Uzbekistan, so as other Central Asian Republics, turned into turbulent times in the beginning of 1990’s. After collapsing USSR, 5 Republics gained its independence. The whole region was very well-known from its religiosity. However, besides the fact that Islamist movements and parties were banned on any political activity and had no right to act as an opposition within the system of Uzbekistan, they have emerged subsequently especiallly in this country.
  The modern history of Uzbekistan is full of radical Islamic political and social movements. From the very beginning of the Republic, Islam Karimov, its first and the only one till now president, rules though and solidly. He was the biggest opponent of any Islamic initiative which showed up and tried to damp it down immediately.
  The aim of this study is to explore all the Islamist parties and movements which have been raised in Uzbekistan between 1990 and 2012. Which of them were and still remaining crucial and have the impact on Uzbek political and social life. The Author is trying to investigate the reasons and circumstances that led Islamist movements to arise and effectively influence on Uzbekistan political arena.

Muqtada al-Sadr from Opposition to Power: Democracy of the Cleric in Iraq After 2003

According to learned scholars, radical political movements change their behavior when participating in formal politics. Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shiite cleric, used violence in order to protect his movement. At its inception, the Sadrist movement became an armed militia called the Mahdi Army. This paper will examine al-Sadr’s transition from opposition to power in the new political system in Iraq. In 2004 al-Sadr turned to politics by recognizing the political system in Iraq. Learned scholars suggest that al-Sadr should have transferred his movement into a political party to interact with the state political system and should then have been responsible for its outline. Al-Sadr returned to violence in 2006, threatening the new democracy in Iraq. If he recognized the political game, why did he resort to violence? This work suggests that to be in politics in post-2003, he should have formed a military wing to achieve political and material goals to maintain his movement.