The number of terrorist attacks committed by Tajik citizens in other countries has increased in recent years that damages the reputation of the country in the international arena, President Emomali Rahmon stated at a meeting with public and religious figures that took place on March 9.
According to the Tajik president’s official website, the head of state noted that over the past three years, 24 Tajiks have committed suicide terrorist acts in 10 countries of the world, including explosions in a crowd of people.
The president emphasized that suicide is a sin contrary to the principles of the Islamic religion. .
Rahmon reportedly stressed that “these actions are often manipulated by interest groups and intelligence agencies of other countries, which use the ignorance and lack of experience of young people.”
The president further noted that 6,680 crimes of an extremist and terrorist nature have been reported in Tajikistan over the past decade, including terrorist acts and attempted terrorist acts; “eleven terrorist acts and attempted terrorist acts have been prevented.”
“To-date, 4,075 citizens have been wanted or extremist and terrorist acts,” Emomali Rahmon said.
“In 2023 alone, 300 cases of illegal religious education were registered in the country that indicates the intensification of the brainwashing process of children, teens and young people,” the head of state noted.
During the period from 2020 to 2023, 680 cases of illegal religious education, involving 5,000 people, were exposed in the country, the president added.
Meanwhile, Rustam Azizi, an expert in countering violent extremism, believes that economic difficulties are not always the main cause of radicalization, as they say.
According to him, some people seek a new identity due to an “identity crisis”, this is especially true for young people from mixed families (fairly secular, or, as we used to call it, “Russified families”), facing difficulties in defining their identity.
“For them, religiosity can be a way to compensate for complexes and search for a new identity,” the expert noted, adding that other people join terrorist groups because they are prone to a criminal lifestyle.
According to him, there is also the third category of people, and such a majority, and they can be called “cannon fodder”.
“These are people with low levels of education and income, but at the same time with a high level of unconscious religiosity that makes them prone to submission,” Azizi noted.
“They look at everything through the prism of their understanding of religion – there are Muslims and there are infidels, there is halal and there is haram, jihad and so forth. Such people are very easy to convince to join various groups,” the expert added.
