KHUJAND, January 23, 2015, Asia-Plus — 90 unregistered “five-time” prayer mosques (mosques for daily prayers) were shut down in Sughd last year, Abduhakim Sharipov, the head of the Sughd department on religious affairs, announced at a news conference in Khujand, the capital of Sughd province on January 21.
“The province now has 1,063 mosques (those 90 closed mosques are not included), including 959 “five-time” prayer mosques, 91 “Friday prayer” mosques (larger facilities built for weekly Friday prayers) and 13 central mosques,” Sharipov said.
According to him, 19 registered non-Muslim religious organizations now operate in some cities and districts of the province.
Tajik authorities say the mosque closures are not an assault on Islam but are simply part of an operation against unlawfully operating businesses and organizations, which include unregistered mosques.
