Rajeshwari Krishnamurthy
As violent jihadist activities in Syria and Iraq intensify, the number
of foreign nationals enrolling to fight for the Islamic State (IS) is
witnessing an exponential growth. The case of Central Asian jihadists -
fighters who are nationals of Tajikstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan - joining the Islamic State (IS) is
interesting, especially given the political history of the region’s
neighbourhood. Despite the involvement of Central Asian-origin people in
the insurgency in Afghanistan over the past few years, several Central
Asian radical Islamists have chosen to travel to Syria and Iraq instead
of the former. There is a need to understand why nationals of Central
Asian countries are joining the IS.
Central Asian Jihadists in Syria and Iraq
Today, there are an estimated 31,500 jihadists who fight under the IS’s
banner in Syria and Iraq. Approximately 15,000 of them are estimated to
be foreign fighters and 2000 of them are pitted as from Western
countries. While the numbers of nationals of Western countries joining
the IS are easier to find, the numbers of their Central Asian
counterparts are comparatively difficult to obtain and/or ascertain.
Some recent estimates pit the number at anywhere between 3000-4000, with
Tajiks constituting the largest chunk. According to reports, there are
about “250 Kazakh citizens, 100 Kyrgyz, 190 Tajiks, 500 Uzbeks, and
about 360 Turkmens fighting alongside ISIS extremists,” that have been
identified, with Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan being the most vulnerable to
IS influence, especially via Ferghana Valley. However, these numbers too
are difficult to confirm.
Motivations for Joining the IS
Some motivations for joining the IS are common between Western jihadists
and Central Asian jihadists. Among those are the organisational and
administrative capabilities of the IS; the quality of life assured for
IS fighters (that is comparatively higher than what the Afghan Taliban
or al Qaeda ever provided); the chance to be on the ‘winning side’; and
the potential to settle instead of having to run for cover (as opposed
to the Taliban’s experience in Afghanistan). Another reason is the
relative failure of al Qaeda in comparison to the Islamic State to hold
territory.
More importantly, the 1300 year old prophecy in the Hadith about a
‘malahim’ (day of reckoning) speaks about the clash of Islam and the
‘infidels’ in Dabiq, Syria, is doing the rounds in the jihadist social
media. The IS has in fact been using this Hadith to legitimise its
actions in Iraq and Syria, and the historical religious significance of
the prophecy has managed to draw more radical Islamists towards this
insurgency. So strong is this prophecy’s influence on the group, that
their official magazine is called Dabiq.
To this end, the war in Afghanistan is a jihad with nationalistic
contours, but the war in Syria and Iraq is transnational in nature and
does not aim to end at national borders. It is about something on a much
larger scale - the recreation of the world as a single world order. And
coming from the present-day territories of historical Khurasan - as
also emphasised by the IS - these radicalised Central Asian fighters
feel obligated to join.
Noticeable Trends
This sentiment could also have been augmented by the nature of news
reports that are made available in these countries. The outrage over the
humanitarian crisis in Syria, Israel’s offensives in Gaza, the flux in
the Egyptian political environment, and the mistreatment of Muslims on
various occasions across the globe have found ample space in their
media. As Christian Bleuer states in the recent Afghanistan Analysts
Network report, “…this author has very rarely seen in the media, or
heard in local discussions, concerns over Uyghurs, Rohingyas, Chechens,
Dagestanis or Afghans.” The argument about motivations depending on the
call for universal jihad to protect Muslims everywhere therefore becomes
complex here. There appears to be a general tendency to know and to be
concerned more with what is happening in West Asia - Arab areas in
particular - than other neighbouring areas with considerable Muslim
populations. This means, in many ways, the primary driver is still the
attraction to the status of the Arab world than just the cause of
rallying for the global Ummah.
Furthermore, it is important to note that the IS’s anti-Shia policies
that otherwise do not find much resonance in the Central Asian society
have begun to attract the younger generation of Kazakhs, Tajiks, Uzbeks
and Kyrgyz. This is a shift from the trend followed by Central Asian
recruits when they joined al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Al Qaeda’s policies
have not been the elimination of Shias altogether, whereas, the IS’s
policies are as much about the elimination of Shias as their goal to
expand the borders of the ‘Islamic Caliphate’.
This indicates a trend of gradual Salafisation of the societies in the
Central Asian republics. Ironically, the rise of al Qaeda over the past
two decades has laid the groundwork for legitimising the IS’s (whom they
disowned in February) agenda.
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