Islamic state in Central Asia
by Maksud Djavadov*
INTRODUCTION
In the past twenty years the International Politics has revolved around many
ideologies which included Communism, Liberal-Capitalism and Islam. The collapse
of the USSR left Liberal-Capitalist part of the world to be in charge of the
world affairs. Even though the victory of Liberal –Capitalism was evident it was
not left unchallenged. Political Islam came to be the main competitor of
Liberal-Capitalism in many parts of the world where most of the population was
Muslim. However, the world’s political establishment was quick to denounce
political Islam to be radical and serve as destabilizing factor. The
objective of this paper is to argue that an Islamic State in Central Asia can
play the role of politically stabilizing factor in Central Asia.
The role of Politics in Islam
Before analyzing the role of Islam in Central Asian politics one should first
view the role of politics in Islam. In order to understand the role of politics
in Islam one should first see what politics in the modern understanding.
Politics has many definitions and every person can define politics in his own
way, however the common definition of politics is the strive to achieve common
good and “the process of government”[1] Therefore since Islam as a religion pays
a great attention upon governance of people’s life’s, politics is already deeply
rooted in its fundamental bases. One can argue that the governance of religion
is only for individual aspects of life which should not be mixed up with the
governance of the community. Such argument towards Islam is illegitimate from
the Islamic point of view because in Islam the well being of the Islamic
community (UMMAH) is very crucial. Almost everybody can agree that modern life
without the existence of government is impossible, it is necessary to note that
Islam held such view ever since its foundation. In Islam politics and governance
has always played a major role. The Islamic definition of politics is to “give
careful consideration to good organization around the principles of public
interest”[2] within the framework of Quran and the Sunna. Also Islam as a
religion in its original language which is Arabic is called Deen which means the
way of life. According to the Islamic teachings Islamic state just as any other
state must have its goals which it aims to achieve. “The purpose of the Islamic
state is “to remove Munkar (evil) and to establish Maruf (good) and to build the
relationship between people on the basis of justice. However, all this should be
achieved according to the laws of ALLAH (cc) which Muslims believe to be
revealed to Prophet Muhammad (as) through the revelation of the Quran”[3] The
Islamic state must be based clearly on the concept of justice and in the Islamic
state any accomplishments should be based upon justice. Islam excludes the idea
that ends justify the means and the Quran strongly condemns such a perception by
stating that “O ye who believe! stand out firmly for
justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or
your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect
both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort
(justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well- acquainted with all
that ye do.” (Sura 4, 135) The fundamental basis of the Islamic State
or Republic should be based on the Quran and the Sunna, therefore any form of
tribalism or nationalism should be strongly condemned and be prevented.”[4]
Therefore after superficially viewing the role of politics in Islam and the
purpose of the Islamic state it can be argued that Islam is compatible with the
concept of modern understanding of politics and statehood.
Obstacle or an Alternative
After the end of the Cold War the United States of America and her NATO allies
have proclaimed the victory of the “forces of freedom and democracy” over the
world.[5] The victory of the Liberal –Capitalist ideology over Communism created
a social, political and economical vacuum in those societies which were governed
by Communism. The vacuum created by the collapse of Communism was to be
fulfilled by Western liberal-capitalist system. In many parts of the world the
western concept of democracy, liberty and capitalism successfully filled the
social, political and economical vacuum created by the collapse of Communism.
However, in many parts of the world where the most of the population were
Muslim, the western ideals were if not absolutely then at least partially not
accepted. Such situation led many thinkers in the Western world and Islamic
world to talk about the clash of civilizations. Many influential organizations
and government officials in the west were quick to denounce Islam as an obstacle
to democracy. Any talk concerning the establishment of the Islamic state was
viewed in the western world as the establishment of totalitarian rule. Such
accusations were seen by many Muslims as baseless. The will of the Western world
to define social relationships in the societies of the world, created an urge
for Muslims to respond to the western expansionism by an Islamic alternative.
