1.  a) Name the capital of Uzbekistan. 
b) List the countries that border Uzbekistan.

2.  a) Who is James Hall? 
b) Why was he ordered to leave Uzbekistan? 
c) How many Uzbeks were affected by Mr. Hall's departure?

3.  a) Who is John Hanford? 
b) What has Mr. Hanford said about Uzbekistan?

4.  a) What is a "Country of Particular Concern?" 
b) How does the U.S. treat a country that has been put on the CPC list?
(To read about contries designated as "Countries of Particular Concern," go to USCIRF.gov [the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, established by the the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, a law passed by Congress to promote religious freedom as a U.S. foreign policy goal and to combat religious persecution in other countries.])

5.  a) What are the reasons for Uzbek President Karimov's crackdown on dissent and free expression?
b) What specific groups are being targeted?

6.  a) What happened in Andijon, Uzbekistan in May 2005? 
b) How did President Karimov respond to the U.S.'s criticism of this incident? 
c) Why are some in the Bush administration pushing to repair relations with President Karimov?

7.  a) Name the media and humanitarian groups mentioned in this article that were ordered to leave Uzbekistan.
b) For what reason were these groups made to leave?

8.  Re-read paragraph 16-17.  For what two reasons do you think the new restrictions particularly target Muslims? 
(One reason can be found in the article.  For the other, go to the CIA World FactBook here and scroll down to "PEOPLE" and then read the statistic under "Religions.")

9.  Mr. Hall asserts that "Uzbeks are being almost driven into Islamic extremism."  Do you agree with his belief?  Explain your answer.