Word: namangan
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Such theological distinctions are lost, however, on a younger generation of radicals, who accuse the official Islamic establishment of having collaborated with a godless Soviet regime. "It doesn't matter that they are Shi'ite over there and we are Sunni," argues a militant in the Uzbek city of Namangan. "The Ayatullah made Iran strong and glorious, while in Sunni Turkey they have weakened Islam...
...movement has especially strong grass-roots support in Uzbekistan's Fergana Valley, a hotbed of Muslim resistance to communist rule. Angered by the new regime's failure to deal with corruption and a growing crime rate, local militants in the city of Namangan have organized local Islamic guard patrols, who punish offenders with religious indoctrination and the public pillory. Communist propaganda posters still decorate the streets, but the cry of "God is great!" echoing from the mosques has a more stirring effect on the local population. During afternoon prayers, the Islamic guards keep order among the steady stream...
Officials in the capital of Tashkent turned a blind eye to the growing power of the Islamic revivalists in Namangan, until they openly challenged the authority of President Islam Karimov. Last month police sealed off the city and whisked at least 80 activists away to prisons outside the region, deeply offending city residents. An enraged party member in Moscow warned, "A revolution is imminent. We have learned something from the Algerian experience...
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