The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) was a militant Islamist group formed in 1998 by former Soviet paratrooper Juma Namangani, and the Islamic ideologue Tohir Yuldashev - both ethnic Uzbeks from the Fergana Valley. Its objective was to overthrow President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan, and to create an Islamic state under Sharia. Islamism is a political ideology derived from the conservative religious views of Muslim fundamentalism. ... Soviet redirects here. ... Juma Namangani, born Jumaboi Ahmadzhanovitch Khojayev (born in 1969, died 2001), After serving in the Soviet forces in Afghanistan, he fought in the Tajik Civil War with the Islamic forces against the government, and later founded the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) which led guerilla attacks from its bases in... Islam (Arabic: ; ( ▶ (help· info)), the submission to God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ... Tohir Abdukhalilovich Yuldashev (his name is also transliterated as Tahir Yuldashev, Tohir Yoldoshev, Takhir Yuldashev and other ways) is the founder of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and the leader Islamic Movement of Central Asia. ... The Fergana Valley or Farghana Valley (Uzbek: , Kyrgyz: Фергана өрөөнү, Tajik: водии Фaрғонa, Russian: , Persian: ) is a region in the Tian Shan mountain ranges of Central Asia spreading across eastern Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. ... Islam Karimov Islam Abduganievich Karimov (in modern Uzbek: Islom Karimov, Russian: Ислам Абдуганиевич Каримов) (born January 30, 1938) has been the President of Uzbekistan since 1991. ... Sharia (Arabic: transliteration: ) is the dynamic body of Islamic religious law. ...

Operating out of bases in Tajikistan and Taliban-controlled areas of northern Afghanistan, the IMU launched a series of audacious raids into Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in 1999 and 2000. However, in 2001 the IMU was largely destroyed while fighting alongside the Taliban against United States-led coalition forces in Afghanistan. Namangani was killed, and the IMU's remaining fighters were dispersed. Yuldeshev and an unknown number of fighters escaped with remnants of the Taliban to Waziristan in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, where they are rumoured to remain. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) are areas of Pakistan outside the four provinces, comprising a region of some 27,220 km² (10,507 mi²). // The FATA are bordered by: Afghanistan to the west with the border marked by the Durand Line, the North-West Frontier Province and the Punjab...

Despite occasional proclamations from Yuldeshev, and rumours of a re-emergence under the name the Islamic Movement of Turkestan (IMT), there is no reliable evidence indicating that the IMU/IMT remains an operational force in Central Asia. However, this does not preclude a re-emergence in the future, with the Fergana Valley remaining a centre of opposition to Karimov's authoritarian rule, as evidenced by the temporary seizure of Andijan by armed insurgents and demonstrators in May 2005.
Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ... Andijan is the capital of the Andijon province, which includes the Ferghana Valley Andijan (Andijon in Uzbek; also Andizhan, Andizan, Андижан) is the fourth-largest city in Uzbekistan, and the capital of the Andijan Province. ... An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority, by any irregular armed force that rises up against an enforced or established authority, government, or administration. ...

Background

Juma Namangani (born Jumaboi Khojayev)
Born	1969 Namangan, Uzbekistan
Died	2001 Killed in action, Afghanistan
Occupation	Soviet paratrooper during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Field commander in the Tajik civil war. Co-founder of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Killed by US-led coalition air strikes in Afghanistan, 2001.

Tohir Yuldeshev
Born	1967 Uzbekistan
Occupation	Islamic ideologue and insurgent leader. Co-founder of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Currently a fugitive rumoured to be in the tribal regions of Pakistan.

