Kazakhstan: Refugee Protestant arrested and could be extradited to Uzbekistan

14.09.2012 16:26 msk Religious life Kazakhstan

Makset Djabbarbergenov – a Protestant pastor wanted in his home country of Uzbekistan for "illegal" religious teaching and literature distribution – has been arrested by the authorities of Kazakhstan, where he sought refuge in 2007. He was detained after police held his sister-in-law for two weeks to find his whereabouts, family members told Forum 18 News Service. A court ordered on 7 September Djabbarbergenov be held in detention until Kazakhstan's General Prosecutor's Office decides whether to send him back. "As a person I can say this is not right," Daniyar Zharykbasov of Almaty's Bostandyk District Prosecutor's Office told Forum 18. "But we have to follow the rules." In June the United Nations Committee Against Torture condemned Kazakhstan for sending back 28 Uzbek Muslim refugees and asylum seekers in 2011. They were arrested on their return and at least some received long prison terms.

The head of Kyrgyzstan's security services talks about the creation of the Islamic Movement of Kyrgyzstan

03.05.2011 18:26 msk Religious life Kyrgyzstan

Speaking last Friday, April 29, National Security State Service chief Keneshbek Dushebyaev said in an address to parliament that 400 citizens of Kyrgyzstan, mainly ethnic Uzbeks, are currently training in terrorist camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They went after the June events in southern Kyrgyzstan, said Dushebyaev, who described them as “separatists”.

Adeeb Khalid: To speak of “Islam” as a homogenous phenomenon is analogous to speaking of “Christianity” as a single whole

05.03.2011 19:07 msk Religious life Central Asia

How do we explain the political motivations of Muslims? Today when so much of the news concerns conflicts based in and around Muslim societies, the temptation is great to simply see all the causes of those conflicts and all motivations of the actors involved as emanating from Islam itself. The motivations of Muslims are then seen as simply internally defined having no connection with the world that they are part of. Then we can safely proceed to the conclusion that all Muslims are alike because they all take their inspiration from the same scriptures, and they all represent a danger to “us.” This is the path taken by Mikhail Kalishevskii in his recent article on this site, and this is the argument of many commentators from the right (and not just the right) in Europe and North America. Simplification has its virtues, but does it help us understand a reality that is much more complex than such arguments make it seem? Can the actions of Muslims really understood only with reference to their religion? Can the most extreme expressions be taken as proof of the basic essence of global community? I raised some of these questions in my recent book, Islam after Communism: Religion and Politics in Central Asia (University of California Press, 2007), and present some of my arguments below.

Uzbekistan: The Church of Christ is suspended in Tashkent; eight members of it are brought to trial

20.05.2010 08:52 msk Religious life Uzbekistan

The Church of Christ is sealed in Tashkent while 8 of its workers and congregants were imposed charges or administrative arrest of 15 days. The reason of such actions became the statement of Tashkent resident that accused the Church workers of their illegal attempt to turn his 5-year son to Christianity.

Irina Zvyagelskaya: People come to Islamic radicals in despair

20.03.2009 15:32 msk Religious life Russia

Today, the growth of religious tunes in Central Asia is viewed by experts as the time bomb and limited continuation of free development in these countries; even Soviet regime with its systematic atheism closed eyes to Islamic factor in Central Asian republics, viewing it as one of the public life regulators. Ferghana.ru interviewed the doctor of history sciences, professor, vice-President of Center for strategic and political research, chief research officer of Oriental Studies Institute, Irina Zvyagelskaya, on the reasons of religious influence growth in the region and possible hazards of Islamization.

People, accused for the affiliation to the “Nur” religious movement, are convicted in Uzbekistan

18.02.2009 10:21 msk Religious life Uzbekistan

Several people were arrested and sentenced to imprisonment for the terms from 6 to 6.5 years in Uzbekistan, convicted for the affiliation to the “Nur” religious movement (“Beam”). The campaign against “nurist” has been intensified in Uzbekistan since recently.

“Tablighi Jamaat”: Hidden threat of peaceful preach

16.02.2009 12:02 msk Religious life Central Asia

On February 3, the General Prosecutor Office in Kyrgyzstan directed a lawsuit file to Pervomayskiy district court of Bishkek, claiming to recognize “Tablighi Jamaat” international religious organization as terrorist and extremist movement. The lawsuit of Public Prosecutor Office in Kyrgyzstan on admission of “Tablighi Jamaat” as terrorist and extremist organization will be considered by Bishkek court soon. It is quite possible that this Islamic sect will have the same fate as other radical organizations. It is worth reminding that Kyrgyzstan already admitted eight organizations, including “Hizbut Tahrir” and “Jihad Group”, as terrorist and extremist movements.

