The idea of an "Islamic threat" to national security in Uzbekistan is widespread in the media and amongst several academics. The regime of Uzbek President Islam Karimov has repeatedly emphasized the seriousness of this threat and acted to contain it. In this thesis, I examine both the present ability of different Muslim political actors to challenge the Uzbek state's defense position and recent historical elements of the Uzbek security strategy related to Islam. I argue that the relationship between Muslims and national security in Uzbekistan is characterized by the two following observations: (1) it is unlikely that Muslims are able to present a national security risk and (2) there are reasons to suspect that the national security policies of the Uzbek leadership target Islamic fundamentalism at least in part to legitimize the continued repression of most types of opposition.

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