Tag Archives: religion

Prices to do the Hajj from Tajikistan soar

DUSHANBE, JUNE 3 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Pious Tajiks complain that doing the Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, has become prohibitively difficult because of a sharp rise in inflation, a reduction in the amount of remittances flowing into the country from Russia and an increase in surveillance by the security forces.

A Bulletin correspondent spoke to several people in Tajikistan who have cancelled plans to make the pilgrimage.

Abbos, a taxi driver, sucked in a deep breath. He squinted and exhaled with a sigh. In his late 40s, Abbos has been planning to do the Hajj this year but has had to cancel his plans.

“It is my dream to do the Hajj, but I do not have enough money this year,” he said as he left a central Dushanbe mosque. “The Hajj price tag has gone up while I have been earning less this year.”

According to Tajikistan’s Committee on Religious Affairs, the price of going to Mecca — including flights, accommodation and living expenses — is now around 28,649 somoni (roughly $3,500). This is nearly 20% more expensive than last year.

Like the rest of the region, Tajikistan has been dealing with an economic fallout linked to a recession in Russia. All important remittance flows have dropped by around 45% while the value of the somoni currency has fallen and inflation has risen. And there is also the surveillance. The Tajik government has grown increasingly wary of pious Tajiks. Last year it banned the opposition Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, imposed various restrictions on people who frequent mosques and set a minimum age requirement of 40 for men who want to go on the Hajj.

So, for some, the route to Mecca lies elsewhere. Isroil, a 35-year-old man has a game plan. “I want to go from Russia as it is cheaper and has no age limits,” he said. “I’m not able to wait five more years because it is becoming more expensive in Tajikistan.”

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(News report from Issue No. 283, published on June 3 2016)

Turkmen president performs Hajj

MAY 5 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov completed a visit to Saudi Arabia, where he performed the Hajj to Medina and Mecca. In Saudi Arabia, Mr Berdymukhamedov spoke to the head of Islamic Development Bank, Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al-Madani, about potential investments in Turkmenistan’s infrastructure projects.

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(News report from Issue No. 279, published on May 6 2016)

Tajikistan tightens security at mosques

MARCH 28 2016, DUSHANBE (The Conway Bulletin) — The Tajik authorities ordered mosques in Dushanbe to improve security by installing CCTV and metal detectors, a move that sceptics said was actually aimed at clamping down on pious Muslims who officials view with increasing unease.

Mahmadsaid Ubaydulloev, Dushanbe city mayor, said the extra surveillance was needed to ensure public safety in the city and that mosques would have to buy the kit with cash from their own budgets.

This is a continuation of a policy of tightening security around mosques in Tajikistan.

A month ago, Tajik authorities ordered mosques to police their prayers for extremists. The government is increasingly worried about radicals infiltrating mosques and either recruiting young men to join the extremist IS group in Syria or inciting revolution. Last year, the government banned the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan and arrested its leaders and activists in what free speech advocates have described as clamp down on human rights.

And pious Muslims in Tajikistan have complained of increased harassment too, including being forced to shave long beards. They told The Conway Bulletin’s Dushanbe correspondent that the latest move to install extra security is merely aimed at making life even more difficult.

Umedjon, a 36-years old salesman, said that he does not feel free to pray. “Instead of focusing on praying, I have to think about how I am praying in order not to get in trouble with the authorities. If they install metal detectors and cameras, the mosque will become a constrained place for praying,” he said as he left one of central Dushanbe’s mosques.

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(News report from Issue No. 274, published on April 1 2016)

Kazakhstan allows headscarves in school

MARCH 31 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s minister of education Yerlan Sagadiyev said school councils were free to allow headscarves into the classroom. The declaration follows a public request to allow kimeshek headdress, considered part of Kazakh traditional dress, thus not in conflict with the government’s ban on wearing religious clothing items. Mr Sagadiyev’s declaration has now opened the way for more exceptions.

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(News report from Issue No. 274, published on April 1 2016)

Georgia drops religion bill

FEB. 15 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s parliament unexpectedly dropped a bill that would have made insulting religion a crime. The bill’s sponsor, an MP for the ruling Georgian Dream coalition, withdrew the bill after it ran into a barrage of controversy for effectively clamping down on free speech. The suspicion was that Georgian Dream was using the bill to try and shore up support amongst supporters of Georgia’s Orthodox Church ahead of a parliamentary election later this year.

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(News report from Issue No. 268, published on Feb. 19 2016)

Editorial: Georgia and religion

FEB. 5 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia looks set to make insulting religion a crime. This new law needs to be treated with extreme care.

It’s vital in a modern, progressive society to keep the principle of free speech sacrosanct and any move to erode this right should be rejected. And it does feel as if Georgian Dream, who know that they are going to be in a very tough, possibly dirty and definitely personal, battle to win a parliamentary election later this year, are playing politics with the issue.

Winning over traditional voters is vital for Georgian Dream. They have previously gone to great lengths to cosy up to the Orthodox Church and its supporters.

By making insulting religion a crime, they are protecting the Church further and should secure more support from the traditional, conservative section of the electorate.

There is a need to protect religion from slurs and insults, but this draconian law is probably not the answer.

