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Friday, 01 April 2005

BAKIYEV DENIES ROLE OF \"ISLAMIC EXTREMISM\" IN KYRGYZ CRISIS

Published in News Digest

By empty (4/1/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Interim President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said he was \"sure that Islamic extremism had nothing to do\" with the recent revolution in Kyrgyzstan. \"In Bishkek, in the north [of Kyrgyzstan] as a whole, Islamic extremism has a very low influence on the masses,\" Bakiyev said in an exclusive interview with Interfax. In the south, where Bakiyev comes from, Islamic extremism has a \"weak\" influence on the population as well, he said.
Interim President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said he was \"sure that Islamic extremism had nothing to do\" with the recent revolution in Kyrgyzstan. \"In Bishkek, in the north [of Kyrgyzstan] as a whole, Islamic extremism has a very low influence on the masses,\" Bakiyev said in an exclusive interview with Interfax. In the south, where Bakiyev comes from, Islamic extremism has a \"weak\" influence on the population as well, he said. There are \"many mosques\" in southern Kyrgyzstan, Bakiyev said. \"At one time, it was regular practice to build mosques instead of schools or hospitals. But that\'s one thing, and Islamic extremism is a completely different story,\" he said. (Interfax)
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