Radical Islam in Central Asia: Between Pen and Rifle

by Vitaly V. Naumkin

Overview

This original study by distinguished scholar Vitaly V. Naumkin offers an authoritative analysis of the key militant Islamic organizations in Central Asia. Long veiled in secrecy, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Hizb at-Tahrir al-Islami, and the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan are illuminated here for the first time. Drawing on his extensive fieldwork and an unprecedented array of Central Asian primary sources, the author thoroughly compares their doctrines, power bases, and political practices. The book also explores the history of political Islam in Central Asia and explains the concurrent roots of Islamic militancy from the early disputes between Salafis and traditionalists, through the period of Islamic revival in the late 1980s when radical groups first emerged, and up to their growing strength today.

Naumkin analyzes the human dimension in Central Asian Islam through the lives of the most significant theologians, mullahs, underground preachers, and teachers in the region, evaluating their role in the spread of Islamic radicalism. Providing fresh insight into the balance between peaceful and militant means of struggle for power used by Islamic movements, the author considers into the possibility of dialogue with the Islamists and the outcome of the "Tajik experiment" that brought former Islamic radicals into the government. All those interested in the development of political Islam will find this study an invaluable resource.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742529298
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	03/11/2005
Series:	The Soviet Bloc and After
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.18(w) x 9.32(h) x 0.84(d)

About the Author

Vitaly Naumkin is president of the International Center for Strategic and Political Studies and professor at Moscow State University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Introduction Chapter 3 The Roots and Causes of Islamic Radicalism: The History of Islam in Central Asia Chapter 4 The Rise and Fall of the Islamic Movement in Uzbekistan Chapter 5 The Hizb at-Tahrir al-Islami: A Peaceful Expansion? Chapter 6 Islamists in Government: The Case of the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan Chapter 7 Conclusion Chapter 8 Glossary

Editorial Reviews

Vitaly Naumkin’s accessible and well-written book makes a significant contribution to the debate about militant Islam in Central Asia….Naumkin’s conclusion that repressive policies of the authorities have been counterproductive remains convincing. His book serves as a reminder that the best way to counter Islamic militancy is principled support for the rule of law and democratic freedoms.

Central Asian Survey - Alisher Khamidov

How better to understand the nature and scope of the challenge raised by radical Islam in Central Asia than to probe deeply the biography of the three key movements active in the region—one violent, allied to al Qaeda, and focused on overturning a key regime in Uzbekistan; a second, non-violent and committed to a global caliphate; and the third, increasingly tamed and part of conventional politics in Tajikistan. Naumkin brings to the task not only the erudition of a scholar of medieval Islam, but years of first-hand encounters with the region and with a broad spectrum of people within both the Islamic and governmental communities.

Robert Legvold

This fine book offers an extraordinarily well-informed and insightful examination of political Islam in Central Asia and of its place in the broader phenomenon of political Islam across the Muslim world. Likely to be the standard reference on the topic for some time to come.

Graham E. Fuller

Drawing on a range of sources to provide detailed accounts of the history, organisation, activities and ideologies of the movements and the biographies of key actors, [Naumkin] goes a long way to untangle the myths and stereotypes that have surrounded the phenomenon of radical Islam in the region.

Central Asian Survey - Maria Louw Maria Louw

In this authoritative study, Vitaly V. Naumkin provides essential reading on the origins of Central Asian extremist groups and their role in the region today….The wealth of detail and the numerous translated documents that support his discussion and conclusions make this a fascinating and often unsettling account….He demonstrates that the minority of Islamic militants draw on the anger and frustration felt by ordinary Muslims, who see no other viable alternatives to their current governments that cannot—or will not—respond to their citizens’ needs. This is an important message indeed, and it makes Naumkin’s book vital to understanding the potency of militant Islam in Central Asia

Journal of Asian Studies

This insightful book will be of great interest to scholars, government officials, and those concerned with understanding the complex world of Central Asia. Highly recommended.

Choice Reviews - S.A. Kochanek

Illuminates, for the first time, the varied complexities of largely clandestine movements shaped by contradictory and often opaque currents. The author's mastery of this unusual body of sources on a topic central to contemporary international politics sets it apart from other works of this kind.

Robert Crews

A 'must-read' for anyone who is interested in political Islam, its origins and role in modern Central Asia, and the linkages between Central Asia and the broader Muslim world. This essential book offers a long-overdue introduction to the extensive, highly original, and invaluable work of one of Russia's leading scholars.

Fiona Hill

Vitaly Naumkin, one of Russia's foremost authorities on the Muslim world and the Middle East, has brought together his deep knowledge and experience to produce this outstanding study of the forces of change in the realm of Islam in Central Asia.

University Of Durham - Anoush Ehteshami

Naumkin is uniquely situated to have brought all this information and analysis to foreign readers. He has the scholarly knowledge of the region acquired through years of research, the first-hand contacts to actually make contact with some of the actors and the ability to make sense of it. For these reasons alone we should be very grateful that he has brought forth these sources and analyses that no specialist in Central Asia can afford to miss.

Central Asian Survey - Stephen Blank

Drawing on a range of sources to provide detailed accounts of the history, organisation, activities and ideologies of the movements and the biographies of key actors, [Naumkin] goes a long way to untangle the myths and stereotypes that have surrounded the phenomenon of radical Islam in the region.--Maria Louw "Central Asian Survey "

This insightful book will be of great interest to scholars, government officials, and those concerned with understanding the complex world of Central Asia. Highly recommended.--S.A. Kochanek, Pennsylvania State University "CHOICE "

Illuminates, for the first time, the varied complexities of largely clandestine movements shaped by contradictory and often opaque currents. The author's mastery of this unusual body of sources on a topic central to contemporary international politics sets it apart from other works of this kind.--Robert Crews, Stanford University

From the Publisher

Drawing on a range of sources to provide detailed accounts of the history, organisation, activities and ideologies of the movements and the biographies of key actors, [Naumkin] goes a long way to untangle the myths and stereotypes that have surrounded the phenomenon of radical Islam in the region.

Central Asian Survey - Maria Louw