Sayyid Abdullah Nuri

Sayyid Abdullah Nuri
File:Sayyid Abdullah Nuri.jpeg
Name	Sayyid Abdullah Nuri
Personal Details
Birth Place	Template:Horizontal list
Religion	Islam

Sayyid Abdullah Nuri, along with four of his students, founded the organization "Islamic Youth Movement of Tajikistan" in the Vakhsh Valley on 20 April 1973, which later changed to the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan. This movement was the first Islamic political organization among the countries of Central Asia.

Biography and Education

Sayyid Abdullah Nuri, the founder of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, was born on 15 March 1947 in the former village of Ashtian, Sangvar District (Tavildara). Later, his family, along with other mountain people, was relocated to Vakhsh-Zamin. Sayyid Abdullah completed general education school in 1964. He then completed an engineering course at the Statistics Institute of Qurgonteppa city and served as an engineer in said administration until 1986. He studied various sciences such as "morphology and syntax", "rhetoric", "Logic", "Islamic history", "Hadith", "Quranic exegesis", etc., under famous scholars, such as Sayyiduddin Najmuddin and Qari Muhammadjan Khuqandi, known as Mawlawi Hindustani.

Arrest and Imprisonment

Sayyid was arrested by former security authorities of the Soviet Union in June 1986 on charges of political activity. In February 1987, by the verdict of the Qurgonteppa Regional Court based on Article 203 of the Criminal Code of Tajikistan, he was sentenced to one and a half years in prison on charges of "spreading false news that discredits the structure of the socialist society and state". He served his sentence in prisons in Siberia and the Far East.

Establishment of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan

He, along with four of his students, founded the organization "Islamic Youth Movement of Tajikistan" in the Vakhsh Valley on 20 April 1973, which later converted to the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan. This movement was the first Islamic political organization among the countries of Central Asia. Mr. Nuri held the editorial responsibility of the magazine Minbari Islam, the publication of the Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Tajikistan, from 1989 to 1992, and simultaneously was the unofficial leader of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan. Due to the civil war, Sayyid Abdullah migrated to Afghanistan in early 1993 and established the Islamic Renaissance Movement of Tajikistan there, engaging in political and military struggle, and made great efforts to restore the lost rights of Tajik migrants and refugees.

This political and military organization under his leadership played a fundamental role in the start of peace negotiations between Tajiks in April 1994. The process of peace negotiations between Tajiks (April 1995 to June 1997) was successfully conducted under the leadership of Sayyid Abdullah Nuri. In order to reach the final agreement as quickly as possible, he met and visited the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmonov seven times outside of Tajikistan. These meetings played an important role in the peace negotiation process in Tajikistan. From July 1997 to 31 March 2000, Sayyid Abdullah Nuri headed the National Reconciliation Commission and played a major role in establishing peace, reconciliation, unity, and understanding among the people of Tajikistan.

He was the leader of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan from 18 September 1999 until his death. He is known in the international arena as a wise and experienced politician, dignified and visionary, as well as a jurist and scholar of Islamic sciences. Also, during his lifetime, he had published several scientific, political, religious, and philosophical works.

Critics of the leader of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan have criticized Sayyid Abdullah Nuri's political line in the last few years of his life, which apparently adopted a conservative stance and did not oppose the current government's policy much.

Dissolution of the Soviet Union and Independence of Tajikistan

The Dissolution of the Soviet Union and the independence of Tajikistan can be considered the second stage of the late Nuri's life, and the point of flourishing of his activities. In this period, by organizing the Tajik people and youth, he formed a popular anti-communist, reformist, and independence-seeking movement in Tajikistan, the symbol of which can be considered the sit-ins and the toppling of the statue of Lenin in Freedom Square of Dushanbe city. Sayyid Abdullah Nuri also officially founded the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan in October 1991 and guided and led the developments in this newly independent republic in a more coherent manner.

Start of the Civil War

Crimes of the communists of the People's Front and the coup against the National Reconciliation Government caused the ignition of the civil war in Tajikistan, which revealed the third stage and then the character of Nuri. During this period, the late Sayed Abdullah Nori migrated to Afghanistan, and a large number of Tajik reformists were with him.

Following the horrific crimes of forces affiliated with the People's Front, with the presence of figures such as Sangak Safarov, armed struggle and entering military dimensions became inevitable for the forces of the Islamic Renaissance Party. At that time, the charismatic and popular personality of Sayed Abdullah alongside his inclusive discourse caused other groups of Tajik reformists, such as Lal Badakhshan and the Democrats, who were essentially not Islamists, to join this movement and fight alongside other mujahideen against the remnants of Communism.

