By Riffat Kausar
Snn News Finland
Government Cites Extremism Prevention Behind Sweeping Religious Restrictions
Tajikistan, a Central Asian nation where roughly 97-98% of the population is Muslim, has enacted a series of laws restricting Islamic religious practice, including a formal ban on hijabs and the closure or repurposing of thousands of mosques.
The measures form part of a broader government campaign that officials describe as aimed at preserving national cultural identity and preventing religious extremism, according to multiple international reports.
Hijab Ban Codified Into Law in 2024
In mid-2024, Tajikistan authorities officially banned the hijab and other forms of Islamic dress, formalizing restrictions that had reportedly been enforced unofficially for years. The law was passed as part of a package of 35 religious regulations.
Individuals found wearing religious attire in public now face fines of up to 7,920 somonis (approximately €700), according to Euronews. Government employees, business owners, and religious clerics face steeper penalties for non-compliance.
The Tajik government has described the law as a step toward “protecting national cultural values” and “preventing superstition and extremism.”
Thousands of Mosques Closed or Repurposed
Since 2017, Tajikistan’s government has closed more than 2,000 mosques, according to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Many of these sites have been converted into teahouses, medical clinics, kindergartens, barbershops, and cultural centers.
Husein Shokirov, head of Tajikistan’s Committee for Religious Affairs (CRA), said the closures targeted mosques that had not completed government registration.
“We gave the owners of the mosques time to file [registration] documents, but they didn’t do it, so the sites were either reclaimed by the government or repurposed into social facilities,” Shokirov said at a news conference, as reported by Eurasianet.
The CRA maintains that approximately 3,900 to 4,000 mosques continue to operate with valid permits nationwide, including roughly 370 large “cathedral mosques.”
Broader Restrictions on Religious Practice
Tajikistan law also restricts Friday prayers and mosque attendance for individuals under 18, bans loudspeakers for the call to prayer in some areas, and requires imams to have their sermons approved by government authorities, with sermon length capped at 15 minutes in some mosques.
Women have also faced restrictions on entering certain mosques under an edict from the Ulema Council.
President Emomali Rahmon has publicly spoken against religious dress and beard-growing, trends the government has associated with non-traditional or extremist influence.
Human Rights Groups Raise Concerns
USCIRF designated Tajikistan a “country of particular concern” over what it called “systematic, ongoing, blatant violation of freedom of religion.”
The Jamestown Foundation and other analysts have warned that aggressive mosque closures risk pushing religious practice underground, potentially increasing rather than reducing radicalization.
Researchers cited by USCIRF have noted that greater religious literacy and freedom, rather than restriction, correlate with reduced influence of extremist recruitment in some studies.
Context: Radicalization Concerns Persist
Tajikistan’s government has linked its restrictions to concerns over Islamist extremism, particularly following the recruitment of Tajik nationals by groups such as Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP).
Tajikistan nationals were charged in connection with the March 2024 Crocus City Hall attack in Moscow, an incident that renewed scrutiny of radicalization among Tajik migrant communities in Russia.
Woman in Tajikistan affected by 2024 hijab ban law
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