Islam and Politics in Central Asia By Mehrdad Haghayeghi. New York: St. Martin's Press. 1995.

Abstract

The emergence of the five independent and predominantly Muslim statesKazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan. Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan-in the
aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union raises the issue of the role of Islam
in their future development. Since Islam does not allow a separation of religion
and politics, Islamic political panies have already been active, albeit with different
intensity, in these countries. None of these countries has had a history of
independence; for a long time, they were colonized (their most recent history of
colonization goes back to the 1860s. when the Russians began to conquer and
colonize the Central Asian villages) by czarist Russia, then from 1917 by the
communist czars. Consequently, after independence their political elite (for the
most part, former communists) remain substantially unfamiliar with the practice
of democratic governance. As such, even after changing the names of communist
parties in their respective countries, they essentially practice authoritarian
policies in which little or no political pluralism is tolerated. Therefore. any
evolution of democracy in these statei in the immediate or middle-range future
is unlikely. However. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are two exceptions to this
rule.
Not coincidentally. both Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan top the list of ethnically
pluralist states, and their economies are doing well compared to their Central
Asian counterparts. However, this ethnic pluralism has not only polarized their
populations along indigenous and Russian lines but also keeps their leaders from
allowing any substantial role for lslamist parties. Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan,
and Tajikistan have a lesser problem emanating from ethnic pluralism.
However, the lion's share of these countries' problems stems from the acutely
authoritarian nature of their leader hip, and, more imponant, their severe economic
underdevelopment. One has to keep these variables in mind as one reads
Mehrdad Haghayeghi's book, Islam and Politics in Central Asia.
Describing the presence of Islam in Central Asia, The author states that "the
sedentary populations of the oasis enclaves and the tribal populations of the
Steppe and the surrounding regions" were differently influenced by Islam. He
goes on to observe:
The enormous size and remoteness oft.he Steppe, the lack of adequate military manpower.
the political instability at the heart of the Arab empire, and the absence of ...