The Islamic response to the western ideological expansion was done through
Islamic criteria of “democracy” which is rooted in the Quran and the Sunna. The
most basic definition of western democracy which is government for the people
and by the people came to be rejected by the Islamic movements because it goes
against the fundamental bases of the Islamic order of society. The meaning of
the western definition of democracy is that the government is the “absolute
slave” of the people and the people have the right to remove the government
which stops serving them. The western concept of democracy puts the will of the
people before the will of GOD (swt) and such concept cannot be accepted by
practicing Muslims. “In Islam the will of GOD (cc) is the most important
priority because the Quran states “I have only created Jinns and men, that they
may serve Me” (Sura 51, Verse 56) therefore according to Islam the humans
fulfill their purpose only by serving GOD (cc). This does not mean, however,
that Islam excludes human will because the Quran states
“….. and consult them in affairs (of moment). Then, when thou hast taken a
decision put thy trust in Allah. For Allah loves those who put their trust (in
Him).” ( Sura 3,159) [6] Another verse of the Quran states
“Say (o Muhammad) the truth from the Lord of you (all)
Then whosoever will, let him believe, and whosoever will let him disbelieve”
(Sura 18, 29) Therefore it would be correct to argue that Islam not only accepts
democratic rule, freedom of opinion and belief, but sees it as necessary.
However, Islamic understanding of freedom is more marginalized. Therefore one
can state that Islam does not represent anti-democracy, but rather represents an
alternative democratic criterion which does not go against fundamental bases of
freedom and equality.
Central Asia in Vacuum
After the collapse of the USSR the Central Asian states for the first time in
their history faced a challenge and the possibility of determining their own
independent national policies. The collapse of communism left many segments of
society without any particular direction. If in the past the communist
leadership and society was taught to serve the state and the party, now neither
the same state nor the party existed. Such situation created a total ideological
and moral vacuum in Central Asia which did not have any experience and knowledge
about any alternative to communism. The absence of the new experienced people
created an opportunity for the old nomenclature system of the communist trained
and conformist minded people to remain in power. The governments and nations of
Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan faced severe
economical, political and social problems. The incompetence of new leadership to
solve arising problems created the new class which came to be known as
opposition. The mythical hopes of this new class which imagined free elections
and if difficult future, but at least a future without repression, soon vanished
under the exercise of state repression by the regimes of Karimov, Nazarbaev,
Niyazov and Akaev. The deviation from national and religious traditions caused
by the seventy-five years of Communist repression and the absence of contact
with the alternative political theories in the world, created an absolute
absence of any new alternative. The understanding of the ruling elites that the
implementation of a new system would require new methods of government made them
realize that if such new system would come to exist the need for their presence
in power will disappear. Therefore, the personified regimes of Karimov, Niyazov,
Nazarbaev and Akaev were quick to link the future of their people and their
newly independent states with their personalities and create a new “national
reconciliation process” of which their personality composed the fundamental
bases.
Current regimes as the cause of Instability
After the events of September 11th 2001 the so called international community
was fast to talk about reintegrating Central Asia to the world of democracy and
economical prosperity. The regimes of Karimov, Niyazov, Nazarbaev, and Akaev who
which were before classified by the United States of America and her allies as
totalitarian, today became the actual strategic partners of the US in the
region. The “bigger” threat of terrorism to humanity which the United States of
America is advertising so quickly today seems to blind the eyes of the world on
the equivalent threat that comes from state repression. It seems that the world
today is forgetting the basic physical law, that any action causes a reaction.
The repressive measures of the Central Asian authoritarian regimes inspire the
rise and the creation of what many call the “terrorist organizations.” [7] The
creation of IMU (Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan) and its use of guerrilla
warfare to combat the regime of Karimov were in the long run caused by the
incompetence of Karimov to try to understand and tolerate the alternative
opinion of the people in the town of Namangan. [8] Another useful example which
can show that repression of constitutional rights of people can give birth to
the bloodiest conflicts can be seen in Algeria. Before the government of Algeria
has banned the election results of December 26, 1991 in which the Islamic
Salvation Front won 47.54 percent of the votes the ISF was the most peaceful
Islamic movement in the entire Islamic world.[9] Only after violently violating
the right of the Algerian people to elect and be elected has the ISF turned to
armed struggle as means to gain power which they legitimately achieved and which
was illegitimately taken away from them.
Another key problem which Central Asia faces and which is caused by the present
totalitarian regimes is the issue of border disputes. The struggle between the
personality influences in Central Asia drew the nations of Uzbekistan,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan to live in the situation of
potential “time bomb” explosion. The will of the leaders of Central Asia to gain
more “prestige” and personal power in the region can create a hostile tension
between the states of Central Asia. Such precedent has already been put forward
by Karimov who is actively promoting the idea of unification of all Uzbeks of
Central Asia in one “Great Uzbekistan.” The similar ideas are being promoted by
the leaders of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan. Such provocative agendas
create a potential for “Yugoslavian Syndrome” in Central Asia whose consequences
will be very severe for the world in general. Constant boycotting of energy
resources and severe border restriction which is being promoted by power hungry
regimes of Central Asia towards each other is creating a path for nationalistic
conflicts which will affect the entire world.
