Tahrir in Central Asia: How America Misreads Islamist Threats By Prof. Matthew Crosston

The following article examines and analyzes the philosophical underpinnings of the Hizb ut-Tahrir in Central Asia. It does so to highlight a larger, more important theoretical and policy point: The United States, in its global war against terror, has improperly defined what constitutes a legitimate Islamist threat. As a result, it mislabels many Islamist groups that do constitute a real security threat to the United States and to democratic regimes in general.

This article focuses on how the United States engages Central Asia with the declared goal of fostering democratic development. The analysis reveals a disturbing reality: an apparent willingness on the part of the United States to overlook and accept domestic repression within the Ferghana Valley states of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Consequently, American engagement, unwittingly helps produce greater Islamic radicalization. More importantly, these radicalized groups, rather than focusing exclusively on their domestic oppressors and local revolution, aim at targets beyond Central Asia.

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