ABSTRACT
Most Central Asians identify themselves as Muslim. But the governments of Central Asia have adopted strict secular regimes, securitising certain religious activities by labelling them as ‘non-traditional’ and ‘extremist.’ In framing certain forms of Islam as a threat, the government has legitimised measures to discipline and control ‘bad’ forms of Islam, while at the same time promoting ‘good’ state-backed religion. While a terrorist threat does exist, it has been manipulated by the governments of the region to eliminate a range of potential sources of opposition and consolidate their power. Dynamics of securitisation vary across the region and within countries themselves, with Kyrgyzstan having adopted the most tolerant policies towards religion, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan creating the most restrictive environment for religion and Turkmenistan denying the very existence of an extremist threat. This chapter traces the securitisation of religion from the institutionalisation of Islam during the Soviet Union to the contemporary secular regimes of Central Asia.
