DUSHANBE, January 12, 2015, Asia-Plus — The Supreme Court of Tajikistan has formally labeled the Salafi group as an extremist organization.
“The Supreme Court of Tajikistan formally labeled the banned Salafi group as an extremist organization on December 8, 2014. The ruling followed a request submitted to the court by the Prosecutor-General’s Office,” an official source at the Supreme Court told Asia-Plus on January 12.
The ruling means that the group’s website and printed materials are also banned.
The Tajik authorities banned Salafism as an illegal group on January 8, 2009, saying the Salafi movement represents a potential threat to national security and the Supreme Court added Salafists to its list of religious groups prohibited from operating in the country.
The movement claims to follow a strict and pure form of Islam, but Tajik clerics say the Salafists’ radical stance is similar to that of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Salafists do not recognize other branches of Islam, such as Shi”a and Sufism. The movement is frequently referred to as Wahhabism, although Salafis reject this as derogatory.
The overwhelming majority of Tajiks are followers of Hanafia, a more liberal branch of Sunni Islam.
