DUSHANBE, November 26, 2015, Asia-Plus – Tajikistan’s Shuroi Ulamo (Council of Ulamo — an Islamic council that issues fatwas (religious rulings) has issued fatwa condemning the Salafi movement, which is banned in Tajikistan.
The fatwa, in particular, notes that Salafis are continuing to disseminate their ideas in public places, including mosques and they condemn and defame traditional fro Tajikistan the Hanafi madhab.
Shuroi Ulamo stresses that Salafis have been involved in terrorist acts and murders that are taking place today in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. “All supporters of Daesh (the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are followers of the Salafi movement,” Shuroi Ulamo says.
The fatwa says all actions of Salafis are aimed at against Islam and Sharia (Islamic law).
Shuroi Ulamo calls on Muslims of Tajikistan to carry out an uncompromising struggle against the Salafi movement.
The Salafi movement or Salafist movement is an ultra-conservative orthodox movement within Sunni Islam that references the doctrine known as Salafism.
The movement claims to follow a strict and pure form of Islam, but Tajik clerics say the Salafis’ radical stance is similar to that of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Salafis 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 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 Salafis to its list of religious groups prohibited from operating in the country.
On December 8, 2014, the Supreme Court of Tajikistan formally labeled the banned Salafi group as an extremist organization. The ruling reportedly followed a request submitted to the court by the Prosecutor-General’s Office. The ruling means that the group’s website and printed materials are also banned.
The overwhelming majority of Tajiks are followers of the Hanafi madhab, a more liberal branch of Sunni Islam.
