| 第13回中央アジア研究セミナー Islamic Identity in Central Asia 講演者：ダヴード・チャルミー （イラン国際問題研究所中央アジア研究センター研究員） 2000年11月11日（土） 東京大学山上会館地下１階００１会議室 |
On November 11, 2000 Davoud Charmi, Councellor to the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran gave a lecture on the Islamic and Ethnic Identities in Central Asia. He defined the main objective of his speech as answering the question: what identity is more important - Islamic or ethnic? First, he defined Central Asia as the area comprising the five former Soviet Asian republics - Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Then he proceeded to a brief historic overview of the Islamization of Central Asia stressing the diversity of Islam in the region. There is no single reading of Islam in Central Asia. The Muslim community consists of Hanafi Sunni, Wahhabbi, Ismaili, Shiah, Sufi, and other groups. The speaker used M.B. Olcott's classification of Muslims: - ethnic (Islamic identity as part of ethnic identity); - cultural (practicing is an important part of daily life); - doctrinal (attempt to learn more about Islam and guide their daily lives accordingly). Then the speaker touched upon the complexity of the ethnic situation in Central Asia, the presence of considerable ethnic minorities in each republic. Thus, Uzbeks constitute 25% of the population of Tajikistan. The number of Tajiks living in Uzbekistan varies depending on the sources but is significant. Uzbeks are numerous in Kyrgyzstan (especially in the Osh oblast) etc. In addition there are significant non-Muslim minorities residing in the republics. According to the speaker, Muslims in Central Asia do not distinguish between their ethnic and Islamic identity. They are all Muslims and therefore cannot use Islamic identity against each other. Thus, ethnic and other identities (regional, tribal etc.) would play a more important role in the political landscape of the region. He also pointed out that levels of commitment to Islam vary throughout the region, with a deeper level of commitment in Ferghana Valley. He made an interesting remark concerning the relationship between Iran and Central Asia saying that if Iran wants to promote cooperation with Central Asia - Ferghana Valley would be a problem. Later he explained that by referring to anti-Shiah sentiments of fundamentalists in Ferghana Valley. If we follow the suggested train of thought the following questions arise: 1) If Central Asians cannot use Islamic identity against each other because they are all Muslims, how can we interpret the multiple conflicts among Muslims throughout the history in which they were using their specific Islamic identities or "good Muslim- bad Muslim" opposition? 2) If ethnic and other identities are more important for Central Asian political scene, what is the interrelation between them, and which ones are more important? Is ethnic identity really that important in the context of internal and interstate relations in Central Asia? What are the major conflict-prone cleavages? As the major post-Soviet conflicts in Central Asia (civil war in Tajikistan and militants' summer excursions onto the territory of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan) show ethnic identities have very little to do with it. By Nargis Kassenova Graduate School of International Development Nagoya University |