October 12, 1999

Representative Christopher H. Smith
Chairman, Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe
c/o Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe
Ford Office Building, Rm. 234
Washington, DC 20515

To the Honorable Congressman Smith:

We extend to you greetings of peace, salaam.

In reference to current allegations of religious persecution in Uzbekistan, the Islamic Supreme Council of America calls on the Helsinki Commission to research and understand the historical Islamic background of Uzbekistan, its traditions and its culture. After conducting such a study the honorable commission will no doubt be more fully able to determine that the charges of religious persecution are in fact based on a partial understanding of the issues.

Uzbekistan is the heart of Central Asia, for centuries the locus for educating and promoting Islam in the entire region. The Uzbeki understanding of mainstream Islam has always been based on the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and God’s blessings upon him, with emphasis on the spiritual dimension of Islamic knowledge and with great consideration given to upholding Islam’s spiritual tradition. For this reason, Uzbekistan is renowned throughout the Muslim world as the "nation of two wings." One wing signifies the works of Ismail Bukhari (814 - 885), who collected the traditions of the Prophet in what is considered the most authentic book of Islamic knowledge after the Holy Quran. Imam Bukhari’s mosque and school, in Samarqand, were recently renovated. The other wing signifies the great Islamic spiritual teacher, Shah Bahauddin Naqshband, (1317 - 1388) who disseminated both external knowledge of Islam and internal gnosis. He permeated the entire area with teachings of love for all and living as one family that God created on earth. His mosque and school were renovated with the assistance of the late president of Turkey, Turgut Ozal, who was a follower of Naqshband’s school.

Due to the influence of these giants and the many others who followed, the Islamic schools founded in Uzbekistan stressed the good characteristics of patience, love, respect, tolerance and peace. While avoiding extremism and militancy, this tradition and culture spread throughout the region and led many people to accept Islam during this era, including the conquering Mongol emperors, whose hearts softened under the spiritual impression of these teachings.

The Uzbeki people’s great love for their Islamic leaders has kept this tradition alive in their hearts, particularly during the period of Soviet communism when religious teaching was officially banned. When this rule ended, the people enthusiastically brought these teachings back into the open, renovated their mosques and their religious schools, and exercised the practice of Islam with which they have been familiar for the past one thousand years.

After Uzbekistan achieved independence, shortly after the Soviet Union’s war with Afghanistan, Uzbekistan began to experience the unfortunate influx of Afghan Arabs who preached a new ideology that was seen as foreign, strange and radical. This resulted in confrontations between Uzbeki authorities and the foreigners who manipulated the country’s youth to indulge in this narrow ideology – one that is rejected by the majority of traditional Islamic scholars throughout the world. These groups condemned any difference of opinion, and insisted on imposing their ideology and concept of Islam through military confrontations, something no government can permit.

Like many Arab governments, afflicted by similar militant radical movements pursuing the same ideology, the Uzbeki government had no choice but to ban the most dangerous of these groups and jail those who used militant means, confiscating their weapons. The aim of such actions was not religious persecution, but to restore peace in a country where these groups were instigating war. The Uzbekis condemn the notion of such a war, seeking to hold onto peace after being under oppressive communist rule for over 70 years.

Uzbekistan is not a secular government, but a Muslim one, seeking to create a peaceful life for Uzbeki people within its borders. Seeing a group of people raising the banner of militant revolt, the government had no choice but to act with adequate security measures.

The Islamic Supreme Council of America requests that the Commission study carefully, then reconsider its verdict on the situation of Uzbekistan in light of the new information it will find. It is essential to understand the roots of the current predicament. You will find on your own that this is not a question of religious freedom but a matter of misusing religion to impose a foreign doctrine through militant action. Were this to take place in any nation, the instigators would be faced by measures similar to those imposed by the Uzbek government to curb the militancy.

In many Arab countries, similar bans are in effect for movements of any ideology that seeks to create disorder or revolt. No government permits an escalation of violence to the point where citizens are under physical threat by ideological groups attempting to establish their own order. One wonders why no one has spoken out about these other Arab countries, where similar security restrictions have been imposed, yet many speak endlessly about Uzbekistan. A study of the situation in nearly every Muslim country will show the Commission a similar situation extant – again due to the presence of well-armed and financially-supported militant groups with a "religious" ideological agenda.

The Islamic Supreme Council of America is at your disposition. If you should need any information or literature on Uzbekistan or extremist movements, or if you would like us to present to you the details of the situation, we would be happy to oblige. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact our office at (202) 661-4654.

Chairman Smith, we ask you to accept our remarks in good faith. We wish to say, on behalf of the Islamic Supreme Council of America, that Uzbekistan is a free nation in which religion is practiced freely and we will do our best to elucidate this position as detailed above.


Sincerely,

Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani
Chairman