During the Soviet era, Islam in Central Asia was officially suppressed - mosques were closed, and all contact with the wider Muslim world was severed. This isolation ended with the Soviet war in Afghanistan (1979-1989), when thousands of conscripts from Soviet Central Asia were sent to fight the Afghan mujahedin. Many of these conscripts returned home impressed by the Islamic zeal of their opponents, and newly aware of the religious, cultural and linguistic characteristics they shared with their neighbours in the South - and which distinguished them from their rulers in Moscow. Image File history File links Flag_of_Uzbekistan. ... Namangan (Russian:Наманган), is a city (1994 pop. ... Combatants USSR DRA Mujahideen of Afghanistan supported by: USA Saudi Arabia Pakistan Iran China and others. ... The Tajikistan Civil War was a civil war fought from 1992 to 1997 in Tajikistan. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Uzbekistan. ... A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. ... Nations with a Muslim majority appear in green, while nations that are approximately 50% Muslim appear yellow. ... Combatants USSR DRA Mujahideen of Afghanistan supported by: USA Saudi Arabia Pakistan Iran China and others. ... Soviet Central Asia is a reference to the five Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan that were part of the Soviet Union from 1924-1991. ... Mujahideen (مجاهدين; also transliterated as mujāhidīn, mujahedeen, mujahedin, mujahidin, mujaheddin, etc. ... For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ...

Adolat (1991-1992)

One such soldier sent to fight in Afghanistan was the Uzbek paratrooper, Jumaboi Ahmadzhanovitch Khojayev (b. 1969). Following the war, Khojayev returned to his hometown of Namangan in Uzbekistan's Fergana Valley radicalised by his experiences, and become associated with a local Islamic ideologue, Tohrir Yuldashev (b.1967). In the period of initial instability that followed Uzbekistan's sudden independence in 1991, Yuldeshev and Khojayev (now adopting the nom de guerre Juma Namangani) established a radical Salafi Islamist group in Namangan which they called Adolat (Justice). Namangan (Russian:Наманган), is a city (1994 pop. ... A pseudonym or allonym is a name (sometimes legally adopted, sometimes purely fictitious) used by an individual as an alternative to their birth name. ... This article is on the beliefs of the followers of the Salaf. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Adolat assumed civil authority in Namangan and quickly established a degree of order and security through the imposition of Sharia Law, which was ruthlessly enforced by Adolat's vigilante cadres. Initially tolerated by the newly installed President Karimov, Adolat became increasingly assertive, culminating in a demand that Karimov impose Sharia throughout Uzbekistan. However, by 1992 Karimov had successfully cemented his authority in Tashkent, and was strong enough to outlaw Adolat and re-establish central control over the Fergana Valley region - traditionally one of the most Islamic regions in Central Asia. Tashkent (Uzbek: , Russian: ) is the capital of Uzbekistan and also of the Tashkent Province. ...

Tajik Civil War (1992-1997)

Evading arrest, Yuldashev and Namagani fled to Tajikistan, where civil war was raging following a bloody but successful coup led by Emomali Rahmonov earlier in 1992. The civil war pitted Rahmonov's neo-communist forces against a loose coalition of democrats and Islamists known as the United Tajik Opposition (UTO). The UTO was led by the widely popular and highly respected Islamist Said Abdullah Nuri, whose Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) advocated a moderate and democratic brand of Islamism. Emomali Sharifovich Rahmonov (Tajik: Эмомалӣ Шарифович Раҳмонов or امامعلی شريفويچ رحمانف, Russian: Рахмонов Эмомали Шарипович; name also appears as Imamali Rakhmonov in literature. ... Said Abdullah Nuri (March 15, 1947 - August 9, 2006) led the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan from 1993 until he died on cancer in late 2006. ... The Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRP; Tajik: Нашрияи Ҳизби Наҳзати Исломии Тоҷикистон; also known as the Islamic Renaissance of Tajikistan, the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan, the Islamic Party of Revival, or simply the Islamic Renaissance Party) is an Islamist political party in Tajikistan. ...

Namangani's combat experience in Afghanistan saw him entrusted by the IRPT with the command of active units in the field, based out of the remote, mountainous Tavildara Valley region - a role he carried out with considerable success. Meanwhile, Yuldashev left Tajikistan on a tour of Afghanistan, Turkey and the Middle East, during which time he developed contacts with numerous Islamist groups. From 1995-8 Yuldashev was based in Peshawar in Pakistan, where he established relations with Osama Bin Laden and the Afghan Arabs based there at the time. A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ...   (Urdu: پشاور; Pashto: پښور) literally means City on the Frontier in Persian and is known as Pekhawar in Pashto. ... Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: ‎; born March 10, 1957[1]), most often mentioned as Osama bin Laden or Usama bin Laden, is a Saudi Arabian militant Islamist and is widely believed to be one of the founders of the organization called al-Qaeda. ... For the Arab migration or invasion of Afghanistan prior to the Soviet-Afghan War, see History of Arabs in Afghanistan. ...

