On 15th February, IA “Gazeta.uz” reported: “The president of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev on February 14 signed a decree on the establishment of the International Research Center of Imam Tirmidhi. According to the document, the decision is aimed at in-depth study and promotion of hadith scholar and Islamic jurist’s heritage Abu Isa Tirmidhi (Imam Tirmidhi, 824-892 years), who made an enormous contribution to the development of the Islamic religion. The activity should also contribute to the preservation and development of the national-religious values of the Uzbek people and the education of young generation in the spirit of the noble ideas of love and loyalty to the homeland”.
Comment:
We see that Mirziyoyev uses a newly applied method of Tajik president Emomali Rahmon. Rahmon used Muslims’ feelings in order to raise his credibility among the people as a follower of Islam, and named year of 2009 in honor of Imam Abu Hanifa. Mirziyoyev is well aware that 93% of Uzbekistan people are Sunni Muslims. And strengthening the commitment of Muslims to Islam is natural. Even from Mirziyoyev’s statement when he said that such famous figures of Islam, as Imam al-Bukhari, Imam al-Tirmidhi, Abu Rayhon Biruni, Al-Khorezmi, Imam al-Maturudi and many others lived in Uzbekistan one can understand that the Uzbek people really love Islam and are ready to commit great things to this religion.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union many Muslim scholars opened the khujdras in their homes and taught Islam. The Muslims even from the neighboring countries came there to be taught Islam. And when the understanding of Islam as an ideology appeared in the minds of these scholars, it gave more power to spread Islam. Karimov’s government could not accept this. As evidenced by the struggle of the former dictator Karimov against the Muslims who wanted to return to the Islamic way of life.
The Muslims calling for the revival of the Islamic way of life, who are already thousands, are detained in prisons of Uzbekistan for years, not to mention those who have become martyrs. Therefore, the government of Uzbekistan wants to fill the minds of the Muslims with the Islam that is acceptable to them. Because they understand that they cannot prohibit Islam.
If the Uzbek government wants to promote the hadiths narrated by Tirmidhi, we would like to quote one. Imam Tirmidhi from Adiyiah ibn Hatim’s words narratedقَالَ: أَتَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَفِي عُنُقِي صَلِيبٌ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ. فَقَالَ: «يَا عَدِيُّ اطْرَحْ عَنْكَ هَذَا الْوَثَنَ». وَسَمِعْتُهُ يَقْرَأُ فِي سُورَةِ بَرَاءَةَ: ﴿اتَّخَذُوا أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ﴾ قَالَ: «أَمَا إِنَّهُمْ لَمْ يَكُونُوا يَعْبُدُونَهُمْ وَلَكِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا إِذَا أَحَلُّوا لَهُمْ شَيْئًا اسْتَحَلُّوهُ وَإِذَا حَرَّمُوا عَلَيْهِمْ شَيْئًا حَرَّمُوهُ» “I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and there was a gold cross on my neck and he said: “O Adi, throw away this idol from yourself”. Then the Prophet ﷺ recited the verse from “At-Tawbah”: They (Jews and Christians) took their rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allah” (9:31) “It was not that they worshipped these people, but rather whatever they made permissible for them, they believed it to be permissible and whatever they forbade, they believed to be unlawful”.
It is understood that legislation belongs only to Allah. Mirziyoyev and his government need to know that Imam Tirmidhi, narrating this hadith and many other hadiths in the first place, was of the opinion that the laws issued by the people in the parliament were the laws of kufr. So if the imam had been alive, he would have been among the first Muslims who would come up against these laws enforced by the Government of Uzbekistan. And we are sure that he would be among those who would imprison the members of this government.
O Muslims of Uzbekistan! Do not let this tyrant rulers like Mirziyoyev deceive you. What he does supposedly taking care of your well-being in the opening of borders with neighboring countries, and that from now on all enforcement officers will work for the well-being of the people or the cancellation of a patent for working in Russia, it is nothing other than to increase his credibility and those who around him. We see how so far the thousands of innocent Muslims are in the prisons only for what they say – our Lord is Allah. He will not take care of you and serve you. Therefore, these corrupt rulers will continue to oppress us, until we Muslims unite and revive the state, which will remove all of these tyrants.
Mubin Abudawud – Tajikistan