to achieve political ambitions began to spread in the city. The reason was the weakening of Soviet power and the paralysis of communist ideology. Gradually, the city again became one of the centers of artificially politicized religion in Central Asia. Prominent leaders of the radical pseudo-religious opposition in Central Asia Tahir Yuldash and Juma Namangani are natives of Namangan.
Since 1990, adherents of the so-called new sect of Islam began to gather in the Mullo Kirgiz (Otaullokhon) mosque, which had some differences from the traditional interpretation when performing namaz and performing other religious rites. They could not be called Wahhabis, Shiites or Sunnis. The mosque was open to any believer. At first, adherents of both movements coexisted peacefully, but in most mosques, joint prayer with adherents of a new kind was forbidden.
Radical pseudo-Islamic youth organizations began to emerge around the Mullo Kirghiz (Otaullokhon) mosque. One of the largest pseudo-religious-political groups that functioned in Namangan in the late 1980s and early 90s was the so-called. organization "Islom Lashkarlari" ("Warriors of Islam"). They made the Mullo Kirgiz (Otaullokhon) Mosque their strong point. The imam of the mosque was a fierce supporter of the radical Wahhabism movement Abd al-Ahad, a follower of Rahmatullah Allama.
Taking advantage of the general situation of chaos that accompanied the collapse of the USSR, the Wahhabis established a channel for receiving financial assistance from various organizations and funds from abroad. With the funds received, they began to publish and distribute radical literature, to conduct ideological work. The city was repeatedly visited by foreign pseudo-Muslim preachers, meetings with which took place with a large gathering of people.
However, over time, the Wahhabis began to call for the overthrow of the existing system, the establishment of the so-called "caliphate" and the alleged introduction of Sharia law. There were repeated calls for the physical destruction of "infidels", law enforcement officers, communists and their families. There were numerous facts of intimidation of women wearing European clothes. In 1990, Wahhabis surrounded the building of the Namangan Regional Prosecutor's Office and demanded that all criminal cases initiated against their supporters be handed over to them. Their demand was granted and the resulting criminal cases were burned in front of the prosecutor's office.
Рост количества приверженцев ваххабизма и их активность, стали беспокоить приверженцев традиционного Islamа. In 1991, this led to several confrontations. Several times, thousands of citizens gathered at the gates of the Mullo Kirghiz (Otaullokhon) mosque, demanding its closure. According to some reports, a new trend in the Otaullokhon mosque and other mosques was organized with the help of the KGB of the USSR in order to divide believers into two warring camps.

The so-called Islom Lashkarlari group was divided into two wings:
a) "Adolat" or "Partsezd-9". The members of the group, having assumed the functions of law enforcement agencies, were arbitrarily engaged in maintaining public order. At the same time, alleged Sharia laws were proclaimed as legal norms. Members of the group repeatedly committed acts of lynching and killings of police officers. This wing of Islom Lashkarlari was destroyed in March-April 1992.
b) Wahhabis. The main attention was paid to the discussion of religious issues. The leader is Tokhir Yuldash. Members of the organization were divided into groups of 20-50 people. The number of groups reached 60. The group maintained links with Hizb ut-Tahrir.

Also, in 1992-1995, the Tovba (Tauba) group operated in the city and the region, under the leadership of Juma Namangani. The number of members reached 300 people. The organization, adhering to religious views, condemned the facts of the death of conscripts and hazing in the army.
The activities of the Wahhabis reached their greatest scope in 1992-93. Taking advantage of the weakness of the new authorities, they widely demonstrated their strength by engaging in lynching, justifying their actions allegedly by Sharia law. But in 1993, the authorities began the first stage of the fight against gangs. As a result, a number of criminal organizations were defeated, and their leader Tokhir Yuldash, together with his associates, fled to Afghanistan.
After the terrorist attacks in Tashkent on February 16, 1999, representatives of gangs were subjected to repression and persecution. The Mullo Kirgiz (Otaullokhon) Mosque passed into state control. Today the situation is under the full control of the authorities.