Tajik youth show upsurge of interest in Islam

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DUSHANBE – Islam is winning over numerous youths in Tajikistan.

Young citizens are attending Friday prayer in growing numbers, fasting and performing salat. More and more women are wearing the chador.

Akhror Khakimov, 19, said a desire to perform salat — participate in the five daily prayers — came over him after a few of his friends began to attend mosque.

“My parents never performed salat”, he said. “I myself learned this recently and am proud that I became closer to the religion and Allah, because faith in the Almighty is the one thing that remains holy in our modern lives”.

Fatima Nozimova, a Dushanbe resident, began wearing the chador at the request of her spouse.

“I was used to wearing European clothing, but I gradually started getting used to the chador”, she said. “I reconciled myself to it. Preserving the family was, of course, most important. At first, many friends wondered how I could agree to this, but now many girls are wearing the chador and society is already comfortable with this”.

Zulfiya Atoyeva, a professor of English in Dushanbe, expressed concern about the situation.

“Over the past two years, a strong interest in Islam among Tajik youth has been observed”, she said. “It is reminiscent of mediaeval times. My family is considering leaving the country, as we are not ready to live in a strongly religious society”.

Rustam Ergashev, a supplier of Turkish outerwear to Dushanbe markets, said last year he did not supply European women’s clothing because the demand for it was practically nonexistent.

“Women buy national fabrics and hijabs, so bringing in European women’s clothing is pointless”, he said. “Now I deliver only men’s and children’s clothing, something that brings in a good income”.

Makhmadali Khaitov, deputy chairman of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, (PIVT) explains this phenomenon as the return of Tajiks to the purity of Islam.

“Because of a lack of faith in the future, Tajiks are turning to God, something that is the only salvation for our people”, he said.

According to Social-Democratic Party Deputy Chairman Shokirjon Khakimov, not only are youth turning to Islam as a religion, but they are entering the ranks of the PIVT.

“When the authorities try to restrict the activities of political parties ... the youth have no choice but to join the PIVT”, he said. “The authorities are trying, to some extent, to give priority to the PIVT in order to draw investment from Islamic countries into the country’s economy”.

Muzafar Olimov, director of the Sharq (“East”) research centre, has noted the increase in Islam among young people. According to him, the government has not fought the spiritual rebirth, but has encouraged it.

“This is reflected in the opening of madrasas — Islamic schools — and the only Islamic higher educational institution in Central Asia that is funded by the state”, he said. “A separate discipline on the study of Islam has been introduced in schools. All of this suggests that the authorities are trying to control the spread of Islam, not only in the country’s political life but also in education”.

Olimov said that even though the country has a firmly secular constitution, the state could still take on an Islamic orientation.

“Our society is already ready for this, and the government’s policies are themselves headed in this direction”, he said. “Therefore, Tajikistan has strong odds of becoming an Islamic state”.

Khakimov contended that Tajikistan is an indisputably secular state. According to him, other countries have shown that when representatives of religious organisations gain power, they have the ability to initiate a referendum for the adoption of a new constitution or to make amendments.

“The country’s authorities must find solutions to [our] socioeconomic problems and ensure a decent life for Tajik society in order to prevent any kind of extremism”, he said.

Dovudkhon Abdukhon, vice dean of the Islamic Department of the Imam al-Azam Islamic Institute in Dushanbe, is confident that in the next decade Tajikistan will not become an Islamic state.

“Perhaps our society will become more religious, but that is logical”, he said. “Today, more than 97% of the country’s population is Muslim, but this does not mean our country should declare itself Islamic”.

Despite the support of Tajikistan’s authorities for Islam, 14 Islamic organisations have been banned by the state, according to the prosecutor-general. Among them are: al-Qaeda, the Islamic Movement of Eastern Turkestan, the Islamic Party of Turkestan, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), the Taliban, the Muslim Brotherhood, Lashkari Taiba, the Islamic Group, Jamaat-e-Islami of Pakistan, Jamaat ut-Tabligh, Sozmoni Tabligot, Tajikistan-i Ozod, Hizb ut-Tahrir and Salafiya.

In 2009 criminal charges were filed against 11 individuals for membership in the IMU, and four people, including a juvenile, were sentenced to long prison terms February 16 for membership in the extremist group.

According to various sources, over the past two years more than 50 people were sent to prison in Tajikistan for membership in Salafiya, Hizm-ut-Tahrir and the IMU.

Abdukhon said that if the authorities freeze the activities of a particular religious organisation, they have a reason for doing so.

“Along with several other organisations, the activities of the party Hizb ut-Tahrir are prohibited in Tajikistan", he said. "This is the right thing to do, since the activities of this organisation are prohibited in many countries and it really does threaten state security”.

Tajikistan’s PIVT is the only officially functioning Islamic party in the Commonwealth of Independent States. Established in 1991, the PIVT became the core of the former United Tajik Opposition during the 1992-1997 civil war.

The government froze its activities in response. In 1998, the PIVT regained official status. The party won two seats in the lower house of parliament in the 2005 elections. According to the party's leadership, it has approximately 35,000 members, half of whom are women.