Université Libre de Bruxelles
Post-Graduate Studies in International Politics
Seminar: Asie centrale et ré-islamisation
1st semester: September 28-December 22, 2005

Islamic Movements in Uzbekistan: Who is Hizb-ut-Tahrir?

by: Franco Burgio

Structure

I. Preface 1

II. Introduction 3

1.) The Umma-Concept 3
2.) Islamic Movements in Central Asia: Between Nation and Umma 4

III. Roots, Emergence in Uzbekistan and Ideology 5

1.) Origins 5
2.) Emergence in Uzbekistan 7
3.) Introduction to the Ideology of the Liberation Party 8

IV. Organization and Political Methodology 11

1.) Organization 11
2.) Political Methodology 12

V. Attitude Towards Violence 14

VI. Conclusion 16

I. Preface

"The riot was organized by the followers of the Akramia movement, which is a new part of the Hizb-ut-Tahrir movement. The organization′s objectives are absolutely unacceptable for us. They are about hatred and the rejection of the secular way of development" Islam Karimov, 2005¹

Islam and Islamic movements have become a crucial political issue in Uzbekistan. Despite having taken some transitional democratic measures (opposition parties were granted legal status, an ombudsman was appointed, etc.), and even though President Karimov had shown an early interest in Western (and in particular European) institutional systems, it seems that over the past five years (since the bombing on 6 February 1999 in Tashkent) the democratic process in Uzbekistan has taken a step back to practices inherited from Soviet times. Freedom of expression is today severely restricted in Uzbekistan, with essentially no independent press.² Moreover political opposition became almost impossible. In the declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the Parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan the EU noted with concern that only government-approved parties were registered for the 26 December 2004 Legislative Chamber Elections and that, over the last twelve months, three aspiring political parties were not permitted to register.³ Much of the state’s repressive apparatus and many of the its negative economic policies have been attributed to the need to fight against Islamic extremist.⁴ The most prominent Islamic groups in Uzbekistan are the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT).⁵ After much of the IMU (Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan) infrastructure and capacity was destroyed during the U.S.- led military campaign in Afghanistan in 2001 its role in challenging the regime of President Karimov´s regime states has been taken over by the non-violent radical group Hizb ut-Tahrir.⁶ Unlike the IMU, the HuT is a true transnational organization that consists of semiindependent branches, only some of which are in Central Asia. In Central Asia, it has been most active in Uzbekistan.

The purpose and the limit of this paper is to give an overview of the historical background, the ideology, the organisational structures and the aims of the Hizb ut-Tahrir. Special attention will be paid to its political methodology and its attitude towards violence, which is essential to understand and assess the role of Islamic movements such as Hizb ut-Tahrir Uzbekistan. Due to the government’s crackdown of the party, state propaganda, conflicting media reports lead by internal and external interest groups and the parties own propaganda agenda it is very difficult to find reliable information about the parties involvement in the region. However, the International Crisis Group (ICG)⁷ is the trustworthiest source in this aspect since it has a regular and extended coverage of the area and its political situation with a special focus on the Islamic movements. In addition, they have on the spot teams with direct contact to locals which gives them additional credibility. The papers statements regarding the party’s activities in Uzbekistan are thus mostly based on ICG report about Hizb ut-Tahrir in Central Asia.

II. Introduction

1.) The Umma-Concept

“The Fatherland of a Muslim is the place where the Seriat prevails.” M. Said Halim Pasa, 1917⁸

Traditional Islamic states such as the Ottoman Empire were not based on the nation-state concept but on the Umma concept. The nucleus of the Islamic polity was the religio-political community which the Prophet founded and led in Medina – the “Umma dun al-nas,” the community distinguished from the rest of mankind.⁹ The central idea of Islam was of a community of believers regardless of race or language; “Umma” refers to community of brothers in faith. The division between believer and unbeliever became and remained the fundamental division of mankind among the Muslim peoples. The world was divided into “Dar al-Islam,” the House of Islam, and the “Dar al-Harb,” the House of War, or lands under infidel rule. Then religion constituted the basis for one’s individual identity.¹⁰ When the European powers referred for example to “Turkey” and the “Turks”, the Turks considered themselves as Muslims belonging to the “Umma.” They were subjects of the Sultan and the Caliph. Religious affiliation dominated the thinking of the Muslims. It was far more crucial than ethnic or national identity.¹¹ A trend, which obviously did not prevail during the postcolonial period. The traditional Umma came to a formal end with the abolishment of the Caliphate by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on the 3rd of March.¹² The practical end was a result of the post-colonial period where Nation states where founded all along the Muslim world following the European example and where the ruling elites fostered the establishment of national identities and allegiance on the expenses of trans-regional and trans-ethnic solidarity of the supranational Muslim community of the Umma.

2.) Islamic Movements in Central Asia: Between Nation and Umma

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1 President Karimov´s statement to the press following the Andijan Massacre, for details on the events and the governments involvement see HRW, 2005: http://hrw.org/reports/2005/uzbekistan0605/

2 Eur. Com. 2004: http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/uzbekistan/intro/

3 Eur. Com. 2005: http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=PESC/05/2&format=HTML&aged=0&language

4 for a detailed analyzes see ICG, 2003: Radical Islam in Central Asia: Responding to HuT ICG Asia Report, No. 58 and Uzbekistan’s Reform Program: Illusion or Reality ? Asia Report, No. 46

5 Halbach, 2002:1

6 Naumkin, 2003: 3 and 4

7 ICG, 2006: http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=1251&l=1

8 Quoted in Lewis, 1961: 323

9 Ibid: 328

10 Berkes, 1964: 9

11 Kirisce, 1997: 6

12 Mango, 1999: 404