Kyrgyzstan: Kurban Bairam celebration ended in battering and arrests

21.12.2007 11:42 msk Religious life Kyrgyzstan

Moslems in Kyrgyzstan celebrated Kurban Bairam on December 19. As it turns out, however, the authorities dispersed the celebration in Osh and had 48 men detained. Initiators of the celebration claim that the faithful were manhandled by the police.

Dilmurat hadji Orozov: «Extremists are the people who believe that they alone are correct and revile everything else»

23.11.2007 09:45 msk Religious life Kyrgyzstan

Dilmurat hadji Orozov, Islamic Education Center Director, is convinced that religious matters in Kyrgyzstan are handled by illiterate and corrupt people and that this state of affairs compromises purity of Islam and even national security. Orozov ran the Moslem Religious Administration of the Jalalabad region for nine years. Ferghana.Ru asked Orozov for his views on the religious life in the republic against the background of the campaign against religious extremism.

Moslem women in the southern part of Kyrgyzstan unite to establish non-governmental organizations

02.11.2007 13:48 msk Religious life Kyrgyzstan

Jamal Frontbek kyzy, leader of the Jyman Bakut Koomu community trust, claims that the growing interest in Islam compels Moslem women in the southern part of Kyrgyzstan to aspire for establishment of non-governmental organizations of their own.

Uzbekistan: Night spent in a mosque may cost the faithful summons to the National Security Service

22.10.2007 08:56 msk Religious life Uzbekistan

Uzbek secret services remain inordinately suspicious of the faithful. Loudly promoting guarantees of the freedom of conscience, the Uzbek authorities keep tabs on mosques and practically every believer.

Kyrgyzstan: Osh authorities do not permit Hizb-ut-Takhrir activists to celebrate the Hait

12.10.2007 19:12 msk Religious life Kyrgyzstan

On October 12, Osh municipal authorities turned down the request from Hizb-ut-Takhrir (an outlawed organization in the first place) to organize a public celebration of Hait, the Break Fast that marks the end of the sacred Ramadan.

Conflicts between pupils and school administrations continue in the southern part of Kyrgyzstan

22.09.2007 14:11 msk Religious life Kyrgyzstan

Disputes over the hijab, traditional Moslem headgear, continue to torment Kyrgyz schools. They inevitably become outright heated with the onset of every school year. This time, however, the ban to wear the hijab at schools will apparently become official (principals ascribe it to the new school charters).

Turkmenistan: the amnestied mufti offered a job with the presidential Council for Religious Affairs

27.08.2007 10:44 msk Religious life Turkmenistan

Speaking on Turkmen television on August 13, ex-mufti Nasrullah ibn Ibadullah released from imprisonment only recently said he had been offered a job with the presidential Council for Religious Affairs. Ibn Ibadullah had been its assistant chairman in 2002 and 2003.

Moslems in Central Asia protest against Tankredo's threat to bomb Mecca and Medina

06.08.2007 11:45 msk Religious life

The Islamic Cooperation Organization of Central Asia (Organization) released a statement on August 6 condemning the idea to bomb Mecca and Medina in response to nuclear terrorist acts against the United States suggested by Representative Tom Tankredo, candidate for US president.

The new law on religion is not even adopted in Tajikistan yet but supernumerary mosques are being liquidated

01.08.2007 09:10 msk Religious life Tajikistan

Tajik lawmakers will consider amendments to the law "On freedom of conscience, religious associations, and other organizations" in a couple of weeks. The amendments will restrict religious freedom.

Islam Karimov had the religious center of Tashkent reconstructed (see photo of Hast Imam)

23.07.2007 12:22 msk Religious life Uzbekistan

Reconstruction of Tashkent streets and squares for the Independence Day celebration on the national leader's initiative is a tradition in Uzbekistan. Central part of the capital around Chor Su marketplace and Eski Juva square was reconstructed in 2005. President Islam Karimov ordered the National Gallery of Fashion there rebuilt so as to resemble the famous ancient monuments of the Timurides era.

Court does not permit a Moslem girl to wear hijab to the college

13.07.2007 13:05 msk Religious life Tajikistan

BBC reported the lawsuit filed by Davlatimo Ismailova against the Tajik Ministry of Education and her college administration dismissed. Administration of the Foreign Languages College in Dushanbe does not permit Ismailova to wear hijab, the traditional Moslem scarf.

