20 January 2009
TAJIKISTAN: "NO RIGHTS TO ORGANISE PRAYERS"
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1242
Tajikistan is continuing to close down places of worship in the capital
Dushanbe, Forum 18 News Service has learned. Unregistered mosques have been
closed down by city authorities, the country's only Jewish synagogue has
been bulldozed, while Protestants and Jehovah's Witnesses find it difficult
to use their places of worship. Defending the closures, Shamsiddin
Nuriddinov of the City Executive Authority told Forum 18 that the mosques
they closed were public halls, and people had "no rights to organise
prayers" there. Members of Dushanbe's Grace Sunmin Protestant Church told
Forum 18 that they may be evicted from their building "within a couple of
weeks". The Jehovah's Witnesses and one Protestant organisation are still
suspended, under decisions imposed in late 2007. The Tajik parliament is
still considering a new draft Religion Law, which would impose sweeping
restrictions on freedom of religion or belief.
* See full article below. *
23 January 2009
TAJIKISTAN: ISLAMIC SCHOOL OF THOUGHT BANNED
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1243
Even though a Tajik official has admitted to Forum 18 News Service that
adherents of the Salafi school of Islamic thought have committed no crimes,
the country's Supreme Court has banned Salafism and the import and
distribution of Salafi literature. Saidbeg Mahmadulloev of the state
Religious Affairs Committee insisted to Forum 18, however, that Salafis
may be "harmful" in future. Tajikistan's Supreme Court - which has refused
to release the text of the decision - reportedly imposed the ban to protect
the constitutional order, strengthen national security, and prevent
conflict between religious confessions, even though restricting freedom of
religion or belief for these reasons is impermissible under Tajikistan's
international human rights commitments. An Ismaili imam, who did not wish
to be identified, told Forum 18 that "Salafis do not constitute any threat
for the country. It does not matter whether one is Sunni or Shiite, Ismaili
or Salafi, we are all Muslims." Hikmatullo Saifullozoda of the Islamic
Revival Party told Forum 18 that he was concerned about the consequences
"if the authorities keep repressing people like this and not allow them to
peacefully meet and worship." The ban on the Islamic school of thought
comes into force on 9 February.
20 January 2009
TAJIKISTAN: "NO RIGHTS TO ORGANISE PRAYERS"
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1242
By Mushfig Bayram, Central Asia Correspondent, Forum 18 News Service
<http://www.forum18.org>
The authorities in the Tajik capital Dushanbe have continued to close down
places of worship in the city, Forum 18 News Service has learned. Mosques
not registered with the Culture Ministry's Religious Affairs Committee have
been closed down by special commissions of the city authorities. Defending
the move, Shamsiddin Nuriddinov of the City Executive Authority, who headed
the commissions, told Forum 18 on 15 January that the places they closed
down were so-called public halls, and people had "no rights to organise
prayers" there.
The country's only Jewish synagogue in Dushanbe has been confiscated and
bulldozed, while Protestants and Jehovah's Witnesses find it difficult to
use their places of worship (see F18News 8 October 2008
<http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1200>). Members of
Dushanbe's Grace Sunmin Protestant Church told Forum 18 that if their
last-ditch appeal fails, they may be evicted from their building "within a
couple of weeks".
The Tajik parliament is still considering a new draft Religion Law. If
adopted, it would impose sweeping controls on religious activity and
religious associations, particularly on mosques. All registered religious
organisations will have to re-register by 1 July 2009. Those that fail to
do this or who no longer meet new more restrictive registration criteria
will lose their legal status (see F18News 17 December 2008
<http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1230>)
Abdukayumi Kayumzod, a local journalist from Dushanbe, told Forum 18 on 15
January that a majority of the 147 mosques in the city's Sinai district
were closed down between 2006 and late 2008. In October to December 2008
alone, he said, the special commissions closed down and sealed several
mosques in the district and sacked the imams. Kayumzod said he has
personally seen the seal placed by the authorities on some of the
buildings. He added that the special commissions warned imams of some
others not to hold prayers in their mosques, although they did not seal
their buildings.
Kayumzod told Forum 18 that the special commissions - established in 2006
by order of Mahmadsaid Uboydulloev, the Head of Dushanbe's Executive
Authority - include representatives from the City Executive Authority and
district police officers. "The commissions went around the city and found
that many places of worship used by Muslims in the city did not have
official registration," he said.
Kayumzod told Forum 18 he knows of several imams who, in the wake of the
mosque closures, were fined 50 to 150 Somonis (102 to 306 Norwegian Kroner,
11 to 33 Euros or 14 to 43 US Dollars) for their religious activity.
One imam of a closed mosque in Sinai's 33rd micro-district (suburban area)
confirmed to Forum 18 on 15 January that he had been fined, but refused to
discuss the fine and closure for fear of the authorities. His mosque had
been closed and sealed in late October 2008 and he was sacked as imam.
Another imam in Sinai district told Forum 18 that city officials warned
him in late December that people should stop gathering in their mosque.
"They did not seal our mosque but warned us that we should not meet there,"
the imam - who asked not to be identified - complained to Forum 18 on 15
January. Despite the warning they have continued their prayers in the
mosque, the imam added. "Our mosque has existed since Soviet times," he
said. "The people built it with their own funds, and I don't understand why
we shouldn't use the building for our prayers."
