Since the untimely murder of Ilkhom Theatre director Mark Weil on September 7, there has been considerable discussion of possible motives for his killing on the Internet. To recap, Weil was attacked by two men on the night of September 6-7 and fatally stabbed.

The Registan was one of the first English-language outlets to announce his death on September 7, in a post that generated a large number of comments. Commentators variously suggested his death was politically motivated in light of his apparent rejection of Gulnara Karimova’s patronage, linked to upcoming elections, or had been at the hands of religious fanatics who had been offended by some of the Ilkhom’s material. Other English-language outlets later covered the highly respected director’s death, such as the New York Times, but were only able to report the official line regarding a possible motivation:

At the hospital, he was able to say he had not been robbed and did not know his assailants, according to actors from his company. The A.P. quoted a theater spokesman as saying the police would not speculate on a motive.

Interestingly, this official silence was still being maintained several days later, as Uznews.net reported on September 11 in an article entitled “Mark Weil. And then… silence?” (in Russian), which got straight to the point:

If you go onto the Internet, then at the moment one can find tens, if not hundreds, of articles from news agencies all over the world about the death of Mark Weil. But even now not one official Uzbek publication has expended even a single word about the death of the founder and artistic director of the Ilkhom Theatre in Tashkent. It is as if Weil never existed, and that he was never tragically killed.

Whilst suggesting that “it is evident that local journalists are awaiting the order from above”, Uznet does note that several internet outlets did mention the murder. Among these was Uzmetronom, considered to be one of the most independent online publications. Interestingly, Uzmetronom published an article on September 8 refuting speculation that Weil was killed by Islamic radicals under the title “True Muslims Are Not Party to Murder”. The author presents a persuasive argument:

Mark Weil’s death has aroused concern in the hearts of millions of citizens of this distitute country. To blame for this is unfounded speculation in the press about a single version of events that contradicts rational thought and actual events, but which has been presented as the hundred-percent certain motivation for the crime.

These versions suggest that Mark Weil was most likely killed by Islamic radicals because he publicly went against things that are considerd taboo for the Muslim East. Granted, like any independent version of events, this version also has the right to exist. However, we must not forget which country we are talking about here.

To anyone who knows Uzbekistan reasonably well, this version of events seems naive. This is a country where any action that contradicts the canons of Islam is considered a great achievement in the national programme for the development of the country. Therefore, this is a country where a person of faith is more likely to become a victim than someone who openly goes against religion.

In this case, it is difficult to argue with such logic, even if the overall tone of the article drifts slightly too far in denying the existence in Uzbekistan of any Islamic radicals using the tenuous logic that

…if in the country there really were radicals who could execute people for insulting religion and the feelings of the faithful, as certain media outlets have suggested in connection to Mark Weil’s death, then how many militsiamen [policemen] would have been killed…

Speculation surrounding Weil’s death will most likely continue for some time, not least because of reports of newspapers being ordered not to print any material (in Russian).

More widely, there is concern about what the implications are for culture in Uzbekistan, as Eurasianet reports in its article “Theatre Director’s Death Fuels Dispair Among Uzbek Intellectuals”:

Whatever the case [i.e. motivation for Weil’s murder], Weil’s passing will have a long-lasting impact on Uzbek cultural life, according to members of Tashkent’s embattled intelligentsia. “Mark Weil was not just a theater director,” said one Tashkent artist, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “He was a pillar of Western culture in Uzbekistan, one of the key columns supporting it. His death – be it at the hands of special service murderers, religious radicals or mere robbers – has political ramifications because Weil’s death caused irreparable damage to the enclave of Western culture and values in our country.”

It seems that regardless of one’s religious beliefs and attitudes towards Western culture, to paraphrase Shakespeare’s Hamlet, something is rotten in the state of Uzbekistan.