<snip> The cities in the Uzbek part of the Fergana valley have long been praised as the largest theological centers independent of the government in the former USSR. The official clergy had been closely connected with the government, and in essence, became a stratum of the party nomenklatura, and consequently, could not inspire the trust of the Islamic dissidents. In the early 1990s, hundreds of "alternative" mosques and madrassahs {Islamic seminaries}, independent of the official clergy, were created in the Fergana valley. The city of Namangan, located in the Uzbek part of the Fergana valley, became the center of "alternative Islam," and soon, this city became widely known in religious circles outside the republic as well.
Uzbek President Islam Karimov has rather unpleasant memories of the Fergana valley. In 1992, the Adolat ("Justice") movement appeared in Namangan. The Adolat-ists had created something like the Iranian "Islamic Revolutionary Guards." Young people with green armbands appeared in the most unexpected places in the city, "punishing" those who, in their opinion, had violated the law.
The punishment of captured thieves and prostitutes was rather exotic, from the point of view of Western jurisprudence: they were made to sit backwards on a donkey and led through the city, while pedestrians spat in their faces. They were also flogged in the mosques. ...
At first, Islam Karimov looked on Adolat's activities favorably, but soon, he began to understand that he was no longer the master in Namangan. The showdown came when Karimov visited the city. The Uzbek president was met by a huge crowd. He was so intimidated by this unexpected reception that he not only agreed to hand over the former Namangan oblast party committee building, to be used as a Muslim women's hospital, he also vowed to create an Islamic state in Uzbekistan.
The Uzbek president could not forgive this humiliation. Several weeks later, the Adolat activists were arrested and received long prison sentences. ...
The police and the security service made mass arrests in the Fergana valley. And, as the executive director of the Europe and Central Asia branch of Human Rights Watch, Holly Cartner, and the coordinator for the CIS countries for the same organization, Aleksandr Petrov, who had just made an inspection trip through Uzbekistan, told Prism: "The police detained and arrested suspects, as a rule, without warrants. Frequently, small quantities of narcotics or bullets {in Uzbekistan, possession of bullets is forbidden by an article of the Criminal Code} are planted on them, or they are simply beaten until they sign a confession." </snip>
"ENLIGHTENED ISLAM," UZBEK-STYLE: ISLAM KARIMOV IS GETTING RID OF HIS MOST DANGEROUS RIVAL<snip> Uzbek President Islam Karimov has not yet developed the personality cult of his southern neighbor, Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan. His picture appears every day on the front page of official newspapers--although not quite the size of Niyazov's photos. Nor has Karimov renamed a port in his honor. However, little moves in Uzbekistan without his approval. He dominates the government and parliament and controls the armed forces, the Interior Ministry forces, and the security police.
These forces are the largest in Central Asia. The president's delicate sensibilities are protected against a new offense he had introduced to the country's criminal code of "infringement upon the honor and dignity of the president." </snip>
Islam Karimov’s Everlasting First TermThe second link above is particularly interesting as it describes how Karimov has managed to remain in power since 1991.
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