The Islamic Republic of Korasuv

Stories on Bakhtiyor Rakhimov’s plans for an Islamic Republic of Korasuv (I hereby plan to spell it the Uzbek way from now on) are coming out with more details than before. In the AP’s coverage, he claims to have 5,000 fighters. What is exactly going on in Korasuv is hard to determine and the BBC acknowledges the situation as such. It’s unknown whether or not Rakhimov has connections to any Islamist groups, and it is quite possible that he’s a conservative, religious community leader who wants to reintroduce tradition into his community and is willing to to fight to do so. Which is to say, he may want a Koran-centered society, but he may understand it in uniquely Uzbek traditions that are quite different than those of say, Arabs or Pashtuns. No matter what he wants, I don’t expect him to get a chance to implement it.

Update: The Guardian has its own story on Rakhimov (which I found because Lyndon, Dee, and I are linked as “useful” down at the bottom).

The man is a loon. He appears to have plenty of supporters, but… Well, just read the story or the excerpts below.

He agreed to meet the Guardian after returning from a horseback patrol of the town’s fringe, beyond which government forces were rumoured to be manning road blocks.

“If the troops return, we will fight them,” said Mr Rakhimov, a stocky, tanned farmer with a neatly trimmed beard, who says he was chosen as the town’s leader in an impromptu popular vote over the weekend. The defenders’ lack of firearms would be offset by divine guidance, he claimed.

“Without guns, we can still use these,” he said, touching the hilt of his dagger.

“We will establish here a paradise, a Caliphate, in which Muslim cares for Muslim, taking what he needs and giving away what he can do without, as it says in the Qur’an.

“Allah will provide and lead us forward in our struggle,” he said, gesturing to the sky. “Down with slavery!”

…

“A caliphate does not mean the tyranny of men like Karimov, it means the mutual support and love of Islam,” he said.

He denied being a member of any group such as the Islamic sect Hizb ut Tahrir, saying he was guided by the “pure principles of the faith”.

Acolytes in immaculate starched tunics and embroidered skull caps listened intently as he stressed: “I reject war totally, but if it comes we are ready. We cannot live any more like this in the dirt. Look at my workers; downtrodden, and denied of their rights. We must rise up and take our future in our hands.”

Like I said, I don’t Rakhimov’s going to get the chance to build what he wants to see. One local expressed worry.

But Tahir Yunusev, 30, a taxi driver, looked less at ease. “They won’t send the soldiers who were stationed here back to the local people,’ he said.

“They’ll send some from a different town like Bukhara who won’t have any qualms about killing us. Just wait and see. They can’t leave it much longer.”

As tone-deaf as the Uzbek government is most of the time, I doubt they want another massacre (especially one the press will have access to from the Kyrgyz side of the border). Nevertheless, I don’t expect this situation to last.

On the plus side, business is supposed to be better than it’s been in ages.

Update II: As expected, Uzbek troops moved into town and arrested Rakhimov and a number of his aides. So far, it sounds as if all is calm, and RFE/RL says that residents are being allowed to pass back and forth over the border with Kyrgyzstan to trade.