radicals joined the UTO to establish an Islamic state in Central Asia.Google Scholar

15. Tajik clans are communities or groups of extended families originating from the same region and united by a common identity and often common dialect. Indeed, the two warring parties were supported by different regional clans. The Rahmonov government was supported by the Kulyab region, the Kurgan-Tyube region in the southwest and to a certain extent the Sughd region. The opposition parties received support from regions that were generally under-represented in government and politics during the Soviet era. The IRPT's supporters were mainly from the Garm region in east central Tajikistan, while the Democratic Party of Tajikistan and the Rastokhez movement were composed mainly of Dushanbe-based intellectuals. The Lali-Badakhshan party had supporters from the GBAO.Google Scholar

16. On Tajikistan's localism see Suchandana Chatterjee, Society and Politics in Tajikistan in the Aftermath of the Civil War (London: Greenwich Millennium Press, 2002), pp. 4463.Google Scholar

17. “Text Konstitusii Tajikistana” [Text of Tajik Constitution], Leninabadskaya pravda , 30 November 1994.Google Scholar

18. “Hizb ut-Tahrir—Extremistskaya Organizatsiya” [Hizb ut-Tahrir—an extremist organization], Shyt (Dushanbe), 27 January 2005.Google Scholar

19. Interview with Davlyat Nezirov, Chairman of NGO Center for the Analysis of Extremism and Terrorism, Dushanbe, January 2005.Google Scholar

20. Interview with Zvone Zinrajh, Country Director, Freedom House, Dushanbe, January 2005.Google Scholar

21. Interview with a European diplomat, name withheld at his request, Dushanbe, January 2005.Google Scholar

22. Interview with a Tajik security official, name withheld at his request, Dushanbe, January 2005.Google Scholar

23. “Hizb ut-Tahrir Activist Proves to Be Civilian Staff Member of Russian Motor Rifle Division,” Times of Central Asia , 18 March 2004.Google Scholar

24. Suha Taji-Farouki, A Fundamental Quest: Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Search for the Islamic Caliphate (London: Grey Seal, 1996), p. 116.Google Scholar

25. Anthony Giddens, Sociology (Cambridge, England: Polity Press, 1997), p. 511.Google Scholar

26. John Macionis, Sociology (London: Prentice Hall, 2001), p. 615.Google Scholar

27. See Neil Smelser, The Theory of Collective Behavior (New York: Free Press, 1963); Ralph H. Turner and Lewis M. Killian, Collective Behavior (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1957).Google Scholar

28. Republic of Tajikistan, Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (Dushanbe, 2002), p. 11.Google Scholar

29. Ibid., p. 14.Google Scholar

30. Taqiuddin An-Nabhani, The Islamic State (London: Al-Khilafah, 1998), pp. 269270.Google Scholar

31. Interview with a European diplomat, name withheld at his request, Dushanbe, February 2005.Google Scholar

32. Interview with a Tajik official in the U.N. High Commission for Refugees, name withheld at his request, Dushanbe, February 2005.Google Scholar

33. Interview with Saodat Olimova, Head of Sociological Service, Tajik Research Center “Sharq,” Almaty, January 2005.Google Scholar

34. See Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook—Tajikistan (Washington, 2004).Google Scholar

35. Taqiuddin an-Nabhani, The Economic System in Islam (London: Al-Khilafah, 1997), pp. 118131 Google Scholar

36. See Mayer Zald and John McCarthy, Social Movements in an Organizational Society (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books, 1987); William Gamson, The Strategy of Social Protest (Homewood, IL: Dorsay, 1975).Google Scholar

37. Mohammed Hafez, Why Muslims Rebel , p. 19.Google Scholar

38. Igor Rotar, “Tajikistan: Too Many Mosques and Compulsory Stage Music?” Forum 18 News, 31 July 2003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

39. “Suspected Hizb ut-Tahrir Activists Detained in Northern Tajikistan,” RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 8, No. 32, 2004.Google Scholar

40. B. Bunyod, “Hatari Hizb…” [The danger of Hizb…], Tojikiston, No. 21, 2004.Google Scholar

41. Members of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Britain, The Method to Re-establish the Khilafah and Resume the Islamic Way of Life (London: Al-Khilafah, 2000), p. 79.Google Scholar

42. Interview with Mikhail Ardzinov, Chairman of Independent Human Rights Organization of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, July 2004.Google Scholar

43. Igor Rotar, “An Interview with Sadykzhan Kamuluddin,” Jamestown Foundation, 12 March 2004.Google Scholar

44. See Charles Tilly, From Mobilization to Revolution (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1978); Sidney Tarrow, Power in Movement: Collective Action, Social Movements and Politics (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1994).Google Scholar

45. “Opposition Leaders Complain as Tajikistan's Elections Campaign Draws to a Close,” Eurasianet Insight, 25 February 2005.Google Scholar

46. The six officially registered political parties are the following: People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan, Tajik Communist Party, Islamic Revival Party, Social Democratic Party, Socialist Party, and Democratic Party.Google Scholar