Kazakhstan: with the law on religion amended, a campaign was launched against followers of non-traditional confessions

09.06.2007 12:32 msk Religious life Kazakhstan

Followers of non-traditional confessions in Kazakhstan worry that the authorities are about to put them under an even greater pressure this year. As far as official Astana is concerned, everyone who does not belong to the Kazakh Religious Administration of Moslems is non-traditional, and that even applies to some Moslem organizations not to mention Krishnaits, Scientologists, Witnesses of Jehovah, and numerous Protestant churches.

Conflict between religious and secular education in southern Kyrgyzstan: artificial problem

22.05.2007 19:50 msk Religious life Kyrgyzstan

The forthcoming recess will make students' parents happy. They will be able to forget about the so called religious issue that has been the talk of the day (and subject of heated debates) at secondary schools in the southern part of Kyrgyzstan. Officials of the central government accuse of students' parents and school principals of "Islamization" of the process of education. Parents in their turn maintain that state officials encroach on their kids' freedom of faith.

Hizb ut-Tahrir (Britain) as a New Religious Movement

04.04.2007 22:04 msk Religious life

New Religious Movements (NRMs) are peculiar social phenomena. It is very easy to become confused when trying to attribute that phenomenon to one or another field of science: sociology, history, theology or political science. Actually, it is a cross-disciplinary issue, which allows one to use analytical methods from all those science fields. Although the general and basic rule about NRMs is that one cannot generalize about them, there are some common features that have been elaborated by sociologists.

Women are facing trial for religious convictions

02.04.2007 11:47 msk Religious life Uzbekistan

Press Center of the Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Activists reports that seven women are facing trial in Tashkent on charges of Hizb-ut-Takhrir membership.

Hizb-ut-Takhrir member, an Adolescent, convicted in Hujand and sentenced to imprisonment

28.03.2007 10:50 msk Religious life Tajikistan

The Municipal Court of Hujand (Sogdi region of Tajikistan) sentenced a juvenile member of outlawed Hizb-ut-Takhrir to eight years behind the bars.

Uzbek authorities are using Islam to promote «development of society and prosperity of the country»

21.03.2007 10:40 msk Religious life Uzbekistan

Official Tashkent mobilized loyal ministers of religion and ulems [plural for alim, literally a knowledgeable man - Moslem theologian] to further Islam Karimov's policy. Religious leaders tour the country, meeting with the local authorities, law enforcement agencies, activists, and imams for the purposes of their indoctrination.

They call themselves the Birodars. Akramians: a look from outside

14.03.2007 16:01 msk Religious life Uzbekistan

Kazakhstan: Hizb-ut-Takhrir members surrender

22.02.2007 12:50 msk Religious life Kazakhstan

Members of Hizb-ut-Takhrir, a religious extremist organization outlawed in Kazakhstan, surrendered to the law enforcement agencies on two occasions last month. In both episodes, whole groups of Hizb-ut-Takhrir members did so in order to denounce ideological postulates of the party.

The wearing of hijab remains a problem of secondary schools in southern Kyrgyzstan

21.02.2007 12:10 msk Religious life Kyrgyzstan

Administration of two secondary schools in the settlement of Kyzyljar (Jalalabad region of Kyrgyzstan) do not permit a group of girls to attend studies demanding that they take off the hijabs. The girls refuse to put up with the demand. Local authorities and the district directorate of public education keep their distance so as not to become involved and pretend that nothing extraordinary is happening.

Tashkent and Astana: on the brink of a diplomatic scandal

21.02.2007 09:50 msk Religious life Uzbekistan

Detained in Samarkand, Kazakh pastor Rishat Garifulin spent 11 days in custody. Anna, the missionary's wife, phoned Novye Izvestia with details of the incident. Garifulin, pastor of the Protestant Church of The Grace, was arrested for bringing religious literature to Uzbekistan. A citizen of Kazakhstan, he was stopped in the street, frisked, and taken away.

Hailed as shahids, pilgrims from Kyrgyzstan will be interred in Saudi Arabia

15.01.2007 13:01 msk Religious life Kyrgyzstan

Murataly Jumanov of the Moslem Religious Directorate told Osh-TV on January 14 that the 22 pilgrims from Kyrgyzstan killed in a traffic accident last week were proclaimed shahids. They will be interred in Saudi Arabia, Jumanov said.