Nuriddinov of the City Executive Authority - who headed the special
commissions until December 2008 - told Forum 18 that he does not remember
how many imams were fined or their names. Yet he insisted the imams were
fined for "illegal" activity as the "public halls" were not authorised for
worship but were designed for recreation and games for the public.
Local journalist Kayumzod disagreed, explaining that although these places
were registered during Soviet times as public halls and had not received
official registration from the Religious Affairs Committee since
Tajikistan's independence in 1991, it was "clear" to everyone that people
used them as mosques. "The commissions gave permission only to some of the
halls to continue as mosques for prayers five times a day but closed most
of them down," he told Forum 18.
Nuriddinov rejected criticism of the closures, pointing to the 57
cathedral mosques as well as many other mosques in Dushanbe where prayers
are recited five times a day. "I cannot say how many praying Muslims there
are," he told Forum 18, "but I believe those mosques could accommodate all
the Muslims wishing to attend for prayer."
Saidbeg Mahmadulloev of the Religious Affairs Committee likewise insisted
that there are plenty of mosques for Muslims in the city. "No one has
complained to us about their mosques being closed down," he told Forum 18
from Dushanbe on 14 January. "People attending public halls for worship do
not necessarily need registration from the Committee but they must get the
consent of the local administrations."
The government strenuously denied to an Organisation for Security and
Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) that it had closed religious communities and
demolished places of worship, a claim which the communities themselves
strongly disputed (see F18News 8 October 2008
<http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1200>).
Mahmadulloev of the Religious Affairs Committee told Forum 18 that the
closure of the mosques was unrelated to the ban on the Salafi Islamic
school of thought, imposed by Tajikistan's Supreme Court on 8 January (see
F18News 23 January 2009
<http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1243>).
Akbar Turajonzoda, Tajikistan's former Chief Mufti who is now a member of
the upper chamber of Tajikistan's Parliament, however, rejected
Mahmadulloev's claims. He reported that scores of people have complained to
him about the enforced closures. "People from many mosques even collected
documents and submitted them for registration, only to be turned down by
the Religious Affairs Committee," he told Forum 18 on 15 January.
Turajonzoda reported that the authorities have closed down hundreds of
Muslim places of worship since 2004. Asked why the authorities are closing
mosques, he said he believed there was "an instruction from above" not to
allow the number of mosques in the city to increase. He would not state who
the instruction came from.
The authorities' action to close mosques violates poeple's rights,
Turajonzoda said. "There are many old people who pray in these so-called
public places," he stressed to Forum 18. "These people are not able to
travel far, and the mosques are in their quarters or yards, usually next to
their houses."
Many mosques have also been demolished in recent years (see F18News 10
October 2007 <http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1032>).
The enforced closure of mosques took place against the backdrop of similar
moves against minority faiths. The authorities bulldozed Dushanbe's
synagogue in summer 2008, leaving the community nowhere to worship (see
F18News 8 October 2008
<http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1200>).
Grace Sunmin Protestant Church of Dushanbe is on the verge of losing its
building. Vladimir Kim of the Church complained that their attempts to
challenge the High Economic Court's decision overturning the ownership of
the church building have yielded no result. "We are still holding church
services in the building," he told Forum 18 on 19 January from Dushanbe,
"but within a couple of weeks we will probably be evicted."
On 29 August 2008 Tajikistan's High Economic Court made a decision to
nullify the original 1997 sales contract and ruled to transfer the building
to the City Hukumat (Executive Authority). Grace Sunmin members told Forum
18 in October that they were very disappointed with the court decision.
After spending a large amount of money - which they calculate in hundreds
of thousands of US Dollars - and energy in restoring the half-finished
building they say it is hard for the church to accept this (see F18News 8
October 2008 <http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1200>).
On 16 October the Court had upheld its first decision from 29 August, and
rejected the Church's appeal. The Church lodged a further appeal, but in a
2 December 2008 ruling, of which Forum 18 has seen a copy, the High
Economic Court rejected the Church's cassation appeal and upheld its
earlier decision.
Kim said they have one last chance to complain to the Supervisory Board of
the High Economic Court, which they will do. "This Court is the highest
possible instance dealing with property rights," he maintained. "However,
we have very slim hopes of getting anywhere."
The Jehovah's Witnesses had to stop meeting in the wake of an October 2007
Culture Ministry ban on their activity throughout the entire country, a ban
they are trying to challenge through the courts. Two Protestant communities
in Dushanbe also faced “temporary” bans. Abundant Life Christian Centre
closed down in the wake of the ban, though the other – Ehyo Church – was
officially able to resume its activity in late 2008 (see F18News 17
December 2008 <http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1230>). (END)
More coverage of freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Tajikistan
is at <http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?query=&religion=all&country=31>.
For more background see Forum 18's Tajikistan religious freedom survey at
<http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=190>.
A survey of the religious freedom decline in the eastern part of the
Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) area is at
<http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=806>, and of religious
intolerance in Central Asia is at
<http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=815>.
A printer-friendly map of Tajikistan is available at
<http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=tajiki>.
(END)
© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855
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