The violent uprising of the people of Andijan in Uzbekistan on May 13,2005, seems to have been crushed for the time being by the Uzbek authorities with heavy force, resulting in the death of at least 20 civilians. The anti-Government elements, which organised the uprising, claim to have captured 30 Uzbek soldiers and to be keeping them in their custody.
The uprising was preceded by a raid by supporters of the banned Hizbut Tehrir (HT) on a local prison in which the authorities had detained a group of 23 Muslim businessmen whom they had arrested on June 23,2004, and accused of belonging to an Islamic extremist organisation called the Akramia group. The raiders were reported to have forcibly got the so-called Akramia group members released.
On coming to know of their release, a large number of the local residents came out in the streets and captured a number of Government buildings. The Uzbek security forces, after heavy fighting, managed to free the buildings from the control of the supporters of the so-called Akramia group and the HT.
The arrested Muslim businessmen, whose trial started at Alatankul on the outskirts of Andijan in February,2005, , had formed an Islamic mutual fund to help poor Muslims and to undertake charity work with its earnings. The authorities suspected it of being a front organisation of the HT, a charge which was vehemently denied by the businessmen. They contended that they had no links with the HT and that their objective was purely philonthropic with no political agenda.
Despite this, the authorities filed a charge-sheet against them under Articles 242 (setting up a criminal organisation), 159 (undermining the constitutional basis of the Republic of Uzbekistan), 244-1 (preparing or distributing documents that contain a threat to public safety) and 244-2 (setting up, leading, and participating in extremist religious organisations) of the Criminal Code.
The names of the arrested businessmen are: Rasuljon Ajikhalilov, Abdumajit Ibragimov, Abdulboki Ibragimov, Tursunbek Nazarov, Makhammadshokir Artikov, Odil Makhsdaliyev, Dadakhon Nodirov, Shamsitdin Atamatov, Ortikboy Akbarov, Rasul Akbarov, Shavkat Shokirov, Abdurauf Khamidov, Muzaffar Kodirov, Mukhammadaziz Mamdiyev, Nasibillo Maksudov, Adkhamjon Babojonov, Khakimjon Zakirov, Gulomjon Nadirov, Musojon Mirzaboyev, Dilshchodbek Mamadiyev, Abdulvosid Igamov, Shokurjon Shakirov, and Ravshanbek Mazimjonov.
Bakhrom Shakirov, father of Shokurjon Shakirov, said in an interview on February, 18,2005:" The detainees are not members of any underground organisation. They are devout believers and entrepreneurs. They set up a mutual benefit fund and tried to help one another in commercial matters, following Islamic teachings. They used the money in the mutual benefit fund to carry out charitable work and regularly transferred money to children's homes and schools. A broad-based social welfare scheme was set up at the companies run by the detained businessmen. Staff at the companies received material help when they married (staff were often even provided with an apartment) and when they were ill the employer paid in full for all the medicines and sick leave. Any employee at the company knew quite well that if anything went wrong the company management and his colleagues would always come to his aid. The Islamic businessmen worked out a genuine minimum subsistence wage in Andijan (which was several times higher than the official minimum wage) and agreed to pay staff a wage that was higher than this figure. It's true that Muslim prayers were read out at these Islamic companies, but this was a voluntary matter. They didn't demand that workers should be believers, but people at these companies
gradually came to understand the truth of Islam. These Islamic companies gradually became famous throughout Andijan, and the local media regularly carried positive reports about the charitable activities of the businessmen who are now under arrest. Even now, while the businessmen are in prison, local television is showing glowing reports about their charitable work. It is the popularity of these Islamic companies among the population that has provoked the authorities' harsh response. The state has begun to see these businessmen as ideological competitors, because their activity has
truly demonstrated the superiority of Islamic economics."
The authorities described the arrested businessmen as belonging to the Akramia group meaning that they were the followers of Akram Yuldashev, presently in jail after having been convicted on a charge of terrorism.
In 1992, Akram Yuldashev,then a 29-year-old maths teacher of Andijan, published a pamphlet titled "Yimonga Yul" (Path to faith) on what he projected as the superiority of Islamic moral values. This brought him many supporters and his pamphlet was widely read. In 1998, the authorities arrested him on a charge of possessing narcotics and he was jailed for 30 months. However, he was prematurely released in December 1998.At the time of his arrest, he was working in a furniture company owned by the Shakirov family. He was again arrested in February 1999 following explosions in Tashkent, accused of participating in acts of terrorism and sentenced to 17 years in jail. The charge-sheet filed against him described him as the head of the Akramia, whose objective, it was alleged, was to convert Uzbekistan into an Islamic State ruled according to the Sharia.
The wife of Yuldashev, in an interview, denied that her husband had any links with the HT or the IMU (Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan ) and accused the authorities of falsely projecting him as the Osama bin Laden of Uzbekistan.
The speculation in Andijan was that the so-called Akramia group was either a front organisation of the HT or had been formed by dissidents from the HT, who were dissatisfied with its policy of not resorting to terrorism. The members of the group denied that they called themselves the Akramia group. They said they belonged to a biradari (Brotherhood) group without any political agenda. According to them, their only objective was to propagate the true values of Islam, make the Muslims better Muslims and help poor Muslims. To be continued...
(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt.of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Distinguished Fellow and Convenor, Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Chennai Chapter. E-Mail:
[email protected] )
* Views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Observer Research Foundation.
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