Nova Scotia Scott

Strange goings-on in a remote and mountainous area of Central Asia. Afghan robbers are reportedly crossing the Tajikistan frontier to rustle trees. Tajiks living near the Afghan border are concerned about a recent increase in robberies, and claim that trespassing Afghans are to blame, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports. In the latest incident, in the village [...]

The president of Tajikistan presumes to give Muslim clerics pointers in good grooming.  Among his sartorial tips: Dress “appropriately”; wear a suit and tie; and, by all means, wash and trim those mangy beards. Speaking at a conference in Dushanbe on February 26 attended by religious leaders and scholars, President Emomali Rahmon said religious figures [...]

Christians and followers of other religions in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan (see map below) could be forced to close places of worship under new laws that severely restrict religious activities. The laws have not yet been given final approval, but this seems likely in both countries. Religious leaders and human rights groups are criticising Kazakhstan’s restrictive [...]

One of Tajikistan’s leading Islamic politicians has publicly criticised the Ministry of Education for authorising  schoolbooks that, in his view, misinterpret and misrepresent the history of Islam and the prophet Muhammed. Hoji Akbar Turajonzoda calls the textbook writers’ attitude to Islam “unprofessional, irrational, and sometimes insulting and offensive”.  He accuses education officials of deliberately using [...]

Tajikistan’s Council of Islamic Clerics are encouraging Tajik women not to wear hijabs; rather, women should wear traditional national clothing. The hijab, they say, is imported and “not compatible” with the norms of Islam. So much for the argument made by many Muslims in other countries that the hijab is a religious requirement of Islam. [...]