Muhammad Salih: poet and politician, as well as his namesake

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:54

The political structure of the Central Asian republics usually excludes the participation of the opposition in the life of the country. At best, open opponents of the authorities will be exiled outside their homeland, which happened to the Uzbek poet and politician Muhammad Salih. However, this name is not only a dissident from Uzbekistan, he has many namesakes among Islamic theologians.

The Persecuted Poet

The name of Muhammad Salih became famous in his homeland in 1977. Then the aspiring poet published his first collection of poems, which brought him fame as an avant-garde artist. This was especially unusual for the Central Asian republics, where literary figures were especially loyal to the authorities and the official ideological setting.

In response, he received a revealing article "On the pernicious influence of the West", written by the main ideologist of the Uzbek SSR Laziz Kayumov.

Until the end of the eighties, Muhammad Salih remained in the underground of official literature, being considered far from national traditions. In his workWestern avant-garde movements, surrealism, as well as the Sufi philosophy of the sages of the East were surprisingly combined.

More than 20 books were published, he translated Kafka into Uzbek, he was written about in dozens of languages in different countries.

Coming into politics

Because of his unofficial and semi-underground activities, Muhammad Salih was not a member of the Communist Party and did not participate in the political life of the country. His first active step in the public life of the country was a manifesto written in 1984, which sharply criticized the policy of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan in the field of national literature.

During perestroika for the world-famous and respected poet, the doors to big politics open. Muhammad Salih founded the Birlik movement, and soon his own political party, Erk. He successfully held elections to the Supreme Council of the Republic and became a People's Deputy.

One of the notable political initiatives of the Erk party was the demand for recognition of the state sovereignty of Uzbekistan, adopted in 1990.

Oppositionist in exile

After the collapse of the USSR, Muhammad put forward his candidacy to participate in the first and so far the only truly alternative presidential elections in the country. However, the writer, cut off from real power, could not compete in an unequal struggle with hardened politicians who remained in power even after the collapse of the Communist Party.

According to unofficial data, he even outstripped the former first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist PartyUzbek SSR I. Karimov, however, the counting of votes becomes decisive in such cases, during which the oppositionist was left miserable crumbs in the form of 12%.

In response, a demonstration was held, brutally suppressed by the authorities. This became an occasion for further persecution of the "wrong" party. Newspapers were closed down, and Erk leaders were prosecuted. Soon Salih himself went to jail. Only under pressure from the world community was he released on bail, but prudently did not wait for a "humane" trial and fled to Turkey through Azerbaijan.

As the leader of the opposition in exile, Muhammad Salih is still in existence. Today he leads the National Movement of Uzbekistan, which has gathered all those dissatisfied with the current state of affairs in the homeland.

Saudi Quran interpreter

Muhammad ibn Salih al Uthaymeen is a well-known theologian in the Arab world, an interpreter of the Koran and a Sharia jurist who lived in Saudi Arabia throughout his life. From an early age, he devoted himself to serving the Almighty and studying the foundations of Islam. The theologian studied at the madrasah of Ali ibn Abdullah ash-Shuhaitan, where he memorized the Koran from beginning to end, then continued his education at the madrasah of Abdul-Aziz ibn Salih.

However, the main mentor of young Muhammad was al-Saadi, who taught him the rules of Sharia and the main principles of the interpretation of the Koran. The pious young man did not become content with exclusively theological disciplines, but began to study the foundations of Islamic law from the supreme qadi (judge) UnaizaAbdurahman ibn Ali.

In 1954, Muhammad Salih al Uthaymeen returned to his native Unayza, where he took up teaching. He first instructed youth in the mosque, and then at the faculty of Sharia at the University of Muhammad ibn Saud. Having lived a long and pious life, the venerable imam passed away in 2001 and was buried with honors in Mecca.

Active Khatib

Sheikh Muhammad Salih al Munajid is another respected Muslim theologian who is still active today. He was also born and raised in Saudi Arabia, from an early age he mastered the wisdom of the sacred books and as a result achieved the high status of an imam, teacher and khatib (preacher).

Sheikh Muhammad Saalikh al-Munajid serves in the mosque, lecturing on the research of authoritative Muslim theologians. He is not limited to this and actively conducts preaching work on radio and television.

Here he puts forward his own views on the peculiarities of education in the Islamic spirit, the subtleties of the education of a true Muslim, answers everyday questions related to the observance of a strict ritual.

He has released many recordings of his sermons, and has maintained his own website since 1997, where he answers questions about faith.

Muhammad Yusuf

Muhammad Salih was expelled from his native country, and his fate was repeated by many politicians and clergy in Uzbekistan. One of them was an authoritative clergyman who successfully combined service to the Almighty and loy alty toatheistic Soviet power.

Muhammad Sadiq Muhammad Yusuf was educated at the Tashkent Islamic Institute, worked in the Spiritual Administration of Muslims. Then he devoted many years of his life to teaching at his native university, of which he became the rector in the late eighties.

In 1989, Muhammad Yusuf became the mufti of Uzbekistan, having launched active work to restore the Islamic worldview in the republic. However, I. Karimov, after clashes with Muslim fundamentalists, sharply increased control over the clergy and returned the state of affairs to Soviet norms in the field of religion.

Mufti left the country, worked in Libya. However, in 1999, the leaders of Uzbekistan begged him to return, feeling the need for a mufti, who enjoyed authority among moderate Muslims.