Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan

aka Islamic Party of Turkestan

The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) is a coalition of fundamentalist Islamic militants from Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries that oppose Uzbek President Islom Karimov's secular government and that work to establish an Islamic theocracy.

Founded in 1999, the IMU seeks to destabilize the country and the region; although not the only group to oppose the current government of Uzbekistan, it is the only group that has resorted to terrorism to achieve its goals. The change of name to the Islamic Party of Turkestan in June 2001 may signal an expansion of the original goal of establishing an Islamic state in Uzbekistan to the creation of Islamic states throughout Central Asia.

The IMU has conducted only small-scale armed attacks—car bombings and hostage taking—and initially operated only in the Fergana Valley on the Uzbek/Kyrgyz border; the IMU is now active ...