Sunday, February 16, 2003		Books

Tracing the resurrection of Islam in Central Asia
Manisha Gangahar

Jihad: The rise of militant Islam in Central Asia.
Ahmed Rashid. Orient Longman, Hyderabad. Pages 281. Rs 295.

SINCE Darwin’s theory of Origin of Species the concept of "survival of the fittest" has become a mandate for modern civilisation. However, more than proving oneself as superior it is essential to prove the other a misfit. The game is all about power, and it is the prerogative of the powerful to be proclaimed winners. Central Asia, with its oil reserves, seems to have always lured the powers of the world.

Liberal Muslims do not interpret jihad as armed action, especially when innocent people are involved, or as an Islamic commandment that sponsors forced conversions. However, it is the obligation of every Muslim to himself and his God to resist any kind of oppression and fight against tyranny. Thus, for Islamic radicals jihad becomes a moral duty, a war against Western totalitarianism. This appears to be quite similar to the ‘civilising mission’ undertaken by the Europeans to legitimise their colonial expeditions and imperial projects. One can, in fact, perceive this as ‘orientalism in reverse’ with the occident being represented as ‘evil’. It was only after September 11 that America realised that there was world outside its precincts.

Ahmed Rashid, in his book Jihad, examines how the doctrine of jihad has been distorted to serve the vested interests of a few dominating groups. These groups, commonly referred to as Islamic fundamentalists, "are not interested in transforming a corrupt society into a just one, nor do they care about providing... social benefits to their followers or creating harmony between the various ethnic groups that inhabit many Muslim countries." Rashid goes on to explain the "greater jihad" and the "lesser jihad". While the former implies self-improvement, the latter is interpreted to mean mutiny against an external ruler and injustice. The deeper essence, undoubtedly, being an effort towards transformation of an individual or a society for the better. Apparently, the noble intentions and motives of a culturally and historically rich religion such as Islam seem to have gone astray with the new jihadi order being "reduced to a harsh repressive penal code for their citizens that strips Islam of its values, humanism, and spirituality."

From another perspective jihad becomes a nationalist movement against different forms of colonialism and neocolonialism. Regarding nationalism as a "cultural phenomena", religion becomes instrumental in recovering a lost identity and asserting it — "Islam as an act of ethnic and regional as well as religious resistance" — especially in Central Asia. However, nationalism in post-modern times is a well-contested concept for "nationalism is not awakening of nations to self-consciousness; it invents nations where they do not exist." Tracing the rise of Islamic militancy Rashid argues that what began as a resistance to ‘Sovietism’ was gradually converted into a campaign against major western powers, including Britain and America. The book also portrays the dilemma on the part of the states independent of the Soviet Union. On one hand these states celebrated their democracy while on the other hand they found it difficult to survive without economic and political support of Russia. Thus, the repression of these regimes resulted in "explosions".

The book can be regarded as a sequel to his previous works on Taliban and Central Asian politics. It details the historical evolution and resurrection of Islam. The author comments upon the state of affairs in Central Asia while focusing on three major movements — the Islamic Renaissance Party, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and the Hizb ut-Tahrir — and the uncertain future of these states amidst the conflicting ideologies and the diverging concerns of the ruling authorities. The chapters are coherently drafted and Rashid’s book makes it possible for the reader to get a grasp of the complexities and convolution of the Central Asian politics.