47. Interview with Muatar Khaidarova, Tajik NGO “Society and Law,” Almaty, January 2005.Google Scholar

48. OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission, “Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions for the Parliamentary Elections—First Round,” Dushanbe, 27 February 2005.Google Scholar

49. International Crisis Group, Tajikistan's Politics: Confrontation or Consolidation? (Dushanbe, 2004), p. 5.Google Scholar

50. Author's field notes in Dushanbe, January–February 2005.Google Scholar

51. See Erving Goffman, Frame Analysis (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1974).Google Scholar

52. See Robert Benford and David Snow, “Framing Processes and Social Movements,” Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 26, 2000, pp. 611639.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

53. Hizb ut-Tahrir, (leaflet) “Bitva tadzhikskogo pravitelstva protiv musulmanstva i islamskogo dvizheniya stanovitsya zhestokoy” [The ferocious fight of the agent government of Tajikistan against Islam and Islamic movement gets harsher], 26 May 2003.Google Scholar

54. Ibid.Google Scholar

55. Ahmed Rashid, Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia (London: Penguin, 2002), p. 123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

56. See Hizb ut-Tahrir, The Inevitability of the Clash of Civilizations (London: Al-Khilafah, 2002).Google Scholar

57. See John Wilson, Introduction to Social Movements (New York: Basic Books, 1972).Google Scholar

58. Members of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Britain, p. 32.Google Scholar

59. In July 2002, for example, President Rahmonov made a speech in the city of Isfara, condemning Islamic extremism and the IRPT.Google Scholar

60. Vitaly V. Naumkin, Radical Islam in Central Asia: Between Pen and Rifle (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005), pp. 250256.Google Scholar

61. Mavlon Mukhtorov and Abduali Toirov, Hizbhoi Siesii Jumhurii Tojikiston [Political parties of the Republic of Tajikistan] (Dushanbe: Status, 2004), p. 65.Google Scholar

62. Ibid., p. 67.Google Scholar

63. Interview with Muhiddin Kabiri, Vice Chairman of the IRPT, Dushanbe, January 2005.Google Scholar

64. Hizb ut-Tahrir Tajikistan, (leaflet) “Otnositelno referenduma provodimogo korruptsionirovannym pravitelstvom Tadzhikistana” [Concerning the referendum to be carried out by the corrupt government of Tajikistan], 19 June 2003.Google Scholar

65. A. Q. Zalloom, Democracy Is a System of Kufr (London: Al-Khilafah, 1995), p. 18.Google Scholar

66. Hizb ut-Tahrir, Political Thoughts (London: Al-Khilafah, 1999), p. 117.Google Scholar

67. Author's field notes in Dushanbe, January–February 2005.Google Scholar

68. See Taqiuddin an-Nabhani, The Ruling System in Islam (London: Al-Khilafah, 1996); Taqiuddin an-Nabhani, The Social System in Islam (London: Al-Khilafah, 1999).Google Scholar

69. See Antoine Blua, “Tajikistan: Government to Vet Islamic Clerics,” RFE/RL Tajik Service, 7 August 2002.Google Scholar

70. See, for example, Hizb ut-Tahrir, Islamic Verdict on Cloning, Human Organ Transplantation, Abortion, Test-Tube Babies, Life Support Systems, Life and Death (London: Al-Khilafah, 1999).Google Scholar

71. Muhiddin Kabiri, “HT and the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan,” in Zeyno Baran, ed., The Challenge of Hizb ut-Tahrir: Deciphering and Combating Radical Islamist Ideology , Conference Report, Nixon Center, (Washington DC: The Nixon Center, September 2004), p. 78.Google Scholar

72. Interview with Kabiri.Google Scholar

73. Interview with two Hizb ut-Tahrir members, names withheld at their request, Dushanbe, February 2005.Google Scholar

74. Kabiri, “HT and the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan,” p. 75.Google Scholar

75. Interview with Dzhalon Aliev, Dean of the Islamic University, Dushanbe, January 2005.Google Scholar

76. Olivier Roy, The Foreign Policy of the Central Asian Islamic Renaissance Party (New York: Council on Foreign Relations, 2000), p. 12.Google Scholar

77. See Gashmid Mohammadi, “Tajiks Pray for Beleaguered Iraqis,” IslamOnline, 13 March 2003 <http://www.islamonline.net>..>Google Scholar

78. Igor Rotar, “Tajikistan: Islamic Party Does Not Open Action against Genuine Terrorists,” Keston News Service, 10 October 2001.Google Scholar

79. Umed Babakhanov and Marat Mamadshoyev, “Tajik Islamic Party Leader Vigorously Denies bin Laden Link,” Eurasian Insight, 13 February 2002.Google Scholar

80. Mukhtorov and Toirov, Hizbhoi Siesii Jumhurii Tojikiston , p. 65.Google Scholar

81. Mahan Abedin, “Inside Hizb ut-Tahrir: An Interview with Jalaluddin Patel, Leader of the Hizb ut-Tahrir in the UK,” Jamestown Foundation Terrorism Monitor, Vol. 2, No. 8, 2004.Google Scholar