Andijani governor banned the azan (call for the Moslem prayer)

30.11.2006 17:53 msk Religious life Uzbekistan

While official Tashkent is telling everyone within earshot how nobody in Uzbekistan encroaches on the believers' rights, local authorities in the southern part of the country impose restrictions on religious life. Some restrictions were imposed by Ahmajan Usmonov, Andijan Hokim or Governor for just over a month. For starters, preaching mullahs were told in no uncertain terms to stay away from wedding parties. Usmonov banned the azan after that, the call for the Moslem prayer (a believer prays to Allah five times a day).

Moslems of the southern Kyrgyzstan demand supreme mufty's resignation

27.11.2006 11:02 msk Religious life Kyrgyzstan

Moslems from Osh, a city in the southern part of Kyrgyzstan, demand resignation the head of the Moslem Religious Directorate and the director of the State Agency for Confessions. The religious leader and the state official are blamed for discrimination of pilgrims, financial non-transparency, and persecution of the faithful in general. Senior Mufty Jumanov in his turn maintains that it is the Wahhabi and Hizb-ut-Takhrir activists who are after him.

TuranAlem of Kazakhstan offers Russia Shar'ah loans

17.10.2006 22:38 msk Religious life Kazakhstan

TuranAlem, one of the three largest banks in Kazakhstan, is determined to become one the largest private banks in the Commonwealth by 2008. The bank expanded into Russia through procurement of the stock of its strategic partners, Volga-Kama Joint Stock Bank and Slavinvestbank. Gulnara Galjamova of TuranAlem Directorate of International Loans claims that the bank will be mostly using traditional instruments in Russia. "When the Russian market is analyzed and the necessary experience in Islamic funding accumulated, however, we will offer this service in Russia," Galjamova said.

Leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Tahir Yuldashev threatens presidents Karimov, Bakiyev, and Rakhmonov

13.09.2006 13:03 msk Religious life

Urgench: Krishnaites persecuted as public enemies

11.09.2006 15:22 msk Religious life

Ukrainian Baptist apprehended and beaten in Uzbekistan

30.08.2006 09:58 msk Religious life

Christian Megaportal in Uzbekistan reports with references to anonymous local sources that the police broke up a Evangelic Seminar in Termez and arrested everyone present.

Said Abdullo Nuri's death put the Islamic Revival Party on the threshold of disintegration

21.08.2006 14:09 msk Religious life Tajikistan

One of the most prominent Tajik politicians who would have certainly affected the outcome of the presidential election come November, Said Abdullo Nuri died in Dushanbe on August 9. His followers were expecting it. Cancer in advanced stages had compelled Nuri to abandon active politics months ago. Unable to run for president against his enemy of old Emomali Rakhmonov, Nuri would have backed some candidate from the opposition and his word carried weight in Tajik society... Unfortunately, Nuri did not leave a successor. Now that he is out of the picture, President Rakhmonov does not have any serious political rivals to worry about.

Kyrgyz ombudsman suspects the Qorasuv mosque imam murdered deliberately

17.08.2006 08:06 msk Religious life

Kyrgyz Ombudsman Tursunbai Bakir uulu suspects that Muhammadrafik Kamalov, imam of the Qorasuv mosque, was assassinated. According to the ombudsman, the assassination could be brought about by the undeniable rapprochement between Uzbek and Kyrgyz secret services.

Mufty of Kyrgyzstan proclaimed the late Qorasuv imam a shakhid

09.08.2006 11:54 msk Religious life Kyrgyzstan

At least 5,000 people turned up at the funeral of the prominent theologian Muhammadrafik Kamalov killed in a joint Kyrgyz-Uzbek counter-terrorism operation on August 6. The service for the dead began at Kamalov's home in Qorasuv, a city in the southern part of Kyrgyzstan, at 7 p.m. on August 7. Moslem traditions require that before the body is interred, everyone present with the imam leading read the last prayer for the dead - janoz namaz.

Kazakh religious community Akhmadie under pressure applied by the authorities and coreligionists

15.06.2006 10:44 msk Religious life

This is certainly the first time that so serious charges are pressed, officially or not, against Akhmadie, a religious community in Kazakhstan. Yerkin kaji Dunayev of the Religious Directorate of Kazakh Moslems openly branded the Akhmadians as "a division of Al-Qaeda" and pronounced this particular school "illegitimate" by the decision of the Moslem World League. "The Religious Directorate of Kazakh Moslems will put even more effort into prevention of the activities of organizations of this kind," Dunayev was quoted as saying. Whenever so important a statement is made by the authorities, one naturally expects some corroborative arguments. In this case, however, no comments have been offered on either side.

