The challenge of radical Islam in Tajikistan: Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami

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Notes

The author would like to thank Professor Clark McCauley for his insights regarding the issues addressed in this article and the University of Pennsylvania's Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict for its financial support for this research.

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

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

3. Ibid.

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.

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).

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

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

8. Mehrdad Haghayeghi, Islam and Politics in Central Asia (New York: St Martin's Press, 1995), pp. 87–91.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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. 44–63.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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).

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

29. Ibid., p. 14.

30. Taqiuddin An-Nabhani, The Islamic State (London: Al-Khilafah, 1998), pp. 269–270.

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

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

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

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

35. Taqiuddin an-Nabhani, The Economic System in Islam (London: Al-Khilafah, 1997), pp. 118–131

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).

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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).

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

52. See Robert Benford and David Snow, “Framing Processes and Social Movements,” Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 26, 2000, pp. 611–639.

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.

54. Ibid.

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

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

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

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

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

60. Vitaly V. Naumkin, Radical Islam in Central Asia: Between Pen and Rifle (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005), pp. 250–256.

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

62. Ibid., p. 67.

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

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.

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

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

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

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).

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

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).

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.

72. Interview with Kabiri.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.