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The poor state of the Kyrgyz armed forces and their inability to oppose incursions of armed militants from neighboring countries (Afghanistan included) compel the Uzbek leadership to undertake unilateral measures to defend Uzbekistan's borders. For example, the latter planted mines along its borders with Kyrgyzstan. Thus, the Kyrgyz-Uzbek interethnic equilibrium is rather unstable at the present stage. Taking into account the fact that both these countries are situated in the very center of the Central Asian region, one can say that almost constant tension existing there is threatening the stability of the region as a whole.
The Kyrgyz Republic maintains diplomatic, military-technical, trade and economic, and cultural and humanitarian relations with many countries. In this connection mention could be made of special relations of Kyrgyzstan with Belarus, Ukraine, Japan, and some other countries. But it is precisely the great powers and the states of the Central Asian region that determine the main tendencies and all aspects of the development of the Kyrgyz Republic.
«Mir i politika ". Moscow, 2012, No 2, pp. 105-111.
Alexander Shustov, Ph. D. (Hist.) (Yaroslavl) ISLAMIZATION OF CENTRAL ASIA (TAJIKISTAN, KYRGYZSTAN, KAZAKHSTAN)
Central Asia, a region with which Russia maintains versatile political, economic, military, cultural and family and kinship relations, has fallen under the growing influence of radical Islam after the disintegration of the U.S.S.R. Islamization of Central Asia is the problem not only of military security of Russia, which will become threatened in case of the destabilization of the situation in one or
several countries of the region, but also political stability closely connected with the constantly growing labor migration.
The influence of Islam in Central Asian states has always differed from country to country. In Uzbekistan and Tajikistan -countries with ancient land cultivation culture, settled population and urban civilization, Islam has always occupied much stronger positions than in post-nomadic societies - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. Northern Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan had earlier been included in the Russian Empire and experienced a much stronger influence of Russian culture. The number of Slav people was greater on these territories and the Russian language was more widespread, due to which the level of Russification of the indigenous people was much higher.
In the post-Soviet period the republics of Central Asia positioned themselves as secular states, but remained Islamic by culture and spiritual-religious heritage. As a result, their secular identity began to be ousted very rapidly by Muslim identity. Hundreds of mosques and madrasahs were built and opened on the territory of Central Asia. However, the interests of Islam were not represented in the political system. The local political regimes were afraid of the growing political influence of Islam and prevented in every way possible manifestations of its social activity.
Tajikistan was the only country where Islam became institutionalized and represented in political life. After signing the agreements of 1997 the Islamic Party of Revival of Tajikistan was legalized and entered the republican parliament. The civil war and the integration of the Islamic opposition following it in the political system and even law-enforcement agencies and special services have led to Tajikistan becoming the leader in the Islamization of society in the entire Central Asian region.
There are 27 central and 325 cathedral mosques, and 3,334 mosques for Friday prayers. On average, there is one mosque for two thousand people. Non-indigenous people have left Tajikistan almost completely after the beginning of the civil war. Out of 388,500 Russians living in the republic, not more than 30,000 remained, according to the 1989 population census. As a result, Tajikistan has become one of the most homogeneous countries in the CIS in its ethno-confessional composition. Almost 100 percent of the population are devout Muslims The absolute majority is Sunna Muslims of Khanafite trend, and about 200,000 are Ismailites residing in Gorny Badakhshan.
The authorities are very cautious with regard to the growing influence of Islam. Their apprehensions increase along with the distribution and popularization of the radical Islamic currents -Wahhabi, "Khizb-ut-Tahrir," "Jamoati Tablig," etc. During the past two years more than one hundred active members of "Khizb-ut-Tahrir and "Jamoati Tablig" were arrested and sentenced to various prison terms. Representatives of "Jamoati Tablig," which emerged in India in the late 1940s , appeared in Tajikistan in 1997 after the end of the civil war. The main aim of this religious organization is to lead all "stray" Muslims to "true" Islam, and ultimately, to turn the entire planet into an Islamic caliphate.
Worried by the growing influence of radical religious currents the authorities had to take a number of stricter measures. In July 2010 the lower house of Tajikistan's parliament approved the draft bill about parental responsibility. In accordance with it, children cannot be members of religious organizations and have the right to visit mosques only on religious holidays proclaimed as days-off - Ramadan and Kurban-bairam. In August 2010 the President of Tajikistan put forward the initiative to return home all Tajik students studying at foreign religious educational institutions, and about 1,000 such students did
come back. Illegally functioning religious schools are regularly closed down. In 2010 twenty such madrasahs were closed, whereas in May and June 2011 there were 58 schools closed. But nineteen madrasahs and one Islamic university are regularly functioning in the republic on a legal basis.
In contrast to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan has traditionally been less Islamized. The Kyrgyzs were nomads in relatively recent past, especially in the north of the country, in view of which Islam was not widespread among them. The number of the Slav population in the republic was three times as high as in Kyrgyzstan. However, the influence of Islam on Kyrgyz society has markedly grown in recent years. There are more than 1,700 officially functioning mosques, nine Islamic higher educational institutions, about 60 madrasahs, and many different Muslim centers and organizations. In 2010 alone, about 100 new mosques were registered officially. And there are several hundred mosques functioning without registration. Many of them have been built on donations from Muslim, mainly Arab, countries. The number of permanent parishioners is estimated at more than 250,000.
Islamization is also more noticeable in Kazakhstan. In recent years radical Muslim trends have become more widespread in the republic, and the threat of terrorism has become greater. In 2011 several big acts of terror were committed in Kazakhstan. The events in the settlement of Shubarshi, Aktyubinsk region, were the most noticeable. Members of the local Salafite community, in revenge for the arrest of one of their fellow-members in early July 2011, shot and killed two policemen. During the pursuit operation another policeman was killed. The authorities were forced to call units of the special forces of the Ministry for the Interior. Nine of 11 Salafites were apprehended and killed in the house in which they were hiding and firing from for the whole night.
The spreading and popularization of Islam in Kazakhstan can also be seen and felt from outside. Women in traditional Muslim dress are a common sight in urban streets. Not a single public occasion passes now without the presence of imams or mullahs. Observers note growing interest in non-traditional trends of Islam, especially in South and Western Kazakhstan with the predominantly Kazakh population. There are quite a few Salafite and Koranites among the imams of local mosques.
The exacerbation of the socio-political situation in these conditions is inevitable. Along with the growing number of the supporters of radical Muslim movements, their struggle against secular regimes is transferred from the religious-ideological to the military-political sphere.
"Problema identichnosti: Kross-kulturny dialog", Yaroslavl, 2012, pp. 162-168.