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(Editorial from Issue No. 266, published on Feb. 5 2016)

Georgia to introduce law that punishes blasphemy

FEB. 2 2016, TBILISI (The Conway Bulletin)– Georgia took a major step towards introducing a law that will fine people for insulting religion after Parliament’s committee for human rights said that it supported a bill that criminalises blasphemy.

The bill has divided the country, pitting conservative religious groups who say the law is needed to dampen an increase in hate speech against liberal groups who argue the bill will limit free speech.

The parliamentary human rights committee decided that a law was needed to protect all religions from abuse.

Eka Beselia, head of the committee, said that many European countries already have a similar law.

On the streets of Tbilisi, young Georgians generally thought that the law was unnecessary. Otar Babukhadia, 23, a student said: “I think it’s just a popularity contest for the upcoming elections. It won’t affect anything, it’s just a formality.”

The Orthodox Church, a powerful institution in Georgia, issued a statement which said that it was not behind the proposed new law but that it did support fining people for insulting religion.

“Although there are frequent cases of insults and use of hate speech against the Church and its leader, the adoption of such a bill has not been our initiative – neither now nor previously,” it said.

The ruling Georgian Dream is close to the Orthodox Church and Salome Minesashvili, a political scientist at the Georgian Institute of Politics in Tbilisi, said that by introducing this law, which will protect the Church from criticism, the party aims to shore up support ahead of a parliamentary election in October.

“When democracy-linked values clash with traditions, Georgians expect the government to prioritise traditions at the expense of freedom.” she said.

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(News report from Issue No. 266, published on Feb. 5 2016)

Georgian PM gives $185,000 to Church

JAN. 16 2016, TBILISI (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgian PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili gave $185,000 to the Georgian Orthodox Church the day after taking office at the end of last year, local media reported by quoting official documents, attracting derision from opponents.

The donation was taken from the President’s Reserve Fund, a cash stockpile used for natural disasters and other emergencies such as the Tbilisi flood in 2015.

The President’s Reserve Fund totals $2m, meaning that the amount donated to the Church measured nearly 10% of its total value.

“The money-flow from the state to the Church is unstructured and we need to support the Church’s educational infrastructure,” the PM’s office said in a statement.

His opponents, though, have accused him of using funds ear- marked to save lives and rebuild homes and businesses after emergencies for his own political needs.

Eka Chitanava, Director of the Tolerance and Diversity Institute, an NGO working on religious freedom in Georgia, said: “The latest $185,000 donated by the PM is significant. The money was taken from the natural disaster budget, a fund they are not supposed to use for this.”

The Georgian Orthodox Church is one of the most powerful institutions in Georgia and its support would be useful to Mr Kvirikashvili and his Georgian Dream coalition in helping to win a parliamentary election scheduled for October.

It holds great sway over Georgia’s traditionally conservative society.

There was also frustration among ordinary Georgians over Mr Kvirikashvili’s donation.

“I understand the church is important,” Khatuna Gvelesiani, 30, said. “But to take it from a fund which should cover natural disaster, like the flood we had in June, can’t be justified. I am outraged.”

The Georgian Dream was the first political party ever to be endorsed by the Church in 2012 although this support has waned. It faces a tough battle to win the October election.

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(News report from Issue No. 264, published on Jan. 22 2016)

Iran welcome for opposition angers Tajikistan

DEC. 29 2015, DUSHANBE (The Conway Bulletin)– Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with Muhiddin Kabiri, the exiled head of Tajikistan’s now-banned main opposition party, in Tehran, immediately drawing threats from Tajik officials that the meeting would damage bilateral relations.

The major show of support from Iran for Mr Kabiri, who is wanted by police in Tajikistan to face various terrorism charges, and his Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) is a poke in the eye for Dushanbe, officially a secular country.

Tajikistan and Iran have traditionally close relations, sharing many similar cultural, religious and ethnic identifiers. Iran has also been a major sponsor of essential hydropower infrastructure in Tajikistan.

The Tajik foreign ministry sent a note to the Iranian Embassy in Dushanbe which said: “Such an attitude to the enemies of the state and the people of Tajikistan can have a negative impact on the friendly relations between Tajikistan and Iran.”

In September, Tajikistan banned the IRPT, once Tajikistan’s main opposition party, and accused its members of supporting radical Islam and terrorism.

Mr Kabiri, who fled into exile, and his supporters have accused the Tajik government of crushing dissent.

In Dushanbe, an analyst who preferred to remain anonymous told The Conway Bulletin that Mr Kabiri was taking a gamble by appearing in Tehran.

“For Kabiri and the IRPT, after having no support at all from the West, Iran was the last chance to stay in the political arena,” he said.

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(News report from Issue No. 262, published on Jan. 8 2016)

Kyrgyz Imam sentence doubles

NOV. 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, doubled a jail sentence for Rashod Qori Kamolov, a Muslim Imam, to 10 years after an appeal by a local prosecutor. Kamolov was sentenced earlier this year for inciting religious discord. Kyrgyzstan and other coun- tries in Central Asia are wary of the spread of radical Islam.

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(News report from Issue No. 258, published on Nov. 27 2015)