Content area
Full Text
The Uzbek newspaper Fargona Haqiqati on 16 July printed an account of how a young man from the town of Qoqon, in the Fergana Valley, was inducted into the teachings of Islam and then underwent training at a Hezb-e Tahrir camp in Afghanistan. The young man, named as Abdullajon, said he had escaped from the camp and made his way to the Uzbek embassy in Islamabad. He has since been amnestied and expresses his regrets that he "chose the wrong path". The following is an excerpt from interview by Rustam Boy Muhammad; ellipses as published, subheadings inserted editorially:
Human beings are given just one, transitory life. Every individual must decide how to spend his life: with dignity or with regret. I [Abdullajon] am 21 years old and in my prime. It is the age when I must study and work tirelessly and make a good match, as my parents dream of. Some of my friends settled down as married men long ago and some have children already. I envy them. You say: "Perhaps you are an orphan or a disabled man?" You err. Thanks to God, I have parents, brothers and sisters. However\ I was sadly mistaken. I chose wrong path on the threshold of my life. I trod on a thorn through ignorance and its poison will cause pain to the end of my life.
[Passage omitted: Abdullajon describes his last, untroubled, year at school]
There was the Juma [Friday] mosque near our school. Old people were going to the mosque for the midday prayers as we were returning from the school. We made way for them and greeted them. Old people praised our respectful attitude and commended us: "Fine lads, study hard." This was the normal thing.. There were five or six young people amongst the older men, but they would not greet us. I saw often my neighbour Javlon aka [honorific] among them. I knew well his person. He dressed well and had numerous friends though he had no regular income. And he had married a second time even though he was only about 25 years old. To speak frankly, I avoided him. Javlon aka did not abuse or beat me but I avoided meeting him. I did not know why...