Mosque Surveillance Increased for Ramadan
Mosque Surveillance Increased for Ramadan
Although Eid al-Fitr, the forthcoming celebration marking the end of Ramadan, will be an official holiday in Uzbekistan, the authorities continue to keep a careful watch on the practice of Islam.
On September 27, President Islam Karimov issued orders for the festival, known locally as Ramazon-Hayit, to be marked by official events nationwide.
Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the 30-day period when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, falls on October 1 this year, according to Uzbek officials.
Some 88 per cent of Uzbekistan’s 28 million population count themselves as Muslims.
A commentator in the city of Andijan, located in the traditionally devout Fergana Valley, says more and more young people there are keeping the fast because general social attitudes are shifting towards Muslim observance.
“When everyone in the family, at school and at work observes the fast, it is hard not to do so,” he said.
Local experts note that this rise in religious activity is at odds with the official policy of curtailing the overt practice of Islam.
The persecution of Muslims dates from 1992, when the authorities began arresting mosque-goers in an attempt to clamp down on Islamic groups. In May 2005, the government cited the threat of Islamic extremists as a reason for crushing an uprising in Andijan. Hundreds of civilians died.
According to the Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Activists of Uzbekistan, based in Tashkent, the authorities continue to harass, detain and jail Muslims accused of extremism and anti-constitutional activity.
Observers say the authorities increased their surveillance during Ramadan, a particularly sensitive period. They say the police have occupied side-rooms in the bigger mosques of Tashkent, where they can watch the congregation come and go.
A 60-year-old mosque-goer in Tashkent said he was interrogated by the district police chief after he invited friends and neighbours to his home for “iftar”, the evening meal that breaks the fast each day.
“Holding iftar at home or organising events for Lailat ul-Qadr [one of the main dates during Ramadan] is to bring down the police and mahalla [local government] committee on your head,” he said.
This man insisted he was not deterred by his interrogation. “Despite the Soviet-era ban, our fathers and grandfathers kept the fasts and carried out their Muslim duties,” he said. “That’s how it was, and it will continue that way.”
The same situation applies in other parts of the country.
“There are secret service informers in even the smallest of mosques, keeping a close eye on everyone who comes in and following everything that goes on in the Muslim community,” said the imam of a small mosque in Samarkand, in western Uzbekistan.
(NBCA is an IWPR-funded project to create a multilingual news analysis and comment service for Central Asia, drawing on the expertise of a broad range of political observers across the region. The project ran from August 2006 to September 2007, covering all five regional states. With new funding, the service is resuming, covering only Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.)
On September 27, President Islam Karimov issued orders for the festival, known locally as Ramazon-Hayit, to be marked by official events nationwide.
Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the 30-day period when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, falls on October 1 this year, according to Uzbek officials.
Some 88 per cent of Uzbekistan’s 28 million population count themselves as Muslims.
A commentator in the city of Andijan, located in the traditionally devout Fergana Valley, says more and more young people there are keeping the fast because general social attitudes are shifting towards Muslim observance.
“When everyone in the family, at school and at work observes the fast, it is hard not to do so,” he said.
Local experts note that this rise in religious activity is at odds with the official policy of curtailing the overt practice of Islam.
The persecution of Muslims dates from 1992, when the authorities began arresting mosque-goers in an attempt to clamp down on Islamic groups. In May 2005, the government cited the threat of Islamic extremists as a reason for crushing an uprising in Andijan. Hundreds of civilians died.
According to the Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Activists of Uzbekistan, based in Tashkent, the authorities continue to harass, detain and jail Muslims accused of extremism and anti-constitutional activity.
Observers say the authorities increased their surveillance during Ramadan, a particularly sensitive period. They say the police have occupied side-rooms in the bigger mosques of Tashkent, where they can watch the congregation come and go.
A 60-year-old mosque-goer in Tashkent said he was interrogated by the district police chief after he invited friends and neighbours to his home for “iftar”, the evening meal that breaks the fast each day.
“Holding iftar at home or organising events for Lailat ul-Qadr [one of the main dates during Ramadan] is to bring down the police and mahalla [local government] committee on your head,” he said.
This man insisted he was not deterred by his interrogation. “Despite the Soviet-era ban, our fathers and grandfathers kept the fasts and carried out their Muslim duties,” he said. “That’s how it was, and it will continue that way.”
The same situation applies in other parts of the country.
“There are secret service informers in even the smallest of mosques, keeping a close eye on everyone who comes in and following everything that goes on in the Muslim community,” said the imam of a small mosque in Samarkand, in western Uzbekistan.
(NBCA is an IWPR-funded project to create a multilingual news analysis and comment service for Central Asia, drawing on the expertise of a broad range of political observers across the region. The project ran from August 2006 to September 2007, covering all five regional states. With new funding, the service is resuming, covering only Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.)
