Over the last 5 years, the Uzbekistan government has nurtured a relationship with Al-Azhar university in Cairo, via its Grand Shaykh Muhammed Tantawi. This relationship was designed to foster a âmoderateâ Uzbek Clergy and population in Uzbekistan that would undertake their Islamic rituals according to state sanctioned routes while separating their belief in Islam from their political views. The relationship also sought to produce an Uzbek clergy with some skills to counter the Islamic political groups in the country, particularly Hizb ut Tahrir, who are known to be extremely proficient in the sciences of Islam. Following the massacre in Andijan and Karasu, Shaykh Muhammed Tantawi met with Uzbek Foreign Minister Jahon, to discuss the events. Tantawi is reported to have compared the massacre of civilians in Andijan to a coup dâetat attempt led by Salah Sirrey in Egypt in the 1970âs. He drew these similarities claiming the (fictional) âmilitary wingâ of Hizb-ut-Tahrir to be at blame. Itar-Tass reported that he went on to say that if the plans of the extremists are put into effect, this would drive the Islamic world many centuries back. Forum 18 reported that the Uzbek foreign minister claimed that Tantawi said that the ârevival of the Islamic Khilafahâ and âjihadâ were âanti-human.â
The Russian news agency, Ria Novosti reported that âThe sheikh dubbed all appeals to setting up a caliphate as a conspiracy of people who have sidetracked from the righteous path.â Although the reports on what the Grand Shaykh actually said differ, what is consistent between them is that he supported the Uzbek governments brutal suppression of its people and considered the idea of reinstating the Khilafah, the very system implemented by the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam), the Sahaba (companions ra) and the Salaf-as-salih (righteous early followers) as a bad idea.