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2019.01.006. ELENA GARBUZAROVA. GEOPOLITICAL INFLUENCE OF NON-REGIONAL ACTORS ON RELIGIOUS SECURITY OF KYRGYZSTAN // "Islamovedenie," Makhachkala, 2017, Vol. 8, № 4, P. 5-16.
Keywords: Islamic fundamentalism, radicalism, Islamic states, Islamist ideas, terrorism.
Elena Garbuzarova,
PhD(History)/ Senior Lecturer, Political Science Department, Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University
The author of the article considers problems of religious security of Kyrgyzstan, analyzes geopolitical influence of nonregional actors on a situation in the country. The author notes that considering social and economic difficulties the idea of Islamic radicalism gain traction among the Kyrgyz population, and the Fergana Valley where there is the southern border of the republic, is the potential heart of instability.
The geographical location of Kyrgyzstan attracts Islamic states of the region which hope to get geopolitical superiority. Saudi Arabia and Qatar manage focused effort in this direction, investing money in social and economic projects, and such help is carried out alongside export of wahhabism ideology. Islamic radicals basing on the territory of Afghanistan and Pakistan pose risk to Kyrgyzstan. They consider this country as the back from where it is possible to stage a strike on Russia. Far-reaching activity in the republic was developed by the movement of the Turkish religious figure F. Gülen - Hizmet. If to consider ideological preferences of this movement, that is probability to face its excessive influence in the country in the long term. With the collapse of the USSR in 1991 Kyrgyzstan got independence and at the same time faced threats among which it should be noted Islamic radicalism and terrorism.
At the moment the country is in process of transformation into the parliamentary republic and, the most important, is
preserving stability of political system in conditions of internal political contradictions and also global and regional processes. Religious security is a basis of national security of Kyrgyzstan. In the XXI century it is observed the expansion of religious values in world politics, radical trends at the same time gain momentum. Recently there have emerged many terms connected with the Islamic world: "Islamism," "political Islam," "Islamic fundamentalism," "Islamic radicalism," "Islamic extremism." The author of the article gives various definitions of these terms to political scientists, but notes that there is still no concurrent views on the matter. After the collapse of the USSR the flow of earlier inaccessible religious editions and also Islamic radicals came from Afghanistan to the Central Asian republics which borders became transparent. Unstable social and economic situation, corruption and unemployment in Kyrgyzstan simplified a problem of Islamic radicalism ideologists - they successfully propagandized their ideas and enlisted the Muslim population of the country.
The religious factor plays a special role in the Fergana Valley, the most populous part of the Central Asian region where about 14.5 million people live. Here the boundaries of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan pass which after the collapse of the USSR had territorial claims to each other. The difficult situation in the region is aggravated by radical movements.
The author, basing on studying of experts' opinions, gives three main stages of radical Islam advance in the Central Asian region:
- activity of foreign prophets training local youth for particular interpretation of fundamentals of Islam and direction of persons wishing to study deeply the theory of Islam to the foreign centers (jamaats);
- promotion of the extremist ideas and expansion of followers;
- organization of mass riots, terrorist attacks, civil wars aiming at overthrowing of the political system.
After the collapse of the USSR all Post-Soviet states, including Kyrgyzstan, faced a problem of an ideological vacuum, and as a result Islam began to have significant influence on life of
society. Currently revival of Islam is connected with a problem of politicization of this religion, its radicalization in favour of certain forces. Islamic states, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, take interest in Kyrgyzstan, trying to involve it in their geopolitical sphere of influence. The second group of the states is made by Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Yemen, Lebanon where terrorists base and where their training camps, arsenals with weapon and financial centers which in turn sponsor realization of large-scale terrorist attacks are located.
The author of the article emphasizes a few tendencies, which pose threat to national security of the republic.
1) Factor of monarchy of the Persian Gulf. The excessive generosity or "diplomacy of purses" of such states as Saudi Arabia, Qatar investing millions into Kyrgyzstan disquiet. Saudi Arabia is the country which population professes Islam of wahhabite sect and aspires to a key role in the Muslim world, proving such claims by the fact that in the territory of the kingdom there are major Muslim holy shrines. Saudi Arabia is interested in implementation of various agricultural and infrastructure investment projects in Kyrgyzstan and it is not unthinkable that together with these investments ideological values of Wahhabism will be exported into the country.
