VISIT TO UZBEKISTAN OF THE EXILED MUFTI

In the beginning of January, Mukhammad Sodik Mukhammad Yusuf, the former head of Spriritual Department of the Muslims of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, visited Uzbekistan. He arrived from Libia with private visit and at once made his way to Andijan to his relatives. Despite the fact that this was a private visit, the authorities of Uzbekistan guaranteed to Mukhammad Sodik complete security. The visit was supposed to last for about ten days.

Mukhammad Sodik Mukhammad Yusuf (Mamayusupov) was born in Andijan region of Uzbekistan in the family of a Sufi preceptor in 1952. He studied in madrasah Mir-Abad (Bukhara), high Islam University (Tashkent), and Islam University (Libia). He maintained close relations with Khodja Akbar Turadjonzoda (Kahorov), who later on became Kazi-Kolon of Spriritual Department of the Muslims of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, then mufti of independent Tajikistan and one of the leaders of the Joint Tadjik opposition. Turadjonzoda is of the same age as Mukhammad Sodik Mukhammad Yusuf (born in 1954). He studied with the latter one in Bukhara madrasah Mir-Abad, and then in Islam University in Amman on the faculty of sharia and adat.

In 1988 Mukhammad Sodik was elected as the head of Spriritual Department of the Muslims of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, and in 1989 Muammar Kaddafi, the leader of Libyan Djamahiria, awarded him the highest award of his country - the order "Great September 1." In the beginning of 1990th, mufti Mukhammad Sodik had big authority over the Muslims of the republic. When carrying out his activities, he has taken several steps aimed at revival of Islam in Muslim republics of the former Soviet Union. Thus, he was the very person who suggested to introduce the classes on religion in all the educational institutions; he also was the first person who came to an agreement with Michael Gorbachev, who was the head of the country at that time, on allowing the Muslims of the Soviet Union to make Hadj trips.

During the presidential election campaign of 1991 in Uzbekistan, his fellow-townsmen from Andijan region have been collecting signatures on the appeal with request to include Mukhammad Sodik Mukhammad Yusuf in the lists of candidates for the President of Uzbekistan. However, the mufti announced that the collection of signatures was conducted without his consent, and he refused to be a candidate for the presidential elections. In February 1992, at the Kurultay of the Muslims of Central Asia and Kazakhstan Makhammad Sodik Mukhammad Yusuf was unanimously reelected for the second time as the chairman of Spriritual Department of the Muslims of Central Asia and Kazakhstan.

Tulkun Ergashev, one of the leaders of the radical Islamic opposition in Uzbekistan, a violent opponent of Mukhammad Sodik, and his adherents twice were trying to remove the mufti from his post. Thus, in 1992, they have convoked extraordinary Kurultay of Muslims and announced the mufti to be deposed. In response, Mukhammad Sodik have gathered his adherents from Andijan - mainly teenagers - and organized in Tashkent a protest demonstration, during which the demonstrators have marched from the mosque Sheih-Zaynutdin up to the hotel Chorsu where they were dispersed by OMON (special militia units). The next day, the Moscow newspaper "Izvestia" published an interview with the mufti, where the mufti announced that the clergy should not get involved in politics, and that he is an opponent of the Islam Fundamentalism.

The growing authority of the mufti, as well as some of his ideas, most likely, had to cause concern to the authorities of Uzbekistan. Thus, the mufti urged to turn mosques into the centers of religious and moral education of the youth; he actively criticized the role of Moscow sowing dissension between Muslims of the Central Asia; he declared for fundamental reformation of the educational system, return to the old (Arabic) alphabet, daily broadcasting of the morning prayer on radio, and announcement of Friday to be a holiday.

Many ideas of the mufti, his growing political weight, and active work were in conflict with the plans of the authorities. The authorities reacted soon. In April 1993, Mukhammad Sodik Mukhammad Yusuf resigned his commission of the chairman of the board of Spriritual Department of the Muslims to Imam Hoji Muhtarjon Abdullaev. In March 1994, against the mufti himself and five former employees of Spriritual Department of Muslims of Maveraunnahr there was brought an accusation of misappropriation of the Department's property in especially big amount. Besides, press informed that 200 thousand dollars were transferred on the acount of the Kaziat of Muslims of Tadjikistan for the purpose of arms purchase. Criminal prosecution was commenced, and soon after that Mukhammad Sodik had to leave Uzbekistan.

Despite the forced immigration, the mufti did not enter into open confrontation with the authorities of Uzbekistan, and his authority among the religious people, according to some data, was not shaken either by the legal prosecution or by newspaper articles. During his present visit to Uzbekistan, Mukhammad Sodik Mukhammad Yusuf met with journalists. His interview was broadcasted by local television, that most likely had to show reconciliation of the temporal authorities with the mufti.

On expressing high appreciation of the processes taking place in Uzbekistan within the last 7 years, the mufti shared his opinion on the recent events in Uzbekistan and neighbor countries. He said the following about the events in Batkent in the north of Kirghizstan, when a group of armed soldiers (opposition members) who broke through from Tadjikistan captured hostages: «No educated and intelligent religious leaders would make a positive assessment of these or other similar events. The prestige of Islam can never be raised by using force and weapons, by putting people in a difficult situation, by taking people hostage. This is a recurrent mistake. This is a vivid illustration of those who have been acting in this way being ignorant of the Islamic rules and code of conduct. All religious leaders have now started paying a great deal of attention to this. Because a group of youths who have been given no statutory Islamic education and have been trying on their own to assimilate Islamic information have taken this path. As a result, both informed people and uninitiated people formed the negative opinion that Islam supposedly means terrorism, Islam means violation of human rights, killing of people, violence and bloodshed. We discussed this on a number of occasions in the Robita Islamia [Islamic ties, relations]. A letter of advice was also sent to the Chechens, saying that they should stop doing this and mend their ways. Regrettably, they have chosen to listen not to senior clerics but to belligerent persons. Now you can see the consequences.»

During the conversation, he also expressed his views on presidential election. Displaying his own loyalty to the current authorities the mufti said: "I am sure all the people will be taking an active part in this and will exercise to the full their right to vote. The candidates are known. In my opinion, the question of who is going to win is a superfluous one. The people's trusted son who has done so much for our people and cares for them, namely Islam Karimov, is one of the candidates. If I say God willing, a majority of people, all will vote for him, then it would be not just my opinion, or the opinion of the people of Uzbekistan but also that of people outside Uzbekistan who have been monitoring events here in our country. Therefore, I pray to God [a few words in Arabic] that our people stay well on election day and that they will reelect the man they love to the post of head of state."