Anvar-qori Tursunov (; ) was a prominent

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

khatib In Islam, a khatib or khateeb ( ''khaṭīb'') is a person who delivers the sermon (''khuṭbah'') (literally "narration"), during the Friday prayer and Eid prayers. The ''khateeb'' is usually the prayer leader (''imam''), but the two roles can ...

at the Kukeldash mosque in

Tashkent, Uzbekistan Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

. He was stabbed several times on 31 July 2009, but recovered.

Activities

Tursunov fought actively against "extremist" Islamic activity in Uzbekistan, and often served as a witness for the prosecution in trials for suspected members of outlawed Islamic groups such as

Hizb-ut-Tahrir Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT; ) is an international pan-Islamist and Islamic fundamentalist political organization whose stated aim is the re-establishment of the Islamic caliphate to unite the Muslim community (called ''ummah'') and implement sharia glo ...

and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. He had called for Uzbek Muslims to resist "foreign influences", such as wearing the

hijab Hijab (, ) refers to head coverings worn by Women in Islam, Muslim women. Similar to the mitpaḥat/tichel or Snood (headgear), snood worn by religious married Jewish women, certain Christian head covering, headcoverings worn by some Christian w ...

. He espoused many of his views on his television program ''Hidoyat Sari'' (''Towards Guidance''). He has been mentioned as a possible successor to the post of Chief Mufti of Uzbekistan, the head of the Muslim Board of Uzbekistan.

Stabbing

At 10:30pm on 31 July 2009, Tursunov was at his home in the Yangi-Abad district when there was a knock on his door. His son answered the door, and was told his father was being invited to a religious function. When Tursunov came to the door, he was stabbed eight times by three men - five times in the arm, and three times in the stomach. The attackers then fled the scene. The government of Uzbekistan claims one of the attackers is Shavkat Makhmudov, a supposed member of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan who was reportedly killed during a shoot-out in Tashkent on 29 August 2009.

References

Uzbekistani Muslims Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Uzbekistani victims of crime Uzbekistani religious leaders {{Uzbekistan-bio-stub

Activities

Stabbing

See also

References