Suspected Hizb-ut-Takhrir activists are arrested in Uzbekistan by the dozen

01.06.2006 21:34 msk Religious life

Uzbek human rights activists report arrests of believers in the Tashkent region (Chinaz, Yangiyul, and Zangiatin districts) these last two months. Law enforcement agencies suspect them of being Hizb-ut-Takhrir activists. More than a hundred have already been arrested in Uzbekistan on charges of terrorism and conspiracies against the constitutional regime this year.

Qorasuv imam interrogated by the National Security Service and set free again

30.05.2006 00:31 msk Religious life

Muhammadrafik Kamalov, imam of the mosque in Qorasuv in southern Kyrgyzstan, was arrested by the National Security Service and released twenty-four hours later, on Thursday night, after the believers' protests. "I received summons to the Qorasuv office of the National Security Service for May 24 morning. Twenty officers of the regional division had come from Osh. They said I had gunmen hiding at my place and they wanted to know if the gunmen were armed. They said they needed the information to decide if they should approach the household wielding assault rifles or if firearms would suffice. I said there were no gunmen at my place," Kamalov said.

Ban to wear kerchiefs to schools in southern Kyrgyzstan embittered students\' parents and the local Moslem community

22.05.2006 10:55 msk Religious life

Ferghana.Ru's piece "Secondary Schools In Jalalabad, Kyrgyzstan, Tackle Problems With Moslem Traditional Clothing" (March 17, 2006) gave an account of the problem. Ferghana.Ru correspondent in the region reports elevation of the conflict between Moslems and state officials elevating to a new level.

The son of the missing theologian Abduvali-kori Mirzayev was arrested in Andijan

16.05.2006 08:37 msk Religious life

A source in Uzbek security structures says that the son of the famous theologian Abduvali-kori Mirzayev was arrested in Andijan on May 14. Abdulkuddus Mirzayev, 30, is a businessman. No particulars of detention are known at this point.

Uzbekistan: leader of the Protestant community in ancient Khorezm assaulted and battered

16.05.2006 08:36 msk Religious life

A team of officers of the National Security Service and Interior Ministry of Uzbekistan broke into the apartment of Akhmed Nazarov on May 14. Trying to escape, the leader of the Urgench Protestant community jumped out the window and hurt both legs.

Imam Muhammadrafik Kamalov: Wrong policy of separation of the state from religion is pursued in Central Asia

11.05.2006 20:49 msk Religious life

Muhammadrafik-kori Kamalov is one of most prominent religious leaders of Kyrgyzstan and imam of the mosque in Qorasuv for over 22 years. The mosque in question is one of the largest in Kyrgyzstan - 6,000 believers simultaneously pray there Fridays. Imam Kamalov is a relative of two other religious leaders. One of them, Muhammadi-kori, fell victim of the Uzbek authorities. The other, Abduvali-kori, disappeared without a trace from Tashkent airport en route to an international Islamic conference several years ago. Uzbek TV channels branded Abduvali-kori as the leader of the Wahhabi and terrorists allegedly responsible for the massacre in Andizhan on May 13, 2005. Defendants in some trials that followed the tragic events called Abduvali-kori their leader.

The wife of the Uigur Canadian arrested in Uzbekistan returned to Canada alone

26.04.2006 17:06 msk Religious life China

"Celil's home in Burlington is full of voices - voices of his friends, wife, and children. Only one voice is missing, his own," the article in The Toronto Star yesterday began. The material describes the saga of Huseyincan Celil, citizen of Canada, arrested in Uzbekistan.

Religious freedom in Kazakhstan: land plot commandeered from Krishna believers in Almaty

14.04.2006 15:02 msk Religious life

The Karasai District Court of the Alma-Ata region ruled to confiscate 50 hectares of land where Krishna believers had lived and earned their bread until now. The largest community of Krishna believers in Central Asia is without homes now as the land is to be turned over to the district administration.

Mass arrests of Moslems are under way in Uzbekistan. Arrestees include a cafe owner and a TV producer

14.04.2006 10:31 msk Religious life

Internet sources report 22 arrests but Andrea Berg who represents Human Rights Watch in Tashkent claims to have verified information on 18. All arrestees are charged under Article 242-2 of the Criminal Code (organization of, leadership in, involvement with religious extremist, separatist, fundamentalist and other banned organizations). Gazeta knows of 8 arrests.

The Committee for Religious Affairs of the government of Tajikistan drafted a law on religion

08.04.2006 21:16 msk Religious life

No information on the draft law is available at this point. It is only known that its endorsement by the national parliament will outlaw meetings of the religious communities lacking official registration. The draft law bans missionary work and "conversion of believers" or Proselytism.