Author: Dr. Ehsan Ahrari
- Date: October 2006 -
The Ferghana Valley consists of portions of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. The chief problems of that Valley include the absence of democracy, the presence of acute economic underdevelopment, and a high degree of repression. These conditions are generally considered to be contributing to the popularity of extremist movements. Two such organizations are the focus of this study: Hizb ut-Tahrir-e-Islami or Hizb Tahrir (the Islamic Liberation Movement or HT), and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU). HT is a radical Islamist party, but it is not Jihadist in orientation. Its purpose is to establish the Caliphate (Khilafah) in Central Asia and elsewhere in the world of Islam.
The proposition of creating a Caliphate is a radical one; however, HT insists that it intends to achieve its purpose through peaceful means only. The IMU is a pan-Islamist and Jihadist party. As such, it intends to overthrow the governments of the Ferghana Valley through violent means (i.e., through the use of militant Jihad). Indeed, it has exploited the repressive governing style of the governments and the acute economic underdevelopment of the area to launch a number of armed attacks in those countries in the late 1990s and 2000.
