A Special Report by ICC
02/23/2013 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – Recent administrative reforms reveal that Tajikistan is using the fear of punishment as a deterrent to all religious activity, leaving the minority Christian community as the most vulnerable to intimidation and persecution.
Tajikistan’s recent reforms have revealed a steady downward spiral into restricting religious freedom, even if it comes at the cost of violating human rights and its own constitution. The country is determined to tighten restrictions on all activity, religious and civil, that is independent of state control. The increased fines are part of an ongoing campaign to reinforce the idea that those who practice their faith freely are simply inviting trouble for themselves.
In 2012, the Tajik government increased fines for violating the Religion Law, to which all people of faith, as well as religious organizations, must adhere. The fines are exorbitant, and unduly burden those without work or living in poor, rural areas.
As it is, no Tajik is permitted to go abroad for religious education unless she or he has already received such education from a state-authorized institution in the country. But, since there are no state-authorized seminaries or Bible colleges in the country, Tajik Christians don’t have a legitimate chance of receiving a theological education, in or outside Tajikistan. If they attempt to receive religious education abroad, preach or teach religious doctrine, or establish ties with religious organizations abroad, they have violated the Religion Law and face the increased fines.
Since the Religion Law is worded ambiguously, it leaves room for subjective interpretation of violations and arbitrary action against innocent victims. For instance, the restriction on “establishing international ties” with religious organizations abroad is unclear. The vague restrictions have made church leaders wonder whether they can invite Christians from abroad as guests into their home and receive any sort of instruction from them. A Protestant leader complained to Forum 18 News, saying, “We feel like little children who need to ask permission for each step we are taking. What if the Committee does not give permission?”
This atmosphere of ambiguity creates even more caution among Christians who fear punishment that comes without warning and for no just cause. The fines also apply to any religious organization that goes “beyond the activities specifically set out in their statutes,” a phrase that is vulnerable to misapplication to any religious activity deemed unsuitable by authorities.
The increased fines also apply to pre-existing restrictions on religious education, which does not permit any preaching or teaching of Christian doctrine in schools, residential buildings or homes. Every week, hundreds of Christians in Tajikistan congregate with the legal threat of judiciary action for simply gathering to worship. The increased fines seem to be nothing more than an effort to intensify that threat and intimidate Christians into obscurity.
Also, for the first time, the authority to impose fines on religious offenders has been transferred from the courts to the State Committee for Religious Affairs (SCRA), which is permitted to administer punishments directly without investigation, prosecution or trial. Legal experts point out the irony that the Committee, which is there to assist religious communities, is now empowered to close them down.
In August 2011, a controversial Parental Responsibility Law–that was fiercely opposed without consequence, but went into effect anyway–banned children from participating in almost all religious activity. On paper, Tajik Christian parents do not have the legal authority to raise their children up in the faith without fear of state reprisals.
In January 2011, a new “offence” was created, which imposed heavy fines for violating the laws regarding the “production, import, export, sale and distribution of religious literature.” Although Christians can seek permission to produce and distribute religious literature, these rights are not explicitly given to them. As a result, any Christian in Tajikistan who gives a Bible to his neighbor without the state’s explicit permission has made himself vulnerable to legal action.
The downward trajectory of recent reforms signals the authoritarian state’s intentions for the future of religious and civil liberties in the country. The strategy seems to be to create a minefield of restrictions so that Christians and other religious groups will be kept from practicing their faith for fear of risking a violation and inducing a heavy fine on their meagre financial resources.
Under the oppressive rule of Emomali Rahmon, named as one of the world’s enduring dictators by CBS News, Tajikistan responded to international pressure by making promises to improve its deplorable human rights record. Since it cannot overtly dismiss those promises, it seems to be taking the subtle approach of using the fear of punishment as a deterrent for all religious activity.
Like other oppressive regimes in the region, and elsewhere in the world, the restrictions are said to be introduced in the name of combating extremism. Although the threat of Islamic extremism is real, with militants haunting the nation’s border with Afghanistan and nurturing political instability, no explanation is given as to why Christians are targeted in the process. And, there is no response to the ineffectiveness of reducing the influence of extremism by stifling religious freedom.
As a corrupt and despotic ruler tries to navigate his way past the possible threat of Islamic extremists with their own political vision for the country, Christians face a bleak future in the country where they remain intimidated, overlooked and vulnerable.