The Great Game in Central Asia
Almost all the time when one is engaged into a conversation about Central Asia
one can often hear the reference to the historic concept of the “great game”
which is always defined in terms of struggle for the natural resources of the
region. In the classical terms the great game today is defined in following
manner. “The classic struggle for imperial dominance and influence has never
been more explosive and dangerous than it is now. Historically, the geopolitical
chess game has been between Great Britain and Russia, today the sun has set on
the British Empire and the United States has replaced it in the game, where
global and regional powers are at odds with each other over control of the
Caucasus and Central Asia. Tales of infiltrators, spies, puppet kings, and
mysterious terrorist with single names, bloody battles and endless riches
continue to lure oilmen and their companies, who come in droves to find new ways
to extract the natural resources of the region with their new tools and
technologies.” [10] However, it can be stated that such classical approach
is irrelevant today. The quantity and the quality of the natural resources of
Central Asia if not dramatically then at least slightly are exaggerated. [11]
The main concept of the great game today revolves around the ability to exercise
and gain political and military power and control over the regional powers and
political ideologies and not just simple struggle for natural resources. Central
Asia today represents a strategic point from which great powers such as Iran,
Russia, China and India can be easily controlled. The constant fear of regional
and world powers of increasing influence of one single power unit over the
region, has always aided to the escalation of the conflicts in Central Asia.
Historically, different alliances were formed in the region on the bases of
balance of power in Central Asia. The war in Afghanistan from 1979-1987 and the
current conflicts which go as far as from Chechnya to Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous
Region are all caused by the fear of hegemony of one power over the region.
Today this fear is present more as never before.
After the September 11th events, the ability of the US propaganda machine to successfully market the threat of terrorism managed to gain temporary support of Russia, China, Iran and India and for the first time enter Central Asia directly. Due to the US economical strength the regional powers were overpowered and became politically weak as never before. The bigger economic capacity of the United States of America and her allies appealed to the self proclaimed leaders of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan do to their narrow minded and corrupt personal nature from which non-regional powers greatly benefit. The presence of the United States of America in the region of which it is not a part, has created a big threat to China, Iran and Russia.
The Iranian, Russian and Chinese Worries
In the region of Central Asia the preservation of territory and the control over
the borders has always played the key role in the “Great Game “which was played
by regional powers. After the United States of America has established its
military presence, the threat to territorial integrity of Iran, Russia and China
has increased as never before. The threat to the territorial integrity of China,
Russia and Iran has increased because the possibility of the implementation of
expansionist Pan-Turkist ideology became greater as never before.
Ever since the collapse of the USSR, Turkey which is the main ally of the United
States of America and the Zionist regime, has received the so called green light
to increase or as some nationalist Turks state to “reclaim” their influence in
Central Asia. The way through which Turkey has pursued its goals in Central Asia
was through Pan-Turkish ideology which calls for the unification of all Turks in
united country which Pan –Turks call Turan. Pursuing Pan-Turkic oriented foreign
policy automatically creates virtual state of war in Central Asia. Since many
ethnic Turks live on the territory of Iran, China and Russia, Pan-Turkism for
those states means the destruction of their present borders. After the so called
war on terrorism it should be noted that the United States of America has
transferred the command of the so called coalition forces to Turkey. The
promotion of Pan-Turkism is in the interest of the United States of America and
the Zionist regime. By promoting Pan-Turkism the United States of America
eliminates the threat of China from the Pacific Basin and Taiwan by causing
China to concentrate its military, political and economical strength on Central
Asia and Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. Pan- Turkism forces Russia to become
involved in Central Asia and withdraw its political and military focus from
Black Sea and the Baltic frontier of Europe. Also in the Islamic Republic of
Iran where Azeri –Turks make up about fifteen million people can also be used as
destabilizing factor. The United States of America and her allies through
propagating the concept of greater Azerbaijan in Turan can force the Islamic
Republic of Iran to withdraw its resistance power from the occupied lands of
Palestine and trigger another Islamic civil war within the Islamic community.