IMU Formation (1998)

In 1997 Rahmonov and Nuri signed a peace agreement which saw Rahmonov agree to sharing power with the IRPT. Disillusioned with the political concessions made by the Tajik Islmists, Yuldeshev and Namangani formed the IMU in 1998 with the aim of creating a militant Islamic opppostion to Karimov in Uzbekistan. Receiving initial funding and assistance from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, the IMU began moving towards the Afghan Taliban and away from their former and more moderate IRPT allies - who were in turn backing the ethnic-Tajik Ahmad Shah Massoud and his Northern Alliance against the Taliban. This article is about the Pakistani intelligence agency. ... Ahmad Shah Massoud(Persian: ) (c. ... Northern Alliance may refer to: NATO The Afghan Northern Alliance The white supremacist group of Canada The Northern Alliance Radio Network of conservative bloggers This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Nevertheless, Namangani maintained his base in Tajikistan's Tavildara Valley, and was able to recruit large numbers of disaffected youth from the Fergana Valley, where economic hardship and religious persecution were continuing under Karimov's authoritarian rule.

Operations

1999

In 1999 a series of explosions in the capital Tashkent were orchestrated in an unsuccessful attempt on Karimov's life. Karimov placed the blame on radical Wahhabi Islamists, and the IMU in particular - however this attribution remains disputed, and it's possible the assassination attempt was the work of rival political and regional elites. Irrespective of who was responsible, the result was an escalation in Karimov's suppression of Islam, particularly in the traditionally observant Fergana Valley - a move which only increased the number of those fleeing Uzbekistan to join up with Namangani and the IMU in the Tavildara Valley. Tashkent (Uzbek: , Russian: ) is the capital of Uzbekistan and also of the Tashkent Province. ... Wahhabism (sometimes spelled Wahabbism or Wahabism) is a movement of Islam named after Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab (1703–1792). ...

Later that year the IMU conducted its first verifiable operations, with an incursion into the Batken region of southern Kyrgyzstan - a region populated mainly by ethnic Uzbeks, and lying between Tavildara in Tajikistan and the Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan. Insurgents seized the Mayor of Osh (the regional capital) and successfully extorted a ransom from the ill-prepared Kyrgyz government in Bishkek, as well as a helicopter to transport them to Afghanistan. Further incursions into Batken followed, with one raid seeing a number of Japanese geologists kidnapped - although denied by Japan, their subsequent release almost certainly followed a significant ransom payment. Batken is a small town of about 12,000 in southwestern Kyrgyzstan, on the southern fringe of the Fergana Valley. ... For the home improvement store, see Orchard Supply Hardware. ... Languages Kyrgyz Religions Sunni Islam Related ethnic groups other Turkic peoples Kyrgyz (also spelled Kirghiz) are a Turkic ethnic group found primarily in Kyrgyzstan. ... Bishkek cityscape Bishkek (Бишкек) is the capital of Kyrgyzstan. ... A geologist is a contributor to the science of geology. ...

These raids had a major impact in Central Asia, and resulted in considerable international pressure on Tajikistan, not least from Karimov, to expel the IMU from its base in the Tavildara Valley. The IRPT persuaded their former ally Namangani to abandon Tavildara in late 1999. Controversially, Namangani and his fighters were then flown from Tajikistan to northern Afghanistan in Russian military helicopters - a move which enraged Karimov, who claimed the Russians were aiding the IMU in an attempt to undermine Uzbekistan.

2000

In Afghanistan Yuldeshev was able to exploit the contacts he had made on his earlier travels to negotiate freedom of operation from the Taliban, in return for providing them with assistance in their battle with Massoud's Northern Alliance. The IMU established offices and training camps, and began expanding their recruitment of disaffected Uzbeks - with their activities increasingly funded through their lucrative participation in the Afghan opium trade. This article is about the drug. ...

