October 22, 1999
The Islamic Supreme Council Meets with the Ambassador of Uzbekistan

On October 22, 1999, The Islamic Supreme Council of America and its Chairman, Shaykh Hisham Kabbani, had the honor to visit once again His Excellency Sodyq Safaev, the Ambassador to the Republic of Uzbekistan. The main topic of discussion for this particular visit was Ambassador Safaev's testimony before the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe and his effort to defend the Uzbeki regime against allegations of religious persecution.

In the first annual report by the Office of International Religious Freedom, led by Ambassador Robert Seiple, the U.S. government reflects its misunderstanding of the ongoing religious conflict in Uzbekistan. The moderate regime of Islam Karimov is shaken regularly by the fundamantalist Wahhabi movement that seeks to gain power and independence in the Caucasus. This movement is also actively attempting to destabilize many other republics and regions of the Former Soviet Union with the aim of creating an Islamic Nation that follows its extremist interpretation of the Shariah.

In respect to the Ambassador's invitation to testify before the commission, Shaykh Kabbani addressed a letter to the commission's chairman, the Honorable Christopher Smith, encouraging them to investigate the situation and revise their conclusions accordingly. In the meeting, Shaykh Kabbani pointed out that the United States government subscribes to the misperception that the Wahhabiyya are the mainstream and that traditional Muslims are a sect. The problem is the same in Tatarstan and Chechnya where the fundamentalist Wahhabis are causing problems that usually amount to violence.

To enhance traditional Islamic education, Ambassador Safaev mentioned that Uzbekistan recently opened a new Islamic university.

The Ambassador also shed some light on the Chechen conflict with Russia, suggesting that 10,000 Chechens were arrested and detained following the bombings in Moscow.