The Concept of Regional Cooperation and Security
By looking at the practice of international politics one can easily see that
many conflicts occur when non-regional states try to expand their influence
beyond their region of influence and presence. The wars in Vietnam, Korea,
Angola and Afghanistan were all caused by the will of certain non-regional
powers to expand and get involved in regions of which they were not a part. When
the United States of America or any other power enters a region of which it is
not a part and which is historically and traditionally has no links with it, it
is viewed by the people of the region as occupying and imperialist force. Such
perception of people to whose region a foreign country is getting involved
always leads only to war, conflict and chaos. Today the presence of the United
States of America and her allies in Central Asia is creating an urge for China,
Russia, Iran and the national-patriotic forces with in newly independent Central
Asian states to act and struggle for preservation of their historic interests
and rights in the region. The fear of US hegemony over the region and the world
naturally creates fear and uncertainty in Central Asia. The violation of
sovereignty of Afghanistan and the installment of puppet government shows us in
practice that stability cannot be achieved by the use of force. The collapse of
Taliban rule rolled Afghanistan back into chaos and middle-aged style feudal
state because bad or good some kind of law and order existed in Afghanistan
during the reign of Taliban
The most probable solution to the region today has to be based on the concept of
regional cooperation and security of regional states. One should remember that
one of the main reasons which many International Political thinkers think made
United States of America a great power, was Monroe Doctrine. Monroe Doctrine
proclaimed in 1823 that the United States of America will not get involved in
European power struggle and Europe should not get involved into western
hemisphere.[12] The Monroe Doctrine created a relatively peaceful and stable
environment on the American continent which provided the United States of
America to pursue economical, political and social development. The precedent of
Monroe Doctrine should be applied in Central Asia in order to avoid regional and
global war.
Islamic State as Guarantee of Regional Stability
It would most probably take a whole book to explain how Islamic State in Central
Asia can be a base for stability. However, one can briefly outline a general
framework. In order to understand how an Islamic State can play a role of
creating stability one should first look at the problems of Central Asia that
create instability . The key problems of Central Asia can be summarized in the
following manner:
· Dictatorial Regimes - which causes the violation of constitutional rights of ordinary citizens and leads to the suffering of the innocent and creation of militant resurgence
· Corruption - is one of the main causes of economical hardship and creation of poverty which forces people to illegally earn money for living.
· Nationalism - creates potential state of war and border disputes and social tension.
· Lack of Order and Predictability - is caused by policies which are dependent only upon the personal will of the self proclaimed leaders and developed according with clan and family interests .[13]
The above stated issues that Central Asia faces today may be argued to be too
broad and simplified. Such argument is reasonable; however it should be taken
into consideration that only by solving big problems one can start solving the
small ones. Also the in depth discussion of Central Asian problems would most
probably take more then a book.
Many people would pose a question; Why an Islamic State is the guarantee of
stability in Central Asia and not a Western Democratic state? The main answer to
this question is that democracy in the western sense of understanding has no
traditional base among the people of Central Asia and the western concept of
democracy may be seen as a threat by Russia, India and China to their
territorial integrity. Also the western model of democracy is based upon the
concept of nation and this will further escalate the ethnic and border problems.
The Islamic concept of democracy is based upon brotherhood and the concept of
Dar Al-Ahad or Dar Al Sulh (the land of peace). The concept of Dar Al Ahad comes
from the Sunna of Prophet Muhammad (as) when he and his companions (ra) were
granted protection by the King of Ethiopia and later Ethiopia was declared Dar
Al-Ahad and Muslims were not allowed to attack Ethiopia. Therefore once the
rights of Muslims in Russia, China and India is not violated the territorial
integrity of those countries must not be threatened by an Islamic State because
they are not forcing Muslims to abandon their religion and are not persecuted
for being Muslim. Therefore the concept of Dar Al Ahad in Islamic Law
hypothetically eliminates the worries of China, Russia, Iran and India over
their territorial integrity and creates an atmosphere of peaceful coexistence
between Muslims, China, Russia and India presuming any of these nations do not
persecute Muslims. Also after the creation of an Islamic State the border
disputes and ethnic tensions among Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan,
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan is automatically eliminated because an Islamic state
in Central Asia will be composed of all those states on the bases of Islamic
brotherhood as stated in the Hadith narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim, on the
authority of `Abdallah ibn `Umar “"An Arab is no better than a non-Arab. In
return, a non-Arab is no better than an Arab. A red raced man was not better
than a black one except in piety. Mankind are all Adam's children and Adam was
created out of clay." [14] The establishment of an Islamic State in Central Asia
will also automatically eliminate corruption because corruption is viewed as
theft in Islamic Law. Another key issue which Islamic state is capable of
solving in Central Asia is establishing law and order which is predictable and
is not based upon the individual will of the leader because Islamic Law has
fixed sources of law. “In Islam the judiciary is not placed under the control of
the executive. It derives its authority directly from the Shari‘ah and is
answerable to Allah. The judges will obviously be appointed by the Government
but, once appointed, will have to administer justice impartially according to
the law of Allah.” [15] Today we can already see how an Islamic spirit is slowly
but surely is eliminating the national and ethnic tensions among Muslims in
Central Asia. “When law enforcement authorities from Jalal-Abad Province
tried to arrest an activist of banned Islamic party «Hizb-ut-Tahrir» in one of
the villages of Bazar-Korgon District, both Kyrgyzs and Uzbeks rushed to protect
him. It went as far as clashes with shooting, but the fellow villagers never
gave up their coreligionist to the police” [16] Such actions are showing in
practice that Islam can serve as a force of consolidation in Central Asian and
eliminate if not absolutely all the problems then at least the most major ones.