Although a difficult battle had formed, the result was ultimately the victory of the opposition alliance. To the extent that the opposing side, which had previously beaten the drum of war and massacre, was ultimately forced to negotiate for peace.

Peace Negotiations

Despite the importance of all previous stages, the peace negotiations can be considered the prominent aspect of the late Sayed Abdullah's militant personality. A stage in which he made the hardest decision of the Tajik opposition in a difficult process. At this time, he met seven times with Emomali Rahmon, the leader of the People's Front forces and the current president of Tajikistan, and peace negotiations were held in Tehran, Almaty, Moscow, and ... Many talks took place between the parties and multiple conditions for the end of the war and bloodshed were raised by both sides.

Based on the significant experience he had from facing the remnants of Communism and understanding the nature of international contracts, he knew well that there was no powerful guarantee for the implementation of these negotiations and the commitment of the parties. He was also well aware of the opposing party's motivation for sitting at the negotiating table and obtaining what they were unable to obtain from the battlefield.

However, stopping the bloodshed and ending the displacement of the Tajik people, which was destroying this republic, compelled him to consider a greater expedience by disregarding these matters. Therefore, if it were not for his leniency, magnanimity, and self-sacrifice, perhaps a peace agreement would never have been formed, and it was unclear if today Tajikistan would have a situation far worse than Afghanistan. Thus, he can be considered the "Messenger of Peace and National Unity of Tajiks". A personality who was truly a "Man of Peace". An approach that even attracted the attention of some international institutions and organizations in modeling for peace.

Life After Peace

As Sayed Abdullah Nori and other opposition forces expected, the peace process remained incomplete and did not proceed as agreed. Although the late Nori made great efforts from 1997 to 2000 in the presidency of the National Reconciliation Commission to establish the clauses of the peace agreement, however, the gradual removal of opposition forces from the government on various pretexts and the repeated extension of Emomali Rahmon's presidency, which was supposed to take place for only one term, caused the loss of peace achievements. However, the fruit of his activities within the framework of the legal activity of the only Islamist party in Central Asia, and its consolidation as a moderate, temperate, and successful model for all Islamists in the region, can be considered the most important achievement of the late Nori's life after peace.

Relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran

The late Sayed Nori had a very positive view towards the Islamic Republic of Iran from the beginning of the independence of Tajikistan. The basis of this view can be considered in two factors:

1. First, cultural and linguistic commonalities with the Iran which determined the national identity of the Tajiks;
2. Second, the Islamist and revolutionary movement of Iran in the region, from which the national and Islamic movement of the Tajiks was able to take models to some extent.

In the peace process, one factor of his trust and presence in the negotiations can be considered the guarantees of the Islamic Republic of Iran. A factor that if it did not exist, perhaps he would never have appeared at the negotiating table.

He continued to form very good relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran and became the source of interaction and connection between the two Persian-speaking and Muslim nations of Iran and Tajikistan. He also met with the Supreme Leader and there is hardly any political figure of Iran in the 1370s (Solar Hijri) who does not know Sayed Abdullah Nori and does not speak of him kindly.

One of the Tajik writers named Mirza Yarbek in his book entitled Lords in the Eyes of Others quotes Ayatollah Khamenei about the late Sayed Abdullah Nori: "Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, states about the personality of the late Master Sayed Abdullah Nori (peace be upon him): I see firmness and piety in the face of this man that I have not seen in other leaders of global movements, and he is different from others." It is narrated that whenever the late Master Nori went to visit Ayatollah Khamenei, he was welcomed with the sentence "Welcome, O pure offspring".

Death

The leader of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan passed away due to illness at the age of 59 in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, and the Government of Tajikistan offered condolences for this great tragedy to the people of the country, the members of the party, and his survivors. The funeral and burial ceremony of the late leader of the party was held with the participation of military and civil officials, diplomats, foreign guests, and various segments of the people of Tajikistan. Large groups of people from the city of Dushanbe, the capital of the country, went to the late Nouri's residence until late at night to offer condolences.

See also

• Tajikistan
• Afghanistan
• Communism
• War

References

Note | On the occasion of the anniversary of the death of the true messenger of peace and national unity of Tajiks, Date of publication: 10 August 2019, Date of access: 2 October 2023.

• www.payam-aftab.com, Date of publication: n.d., Date of access: 2 October 2023.
• Death of Abdullah Nouri; Tajikistan formed a special committee for the funeral and burial of the leader of the Islamic Movement, Date of publication: 10 August 2006, Date of access: 2 October 2023.