Central Asia is a huge landmass stretching from the Caspian Sea in the south, the Russian Siberia in the north and China’s province of Xinjiang in the east. This vast area straddling Asia and Europe encloses former nomadic lands criss-crossed by Mongolian, Turkic, Persian and other people, and includes today’s five “stan” republics of the former Soviet Union: Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
In Dilip Hiro’s most recent book, “Inside Central Asia,” he also includes Turkey and Iran since both these countries shared ethnic and linguistic ties with the inhabitants of the steppes long before the foundation of the Central Asian Republics.
In fact, the Ottoman Turkish language used to include Persian and Arabic words, but Mustafa Kemal Ataturk removed them in a bid to establish a unified Turkish nation during the first quarter of the 20th century. This resulted in Turkey’s loss of ancestral roots with the languages of Central Asia.
For many of us, the lands along the Silk Road conjure images of caravans and mighty warriors whose rule is recorded in history. The first is Alexander of Macedonia who, during 329 AD and 327 AD, conquered present-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan. He was followed by Genghis Khan whose empire totaled 4.86 million square miles — an absolute record.
Timur Beg, better known as Tamerlane, followed in his illustrious predecessor’s footsteps and not only conquered Central Asia, but also India, Persia, Arabia and parts of Russia. Proud of his Turkish origin, he replaced the Persian court language with Turkish. At the time of his death, Central Asia had been governed by Turks for four centuries. The last nomadic empire was established by a descendant of Genghis Khan: Uzbek Khan. Khan (also known as Muhammad Shaibani Khan) was a leader of the Mongol Golden Horde during the fourteenth century.
At this point, one must highlight the role Islam played in Eurasia. During the eighth century, the Arab armies conquered Samarkand and Bukhara and transformed them in centers of learning. In 751 AD, the Arabs defeated the Chinese and with this strategic victory, Islam penetrated into Central Asia.
With the breakup of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan declared their independence. Their strategic location and their huge oil and gas reserves have caught the attention of China, the US and Russia, and made them the subject of a number of books.
“Inside Central Asia” gives an accurate picture of the political and cultural background of the former Soviet Republics. The author brings to light the ethnic and cultural differences between the newly established republics and also succeeds in summarizing their rich history. Most of all, Hiro’s brilliant analysis helps us make sense of the extraordinary political events which have marked this region. This remarkable analytical narrative highlights the historical connections between Turkey, Iran and the new Central Asian republics.
The opening chapter on Turkey is brilliant in its conciseness, as the author takes us into the heart of Turkish politics in 60 pages. Despite Ataturk’s secular rule, Islam recovered a place since the majority of Turks based in rural areas were deeply attached to their Islamic traditions. Hiro mentions professor Serif Mardin who in 1981 correctly predicted the return of Islam in Turkish politics. “If parliamentary institutions are placed back in operation, then an Islamic revival would take the form of a slow infiltration of Islamic worldviews in Turkish society without much change in the legal system and in the present legal implementation of secularism,” said Mardin.
Two decades later, the undisputable victory of moderate Islamists (affiliated to the Justice and Development Party) proved how Mardin had accurately analyzed the political scene in Turkey. The progressive Islamization of the Turkish society happened while the Soviet rule was coming to an end. Turkey was in fact one of the very first to recognize the Central Asian republics on December 16, 1991, and few days later, President Islam Karimov made an official visit to Ankara. “My country will go forward by the Turkish route,” declared Karimov as he kissed the tarmac of Ankara’s Esenboga Airport at his arrival.
In Turkmenistan, the communists had attempted to get rid of tribalism and eliminate the influence of Islam. It seemed they had succeeded since tribalism was not mentioned in public. Moreover, the 481 mosques that existed in 1911 got reduced to a mere five in 1941due to anti-religious propaganda. Even more, during the lethal 1948 earthquake, the capital’s unique mosque was destroyed and was never rebuilt.
Thirty years later, the Islamic revolution in Iran had a great impact on the region. Islamic programs in Turkmen were broadcasted from its capital, Ashgabat, to an audience of 2.75 million people — 85 percent of whom were of a Muslim background.
According to Hiro, “ the fact that Niyazov belonged to the largest tribe, Tekke, estimated to claim the loyalties of two-fifths of Turkmens, helped him rise to the top, though not overtly.
Kazakhstan was the last Parliament to announce its independence on Dec. 16, 1991. An interesting survey conducted in 1978 showed that 50 percent of the respondents were practicing Muslims, and that a growing number of young Kazakhs were attracted to Islam. This filled a spiritual void created by the communist regime. By the mid 1980s, Kazakh religious personalities and secular intellectuals acknowledged that Islam was an important part of Kazakh identity.
Kazakhstan’s wealth in minerals such as copper, zinc, lead, titanium, gold, silver, natural gas and oil attracted Western companies interested in investing. However, forecasts that Kazakhstan would be producing 8 million barrels per day by 2015, equivalent with the current world leader, Saudi Arabia, were “too optimistic by half,” according to Robert Ebel of the center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
Tajikistan, the smallest Central Asian republic, decided to adopt the Persian alphabet for Tajik, a dialect of modern Persian. Contrary to public opinion, Iran was not interested in exporting its revolution into the neighboring Central Asian states. Iran, the only Muslim country with Afghanistan, that was not colonized by a European power, was determined to create economic and cultural ties and in that respect, Tajikistan turned out to be the most suitable candidate.
“Inside Central Asia” provides a comprehensive overview of the Central Asian republics and their problems such as ethnic tensions, religious intolerance and the need to establish their political identity. It helps us understand these countries’ past and present.
Hiro is the author of more than thirty books and is a commentator for CNN and BBC. Although he does not speculate on Central Asia’s future, he does think that the political future of Central Asia will basically revolve around what happens in Uzbekistan.
“There is ample evidence that attachment to Islam remains strong among a majority of Uzbeks…Indeed, accommodating the pro-Islamist views of the Uzbek masses will become a prerequisite to stabilizing the state,” he says.
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