BBC NEWS
Kyrgyz group aims for Caliphate
By Artyom Liss and Damian Grammaticas
BBC News, Kyrgyzstan
The London bombings have prompted the UK government to outlaw Hizb ut
Tahrir - a radical Islamic group that wants to replace secular
governments with an Islamic Caliphate, or super-state run according
to Sharia Law.
The group is particularly strong in Central Asia, where it believes
it may take the first steps towards establishing its Caliphate.
High in the mountains of poverty-stricken Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia
a bearded man with a fierce gaze slices a watermelon. It is a very
colourful sight - red drops of juice on the green carpet, with the
glistening snow-covered peaks in the distance.
"In this village, people trust us, not the authorities," says Nur
Mohammed, a local leader of Hizb ut Tahrir, which is also banned in
Kyrgyzstan.
"Everybody here knows that we will solve their problems quickly and
in strict accordance with the Koran. And this suits people a lot
better than the slow, bureaucratic and often expensive official
route."
The village of Arslanbob is tiny and difficult to reach. From here,
it is a two-hour drive to the nearest town. The road is virtually non-
existent, and the local bus service is overstretched.
We do not have strong institutions, established institutions,
and those groups really work against the basis of our statehood
Rosa Otunbayeva
Kyrgyzstan's foreign minister
So people here have always thought it best to solve problems in-house.
"We have already won the battles on prostitution, drink and robbery,"
says Nur Mohammed.
"All we do is talk to people about the Koran. Sometimes, it requires
more than just the skill of persuasion - but in the end, we do come
out on top. In our village, nobody even locks their doors now. We've
taught people to trust each other - and to respect Sharia law."
But for Hizb ut Tahrir, battles for hearts and minds in small
villages like Arslanbob are just routine. The organisation aims much
higher.
More than 100km (60 miles) away, in the market town of Kara-Suu, we
met Dilior. A carpenter by trade, he lives in a huge house with a
lush garden, behind a very high and very thick fence.
Dilior is the official spokesman of Hizb ut Tahrir in southern
Kyrgyzstan. Even though his group is banned, scores of journalists
visit his house every week.
"All Muslims in the world already want to live in a Caliphate, under
Sharia law," he says. "It will be a huge state, a very powerful
state. Even now you are all afraid of us - America, Israel, you in
the UK too."
TV battle
Dilior tried to set up a TV station which would spread this message
to all Muslims in Kara-Suu and the neighbouring towns. But after just
three days on air, it was shut down by the authorities.
So now he is going to take "the bureaucrats" to court. His proof that
the TV station was necessary is hundreds of letters from ordinary
people who want to know more about Hizb ut Tahrir's hardline view of
Islam.
"Democracy has not given people anything worthwhile," explains
Dilior. "Look at you: in the UK, you give rights to homosexual
couples. Even animals don't do this. So is this what your democracy
has to offer?
"Now, Allah gives an answer to every possible question: how to deal
with friends and neighbours, how to bring up children, even how to
use the toilet - it's all in the Koran. Of course, people want to
know these answers."
But despite this radicalism, Hizb ut Tahrir condemns all violence.
The group is sure that an Islamic super-state will be created through
evolution, not revolution.
To people like Dilior, it is a question of when, not if.
Influence spreading
Meanwhile, Hizb ut Tahrir are gaining more and more supporters across
Central Asia - people who think that democracy should be written off
as ineffective and replaced by the Sharia law.
So governments in the region are trying to find a way of dealing with
this emerging threat.
"We are in the first years of our independence," says Kyrgyzstan's
Foreign Minister Rosa Otunbayeva.
"We do not have strong institutions, established institutions. And
those groups really work against the basis of our statehood. This is
really a threat for us."
The most common option is to get the police involved. But even the
harshest of measures seem counterproductive.
The cells below the police station at Osh are dark, damp and grim.
Hizb ut Tahrir members detained by Kyrgyzstan's police are held in
filthy cells.
Nur Mohammed, the unofficial leader of Arslanbob's Muslims, has
already spent time in jail. He remembers those days as some of the
best in his life.
"If you put a Muslim like me under pressure," he says, "he quickly
understands that Allah is his one and only friend... I myself only
became a true believer behind bars."
Underground skills
Some believe the danger posed by the group is being overstated.
Filip Noubel, the Central Asia editor for the Institute for War and
Peace Reporting, says "there is a niche for this movement that is
probably not bigger than 5% or 10%. I don't think they can go beyond
that".
But Kyrgyzstan and neighbouring countries have been facing groups
like Hizb ut Tahrir for years now. And so far, their governments have
failed to come up with an adequate response.
Proscribing it in Britain is controversial. The group still preaches
peaceful change.
The lesson from Central Asia is that driving it underground could be
counterproductive when it comes to tackling fanaticism and hatred.
Both Dilior and Nur Mohammed told us that they are more than happy to
share their skills in covert, underground work with their British
brethren.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4131762.stm
Published: 2005/08/08 17:33:16 GMT
© BBC MMV
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
<font face=arial size=-1><a
href="http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12h4mamum/M=362335.6886444.7839734.2575449/D=groups/S=1705796846:TM/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1123621316/A=2894362/R=0/SIG=138c78jl6/*http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/arts_culture/?source=YAHOO&cmpgn=GRP&RTP=http://groups.yahoo.com/";>What
would our lives be like without music, dance, and theater?Donate or volunteer
in the arts today at Network for Good</a>.</font>
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