It is estimated that the IMU were now approximately 2000 strong, and in the spring they contributed around 600 fighters to the Taliban's offensive against Massoud, participating in the successful siege of Taloqan, where they fought alongside Bin Laden's 055 Arab Brigade. The IMU also provided the Taliban with a useful degree of deniability - under pressure from China to expel Uighur militants the Taliban simply sent them north to the IMU's camps. Taloqan (Persian: تالقان) is the capital of Takhar Province, in Afghanistan. ...

By the summer of 2000 Western and CIS intelligence sources claim the IMU were equipped with more advanced weaponry such as sniper rifles and night-vision goggles, and had been supplied with a pair of heavy transport helicopters by Bin Laden. Namangani led IMU fighters back to the Tavildara Valley in Tajikistan, and from there launched multipronged attacks into Batken in Kyrgyzstan, and also into northern Uzbekistan, close to Tashkent. CIS usually refers to: Commonwealth of Independent States, a modern-day political entity consisting of 11 former Soviet Union Republics CIS is also an acronym for: Canadian Interuniversity Sport Cancer Information Service Carcinoma in situ Centre for Independent Studies Center for Immigration Studies Chinese International School Cisalpino Citizenship & Immigration Services... A U.S. Army soldier peers through a scope mounted atop his M-14 rifle during operations in Iraq A sniper rifle is a type of rifle used for engaging in the act of sniping, most purely a rifle used for shooting with great accuracy. ... Two American soldiers pictured during the 2003 Iraq War Night vison goggles are a type of eye-wear that allows one to see in the dark. ...

In August 2000 the IMU also kidnapped four U.S. mountain-climbers in the Kara-Su Valley of Kyrgyzstan, holding them hostage until they escaped on 12 August.^[1] In response, the United States classified the IMU as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.^[2] is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Foreign Terrorist Organizations are foreign organizations that are designated as terrorist by the United States Secretary of State in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended. ...

Once again the raids were followed by a strategic retreat to Tavildara, and once again international pressure on the Tajik government saw Namangani agree to him and his men being flown by the Russians back to Afghanistan, where they arrived in January 2001.

2001

By now the connections between the IMU and the Taliban had become more overt - the media reported that Namangani had been appointed Deputy Defence Minister in the Taliban government, which the Taliban did not deny. In the spring the IMU again supplied the Taliban with 600 fighters for a renewed campaign against Massoud, while in Batken in Kyrgyzstan a number of sleepers armed the previous year executed a series of attacks.

However, following 9/11 and the US-led coalition intervention in Afghanistan, the IMU was largely destroyed while fighting alongside the Taliban, and Namangani himself was killed. The IMU's fighters were scattered, with Yuldeshev and many others fleeing along with remnants of the Taliban to the tribal areas of Pakistan.

NB: In September 2002 an aide to Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil, the Foreign Minister of the Taliban, claimed he had been sent prior to 9/11 to warn the U.S. government of an impending attack and to persuade them to take military action against Al Qaeda's presence in Afghanistan. The aide claimed advance knowledge of the attack came from Yuldashev, which if true would indicate a high degree of cooperation between Al-Qaeda and the IMU.^[3] The Taliban (Pashto: , also anglicized as Taleban) are an extremist, terrorist, and ethnic fundamentalist Sunni Muslim Pashtun movement that ruled most of Afghanistan from 1995 until 2001, when their leaders were removed from power by a cooperative military effort between the United States, Great Britain and the Northern Alliance. ...

Current status

Despite remaining operationally inactive since 2001, the IMU continues to be cited as a terrorist threat by governments within and without the region.

In 2003 A. Elizabeth Jones, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia, testified on the threat of terrorism in Central Asia before the U.S. House of Representatives' subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia,a rguing that the greatest threats were the IMU, and Hizb ut-Tahrir. Jones said that despite the death of Namangani, the "IMU is still active in the region -- particularly in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan -- and it represents a serious threat to the region and therefore to our interests."^[4] In addition, the Government of Russia banned the movement under the name "Islamic Party of Turkestan" in 2006.^[5] A. Elizabeth Jones (born in 1948 in Munich, Germany) served as the U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan, from 1995 to 1997. ... The House of Representatives is the larger of two houses that make up the U.S. Congress, the other being the United States Senate. ... Hizb ut-Tahrir (Arabic: حزب التحرير; English: Party of Liberation) is an international, Sunni, pan-Islamist vanguard[2] political party whose goal is to unite all Muslim countries in a unitary Islamic state or caliphate, ruled by Islamic law and headed by an elected head of state (caliph). ... Since gaining its independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991, Russia (formally, the Russian Federation) has faced serious challenges in its efforts to forge a political system to follow nearly seventy-five years of Soviet rule. ...

