We are constantly lectured in the West about how genuine Islam fosters peace, harmony, and societal stability. Then there are stories like this one, for which the learned analysts simply have no explanation. Why does a group that seeks to undermine society call itself Islamic? The true answer, of course, is that Islam is political, […]
Kyrgyzstan: Mosques come under scrutiny after playing role in jihad plotting
Kyrgyz authorities are being more realistic about this than their American counterparts. “Kyrgyz Mosques Under Greater Scrutiny As Ties Between Islam, Extremism Emerge,” by Daisy Sindelar for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, January 23: […] In Kyrgyzstan, where 85 percent of the population is Muslim, many looked to mosques as a place for reconciliation after the […]
Kyrgyzstan: “A war has been declared on all of us” — jihadists murder three policemen
“A war has been declared on all of us.” Yes, indeed. In this story the warriors are identified as “religious extremists.” Militant Methodists, no doubt. “Suspected Islamist rebels kill 3 Kyrgyz policemen,” from Reuters, January 5 (thanks to Twostellas): BISHKEK (Reuters) – Suspected Islamist militants shot dead three policemen in the Kyrgyz capital late on […]
Misunderstanders of Islam rampaging in Kyrgyzstan
Including a suicide attack, laying hold of the guarantee of Paradise to those who “kill and are killed” for Allah (Qur’an 9:111). “Gunbattle breaks out in Kyrgyz south,” from AP, November 29 (thanks to Maxwell): BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan – At least four Islamic militants were killed Monday in a clash with security forces in Kyrgyzstan’s restive […]
Kyrgyzstan: Islamic jihadists provoked violence
Big surprise here. “Kyrgyzstan: violence provoked by Islamic militants,” from AP, June 24: BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Kyrgyzstan’s security agency claims relatives of the country’s toppled president have colluded with Taliban and other Islamic militant movements to provoke ethnic violence in the ex-Soviet nation. It’s statement Thursday says former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s relatives met in Afghanistan […]
Ukraine’s orange revolution inspiring jihadists
“Islamists See Opening in C. Asia Chaos,” from Newsday, with thanks to JS: BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — The only splash of color in the drab bluish gray office of Kyrgyzstan’s Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society was a wool orange scarf thrown over the back of its president’s chair. It was Edil Baisalov’s souvenir from Ukraine’s […]
The growth of radical Islam in Central Asia
Background on the jihad in Uzbekistan, from Asia Times. Note that the jihadis were from middle-class families: Recent reports Prior to the recent terror attacks in Uzbekistan which claimed at least 19 lives, a spate of reports from the region shows ongoing Islamist activity and law-enforcement efforts to contain it. One report details the state […]
No dhimmis in Kyrgyzstan
There’s a new report on religious freedom in Kyrgyzstan. It is instructive because there is a substantial Muslim population in the country formerly a part of the Soviet Union. “As in other Central Asian republics, authorities in Kyrgyzstan have banned Hizb ut-Tahrir, an international Islamic organization advocating the creation of a region-wide Islamic caliphate and […]