Encyclopedia of Islam

Central Asia and the Caucasus

---

to a continuation of certain Soviet policies toward 

Islam. In Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, state-

sanctioned Islam is all that is allowed. Especially 

in Uzbekistan, authorities have used the fight 

against “fundamentalism” and “

terrorism

” to 

crush any political opposition. Immediately fol-

lowing the collapse in Tajikistan, a civil war broke 

out between central secular authorities and self-

proclaimed Islamists. This war lasted until 1997, 

with some Islamists brought into government and 

a moderate Islamist party allowed. A politicized 

Islam has also been prominent in the North Cau-

casus, particularly in c

hechnya

.

See also  b

asmachi

;  b

Ukhara

; 

commUnism

; 

i

slamism

; k

arimov

, i

slam

; n

aqshbandi

 s

UFi

 o

rder

; 

s

hamil

.

David Reeves