Islam in Tajikistan

Early History

Islam was brought to Central Asia by Arabs- preachers in the 7th century . Since that time, Islam has become an integral part of Tajik culture. The State of the Samanids in the 9th - 10th centuries became the center of Islamic- Persian culture. Ismail Samani , who is considered the father of the Tajik nation, contributed to the missionary work of Muslims in the region.

Soviet era

Until 1929, the official policy of the Soviet state in relation to Islam was the most favorable in comparison with the line conducted in relation to other confessions and religious groups ^{[3] [4]} . The activity of religious courts that resolved cases according to Sharia was permitted , insofar as its norms did not contradict Soviet laws. In 1921, the CEC of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic issued the “Regulation on the Courts of Casiev”, which established that the case was examined in the first instance by the sole judge , the appeal was reviewed by the congress of Kaziev (3-5 people), and the Presidium of the Executive Committee served as a cassation ^[5] . At the same time, the kaziev courts were strictly subordinate to the Soviet authorities: they monthly reported on their work to the regional court, handed over the state duty and court fees they received twice a month, and the prosecutor's office and regional court could, in order of control, recover any case from kaziev ^[5] .

Since the beginning of 1923, the closure of the district's religious schools began. The mullahs began to open clandestine schools, began campaigning for the opening of religious schools, and organized the sending of letters on behalf of believers to central state and party bodies. In the second half of the 1920s, pressure and propaganda increased against all religious institutions, including Islamic ones.

Since 1944, the territory of the USSR was divided into four spiritual departments of Muslims independent of each other. The territory of the Tajik SSR belonged to the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (DUM) of Central Asia and Kazakhstan with a center in Tashkent . In the 1960s and 1980s, DUMs were allowed to publish the Koran , issue lunar calendars , and provide mosques with religious objects; The Muslims of the Soviet East magazine began to appear. The number of mosques in the post-war Tajik SSR was small. In 1966, there were only 18 registered mosques in Tajikistan (1966) ^[6] .

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, there was a clear intensification of Muslim religious-nationalist sentiments in the Central Asian republics of the USSR, which was facilitated by the war in Afghanistan and the Islamic revolution in Iran . KGB authorities noted that among the Tajik youth Wahhabi teachings were widespread. In September 1981, the CPSU Central Committee adopted a resolution “On measures to counter the enemy’s attempts to use the Islamic factor for purposes hostile to the USSR,” supplemented in April 1983 by a resolution “On measures to ideologically isolate the reactionary part of Muslim clergy” ^[7] .

At the end of 1989, the Soviet leadership began to pursue a more tolerant policy towards religion, which gave rise to the flourishing of all religious movements, including Islam. Religious education began to develop, new mosques were opened. New Islamic representatives appeared in Tajikistan and other countries of Central Asia. Most of the imams of the Tajik SSR left the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Central Asia and Kazakhstan with a center in Tashkent and began to organize their own organizations. A theological seminary was opened in Dushanbe.

1990s

By the 1990s, the leading Islamic leader in Tajikistan, the head of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Tajik SSR, Khoji Akbar Turajonzoda, became a prominent political figure in the country.

During the political struggle following the declaration of independence of Tajikistan, Turajonzoda criticized the Communists and supported political reforms. He demanded official recognition of the importance of Islam in the history and culture of Tajikistan and the formalization of Islam. At the same time, he repeatedly denied allegations that he was seeking the creation of an Islamic state in Tajikistan. After the outbreak of the civil war, Turajonzoda fled Dushanbe and was accused of treason. Ironically, after the end of the civil war, Turajonzoda was appointed deputy prime minister of Tajikistan, and became an unconditional supporter of Emomali Rahmon .

In the early 1990s, Muslims in Tajikistan began to politically organize and form their own social and political organizations. During the civil war, the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Tajikistan took part in the conflict as part of the United Tajik Opposition . The growth of Muslim identity has forced most parties, including the Communist Party , to incorporate the Islamic factor into their political programs.

In the post-Soviet period, the network of Islamic religious institutions expanded sharply in the republic: for 2014, there were 3424 mosques in Tajikistan, including 344 cathedrals and 40 central cathedrals ^[8] . In October 2005, the Tajik Ministry of Education banned the wearing of Islamic hats in secular schools. Tajik Minister of Education Abdujabbor Rakhmonov criticized the increasing incidence of students wearing hijabs in secondary schools, and said that this contradicts the third article of the "Law of Tajikistan on Education", according to which propaganda of party and religious ideology is prohibited in all secondary, higher and professional educational institutions ^[9] .

The Tajik government regularly closes illegal mosques . ^[10] . The state claims that it closes "unsafe" mosques and takes care of citizens, while some experts say that Islam is oppressed in the country ^[10] . In the 2010s, the country pursued a policy whose goal is the strict submission of Islam to secular power. Since the beginning of 2011, more than 1,500 mosques have been closed in Tajikistan, in addition to banning hijabs for children, the use of loudspeakers to call women to prayers and mosques has been banned ^[11] . The authorities introduced monitoring of students and imams receiving Islamic education abroad, and approved an official list of permitted topics for sermons in mosques ^[12] . The Committee on Religious Affairs has developed a special manual “52 Friday sermons” for imams for each week of the year, which are used on a voluntary basis ^[13] . Particular attention is paid to the control of study abroad. Since 2011, it is forbidden to send minors to study abroad without the consent of guardianship authorities ^[14] . In 2013, 2705 students from Libya, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Egypt were recalled to Tajikistan ^[15] . Representatives of the Committee on Religious Affairs are entitled to attend all religious events and coordinate the election of imams of mosques ^[16] . It is forbidden to preach in state preschool institutions and state schools, as well as in private houses and apartments ^[16] . Finally, since 2014, imams of mosques have received state salaries ^[16] . Minors are not allowed to attend mosques ^[14] .

In August 2017, the Ministry of Education and Science of Tajikistan published appearance rules for schoolchildren that prohibit the wearing of hijabs for girls and beards for boys ^[17] .

In Tajikistan, religious Arab- Muslim names began to become more and more popular than traditional Tajik names ^[18] . This forced Tajik authorities to ban Arab names ^{[19] [20] [21]} . Tajik President Emomali Rahmon stated that the Persian epic Shahnameh should be used as the main source for Tajik names ^[22] . He also criticized women who wear burqa ^[23] .

2009 was marked in Tajikistan by the year of the celebration of the Muslim jurist Abu Hanifa . In Dushanbe, an international symposium was held on Abu Hanifa, which brought together scientific and religious leaders from around the world ^[24] . In 2009, the construction of the largest mosque, which was funded by Qatar , began in Dushanbe. In 2014, the construction of the mosque was completed ^[25] . In 2010, a session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation was held in Tajikistan, which was attended by representatives of 56 states ^[26] .

Some Tajik Muslim clerics sometimes practice magical rites (for example, to treat infertility) ^[27] . The Tajik authorities are engaged in a tough battle with magical practice - in 2015, punishment up to 7 years in prison was established for witchcraft and witchcraft ^[28] .

While most Tajiks are Sunnis, representatives of the small Pamir peoples , who live mainly in the Gorno-Badakhshan region , belong to the Ismailis - Nazarites . The relations with the head of the Ismailis of the whole world, Aga Khan, which were interrupted during the Soviet era, began to improve after Tajikistan gained independence.

• Religion in the USSR
• Religion in Tajikistan
• Tajik Civil War