DUSHANBE, January 8, 2009, Asia-plus — Tajikistan has banned the unregistered religious organization Salafiya.
Following an application by the Prosecutor-General’s Office, the Supreme Court of Tajikistan on January 8 took a decision outlawing the Salfiya organization in Tajikistan. The decision also bans import and distribution of ideological materials of this organization.
The decision was motivated by protection of constitutional order, strengthening of national security, and prevention of incitement of religious enmity in the country.
We will recall that last March, the Supreme Court proclaimed the religious Hizb ut-Tahrir party as extremist organization. The decision outlaws Hizb ut-Tahrir’s web site and bans import of ideological materials (audio, video, brochures) of this party, which aims to establish a global caliphate but denounces violence as means to this end. Hizb ut-Tahrir and, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and Bayat have been banned in Tajikistan since 2000.
Some devout Hanafi Muslims — including Islamic scholars and Tajik officials -worried by the growing influence and exclusionism of the Salafis. The danger, they say, is that Salafis see themselves as the purest Muslims and exclude others, renouncing many kinds of Islam — Shi”ism and Sufism among them.
Some believe Salafism is similar to Wahabbism, and many people use those terms interchangeably. It has reportedly been growing in Tajikistan in recent years with its leaders claiming they have over 20,000 supporters in the country. Tajik officials, however, downplay the figures putting them at several hundreds.
