Islam radicalism in Kyrgyzstan Misinterpretation and the government response

Abstract

The question of religious security of Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia is one of the highly discussed topics in the academic sphere and the media. However, the monolithic description of Islam as being either violent or non violent has been misleading us. The oversimplifications by scholars, media and politicians have led to distorted understanding of the social phenomena taking place in our society. Moreover, throughout the time independent Kyrgyzstan has been existing, there has not been a major case where religious extremists have taken part as instigators, however, the state asserts the contrary. Lastly, the new state policy on religion is to have radical changes. It is of paramount importance that Kyrgyzstan not follow the path of oppressing religious organizations, or else the similar outcome which neighboring states come to is inevitable.