How Authoritarian Oppression Breeds Religious Extremism in Central Asia – The Diplomat

For centuries, Central Asia has served as a major center of Islamic culture and civilization. The role of Islam in Central Asia diminished during the periods of Russian and Soviet rule. Soviet leaders Joseph Stalin and Nikita Khrushchev sought to isolate Central Asia from the Muslim world and replace Islam with Soviet-backed doctrines of communism and atheism by such measures as closing or destroying mosques and religious schools, burning veils in public, and discontinuing Islamic Shariah courts. Nevertheless, Islamist ideals and principles…