DUSHANBE, April 18, 2016, Asia-Plus — The United States has put Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, and several others nations on notice for what the State Department said was increasing problems with religious freedoms.
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released the religious freedom report on April 13.
The move, announced April 15 by State Department spokesman John Kirby, potentially restricts various kinds of U.S. government cooperation or aid programs.
On April 14, the Department of State reportedly notified Congress of the decision to re-designate Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan as Countries of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act, also known as IRF. Tajikistan was designated as a Country of Particular Concern for the first time.
However, Kirby said there would be a waiver of such restrictions for Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan due to what he called the “important national interest of the United States.”
According to the report, more than 90 percent of Tajikistan’s estimated total population of 7.9 million is Muslim, most of whom belong to the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam; about four percent are Ismaili Shia. Most of the 150,000 Christians are Russian Orthodox, but there are also Baptists, Roman Catholics, Adventists, Lutherans, and Korean Protestants plus small numbers of Baha’is, Hare Krishnas, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and fewer than 300 Jews.
The legal environment in Tajikistan for religious freedom has reportedly deteriorated significantly since 2009, when a series of highly restrictive laws were passed and implemented. The 2009 religion law establishes onerous registration
The report says the government of Tajikistan suppresses and punishes all religious activity independent of state control, particularly the activities of Muslims, Protestants, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Numerous laws that severely restrict religious freedom have been implemented in the country since 2009. The government also imprisons individuals on unproven criminal allegations linked to Islamic religious activity and affiliation. Jehovah’s Witnesses have been banned since 2007. Based on these concerns, as it has since 2012, USCIRF again recommends in 2015 that the U.S. government designate Tajikistan as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).
Previously Tajikistan was on USCIRF’s Tier 2 (formerly Watch List) since 2009.
The Tajik government uses concerns over Islamist extremism to justify actions against individuals taking part in certain religious activities, the report says, noting that according to public opinion polls conducted by the Tajik NGO Sharq Analytical Center, most Tajiks view poverty, not extremism, as the country’s main problem.
Tajik civil society is reportedly subject to official pressure, and Tajik non-governmental organizations have expressed fear of reporting on religious freedom due to perceived dangers of involvement in that issue.