On 7 August 2006 Kyrgyz special forces killed Rafik Kamalov, an alleged leader of the movement, in the Kyrgyz border town of Kara-Suu.^[6] is the 219th day of the year (220th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Military branches: Army, Air and Air Defense, Security Forces, and Border Troops Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,234,457 (2002 est. ... Mohammed Rafik Kamalov was a popular imam in Kyrgyzstan who was shot and killed 7 August 2006 by Kyrgyz special forces. ... Kara-Suu (meaning Black Water) is a river and a valley in southwestern Kyrgyzstan, in the Fergana valley. ...

Mahmadsaid Juraqulov, head of the anti-organized crime department in the Interior Ministry of Tajikistan, told reporters in Dushanbe on 16 October 2006 that the "[Islamic Movement of Turkmenistan] is the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan," and that Uzbek secret services manufactured the change in name. Juraqulov also said that the IMT is not a major security threat to Tajikistan or Kyrgyzstan. "Everyone knows that it is in Uzbekistan that [the IMU] wants to create problems. For them, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are just regrouping bases they're trying to reach." Organized crime or criminal organizations are groups or operations run by criminals, most commonly for the purpose of generating a monetary profit. ... The Interior Minister is a member of a Cabinet in a Government. ... Dushanbe (Душанбе), population 562,000 people (2000 census), is the capital of Tajikistan. ... is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Tajik Government wants 23 suspected IMU members who Tajik authorities say attacked supporters of Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov on 28 September 2006, wounding two people. Between July 2006 and September 2007, 31 persons accused of IMU membership have been arrested in the Sughd region in the north of Tajikistan. They are usually sentenced to 12 - 18 years of prison. Politics of Tajikistan takes place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ... The President of Tajikistan is the Head of State and highest position within the Government of Tajikistan. ... Emomali Sharipovich Rahmonov (born October 5, 1952) has been the President of Tajikistan since 1994 (and the head of state since 1992). ... is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

However, while Yuldeshev has issued a number of pronouncements suggesting a widening of the IMU's focus, evidence does not support the notion that the IMU remains a credible threat in the region. Furthermore, events in early 2007 suggest that the IMU may no longer be able to count on refuge in Pakistan's tribal belt. In March local Pakistani and reportedly Arab militants turned against the IMU in the Wana conflict. Languages Arabic and other minority languages Religions Islam, Christianity, Druzism and Judaism An Arab (Arabic: , arabi) is a member of a complexly defined ethnic group who identifies as such on the basis of one or more of either genealogical, political, or linguistic grounds. ... Combatants Wana tribespeople, possibly Pakistani army Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and their local supporters Commanders Maulvi Nazir Tohir Yuldeshev Strength 800-1,200 (est. ...

Nevertheless, in a context of continued socieoeconomic deprivation and an absence of political pluralism, a resurgence of militant Islam in the region cannot be ruled out.

References

“Department of State” redirects here. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 240th day of the year (241st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Richard Boucher is the name of at least two people: Rick Boucher - Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives representing Virginia Richard A. Boucher - United States Department of State spokesman, and former Ambassador and diplomat. ... is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... “Department of State” redirects here. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 240th day of the year (241st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... BBC News is the department within the BBC responsible for the corporations news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 240th day of the year (241st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Jeffrey Donovan (born May 11, 1968) is an American television and film actor. ... Cover of Radio Liberty booklet The Most Important Job in the World Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a radio and communications organization which is funded by the United States Congress. ... is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 240th day of the year (241st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Arab Times is an English language newspaper based in Kuwait. ... is the 133rd day of the year (134th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 240th day of the year (241st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... BBC News is the department within the BBC responsible for the corporations news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... is the 219th day of the year (220th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 240th day of the year (241st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External link

• Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)