Islam and Security in the New States of Central Asia: How Genuine is the Islamic Threat?

Abstract

Since the breakup of the Soviet Union a strong tendency has emerged to refer to any form of public religious activity in the Muslim republics of Central Asia as a mani­ festation of 'religious fundamentalism', often described as 'Wahhabism'. Both terms are applied indiscriminately and have become completely meaningless, possessing only excessive emotional content. In reality, the Islamic revival in Central Asia has two distinct aspects: social and political. The first is the return to Islam as a way of life and an important component of the people's identity. The second is the rise of political Islam (the emergence of Islamic parties; the appeal to Islam by the government and secular parties). Generally labelled as 'fundamentalism', political Islam includes many diverse tendencies. 'Wahhabism' is only one form of political Islam, and as I will try to show below it is a term which at best can be applied only tentatively. In order to clarify which party or active Islamic group, if any, represents Wahhabi Islam in Central Asia, let us first investigate what 'Wahhabism' is in the broader Islamic context and how it relates to other forms of political Islamic movement.