A test case in this context may serve relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in the XX century which development was defined by an Islamic factor. The authorities of Saudi Arabia promised to lend support to Pakistan only after the leadership of Pakistan expressed its intention to use Shariah tenets in the activity. The process of spreading of Islam of wahhabite sect in Kyrgyzstan is started and, most likely, will increase in prospect. In 2012 in Kyrgyzstan it was opened the Embassy of Qatar - the richest country in the Middle East which population professes Islam of Sunni sect. It is considered that Qatar is a proponent of American interests in Central Asia. The interest of Qatar in Kyrgyzstan gains momentum recently. Representatives of charitable organizations from Saudi Arabia and Qatar allocate money to construction of new mosques in Osh in the south of the republic, plan to provide $30 million for construction of public schools.
2) Factor of Pakistan. The extremist threat to Kyrgyzstan goes also from Pakistan being a part of the states in the territory of which extremists and terrorists actively act. From the beginning of the antiterrorist drive in Afghanistan (2001) Pakistan turned into administrative base of a radical Islamic underground where Talibs and fighters of other allied organizations - "networks" of Haqqani, Al-Qaeda, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and etc. hid. The Afghan Talibs find a shelter in Northern Pakistan which territory is of main interest for Islamists as it is a part of Great Khorasan where besides the regions of Pakistan there are some regions of Iran, Central Asia and Afghanistan. The Islamic State (ISIL, banned in the Russian Federation) formed in the territories of Syria and Iraq extrapolates influence on Pakistan, and through it and to Central Asia. At the end of 2016 it got about that ISIL scaled up its activity in Pakistan, carrying over local extremists and fighters from IMU (Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan).
3) Factor of Afghanistan. Afghanistan for already several decades is the place of instability in the Central Asian region and peaceful settlement in this country is very problematic. Considering the situation in Afghanistan, it should be noted that geopolitical interests of global powers (the USA, Russia, China, Iran) which have different strategy for current situation can become the destabilizing factor. Fight against IS demands joint actions of the participants of international anti-terrorist coalition, even in that case, it is referred to cooperation with Talibs. The U.S. prefers to deal with Talibs without intermediaries. It confirms their absence at a conference concerning the Afghan settlement in Moscow in April, 2017. Staying long time in Afghanistan within the anti-terrorist mission, the U.S. came in contact with Talibs and ignores efforts of Russia in the solution of the Afghan problem. It is supposed also that the IS has far-reaching plans for Afghanistan from the territory of which radical Islamists will try to strike Russia to the rear - from Central Asia. To the territory of Kyrgyzstan terrorists can come from Afghanistan through Tajikistan.
4) Turkish factor. Religious influence of Turkey increases in Kyrgyzstan. The question is about Sebat educational institutions the founder of which is the Turkish religious prophet Fetkhulla Gulen who is admittedly connected with CIA and whose activity is financed by the U.S. Government. Teachers of Sebat schools are faithful, and respectively are not impartial in estimating of religious matters.
Purpose F. Gulen and his followers is transition from a secular society organization to the Caliphate. In Kyrgyzstan there are 28 objects forming part of educational network "Sebat:" 9 elementary schools, 16 lyceums, 2 international schools, international university "Ataturk — Ala-Too." They are located in different regions of the republic. In total about 12 thousand pupils and students study in these institutions. The students studying at Sebat schools show great interest in Turkey as a country which achieved significant economic growth. Sebat lyceums possess a developed modern material and technical basis, and many universities in Kyrgyzstan concede to the Turkish schools in this respect therefore the Kyrgyz youth willingly chooses them for education.
To estimate what is the movement "Hizmet," it is necessary to use a research technique of modern Islamic sectarianism. It is about the following recommendations: to make subject of the scientific Islamic studies analysis all groups which declare themselves Islamic; to pay attention to existence of a spiritual leader in all these groups; to consider all groups as some kind of organized expression of a certain opinion; to find out correlation of their ideas with traditional Islam. It is possible that the movement "Hizmet," gradually expanding the number of its followers, can serve as a proponent of Islamic ideas in Kyrgyzstan and become a threat to its security, spreading its understanding of Islam differing the traditional one for the republic.
To sum up, the author brings out that now it is about national survival of the Kyrgyz republic which can be provided, based on own forces, or the aid of allies through the CSTO and SCO. The last variant is represented to the author as the most effective in so far as these integration structures have more opportunities and resources