Most of the above mentioned problems and Islamic solutions are of political
nature, so some may think that Islamic State is not capable of bringing
economical progress. It should be remembered that the objective of this paper
is to argue that an Islamic State in Central Asia can play the role of
politically stabilizing factor in Central Asia. And those who are not well
acquainted with Islam must know that Islam possess a very detailed and
sophisticated economical system, however the discussion of the economical aspect
of Islam in this paper would consume much more time and space. Therefore the
economical aspect of Islam and its role in Central Asia should be dealt as a
separate issue.
By forming the Islamic state in Central Asia the regional powers such as Russia,
China and India should not be afraid and be influenced by mythological anti
–Islamic propaganda. The governments of Russia, China and India should remember
that until 1945 European nations were constantly at war with each other, but due
to common good and rational thinking, today the nations of Europe came together
to form a common future on the bases of cooperation. The nations of Central Asia
Russia, China and India have historically and traditionally much more in common
then uncommon, therefore the grounds for cooperation are naturally existent.
CONCLUSION
After reading this material one can develop an opinion that an Islamic State in
Central Asia is mythical utopia. One should not forget that the creation of
European Union in 1943 would also be considered a utopian thought, but indeed
the European Union today exists. The above mentioned arguments are made with the
consideration that politics is the science of possible and therefore it should
not be regarded that the creation of an Islamic State in Central Asia is just a
theory without practical possibility. If one looks into the original sources of
Islam it will not be hard to realize that the above brought arguments are
present in Islamic historical tradition and there is no reasonable argument why
they may not be re-implemented. It seems that in the next five to ten years the
establishment of an Islamic State in Central Asia will be a very hot issue. If
the self proclaimed champions of democracy and justice will react towards all
Islamic resurgences using the mask of terrorism to suppress Islamic movements
because they do not absolutely serve their interests the world will plunge into
war where everything will be possible except understanding, tolerance, dialogue
and peace.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1]
http://www.fast-times.com/political/dictP.html
[2] [2] Dr Ibrahim Abdullah Al-Marzouqi - Human Rights in Islamic Law: page 329
[3]
http://www.kavkaz.org/istoriya/Kniga%20Zelimkhana/pisanie%20i%20suna%20proroka.htm
[4] Maksud Djavadov - Theory and Structure of Islamic State in Iran: page 1-2
[5]
http://www.rjgeib.com/biography/europe/prague/freedom.html
[6] Maksud Djavadov - Theory and Structure of Islamic State in Iran: page 12
[7]
http://66.186.195.249/2001/press_en/12_20_12_20_congressen.htm
[8] Ahmad Rasheed - The Rise of Militant Islam page 137
[9] John Esposito - Islamic Threat Myth or Reality? Page 183
[10]
http://www.aliyev.com/aliyev/fact_07.htm
[11]
http://www.aliyev.com/aliyev/fact_07.htm
[12] Henry Kissinger - Diplomacy page 35
[13] Ahmad Rasheed - The Rise of Militant Islam page 197
[14]
http://www.islamicdawah.mobilixnet.dk/islam/nationalism.htm\
[15]
http://www.jamaat.org/islam/IslamPol.html
[16] http://www.kavkaz.org/eng/article.php?id=1391
* Maksud Djavadov is the son of Mahir Djavadov (also spelt Javadov), a man who is the Chairman of the in-exile Azarbaijan Takamul Party. Brother Maksud has kindly forwarded many of his articles to me to publish on this site.