Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan: Haj pilgrims still strictly controlled and restricted

By Mushfig Bayram - Forum 18 News Service, 27 December 2007

For this year’s haj pilgrimage, 5,000 people from Uzbekistan’s have travelled to Mecca, government-sponsored news agencies have reported, the first pilgrims travelling on 2 December. However, Forum 18 News Service notes that the number of pilgrims allowed to travel from Uzbekistan is significantly less than from other countries with a similar Muslim population.

© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. – Forum 18 News Service (F18News, Oslo, Norway) is a Christian initiative which is independent of any one church or religious group. F18News is objective, presenting news in a deliberately calm and balanced fashion, and presenting all sides of a situation. The overriding editorial objective of F18News is to as accurately as possible present the truth of a situation, both implicitly and explicitly.
http://www.forum18.org/index.php

Uzbekistan: shrinking Lutheran Church begins recovery after decade-long exodus

By UCAN, 26 April 2004

As the number of Germans returning to their ethnic homeland slowly diminishes, there are signs that the Lutheran community in Tashkent is beginning to recover from the drain of that exodus.

© UCAN 2004 – UCAN (Union of Catholic Asian News) is linked to UCIP (International Catholic Union of the Press). With several offices around Asia, UCA News is the largest Asian Church news agency. Originally published on 16 April 2004. Posted on Religioscope with permission.

Uzbekistan: crackdown on all faiths follows terrorist bombings

By Igor Rotar - Forum 18 News Service, 13 April 2004

After March and April’s terrorist bombings that left nearly 50 people dead – blamed by the government on Islamic extremists and linked by some without evidence to Al-Qa’ida – a crackdown on religious believers of all faiths is taking place.

Uzbekistan: harsh border cuts Muslims off from Turkmen holy sites

By Igor Rotar - Forum 18 News Service, 20 July 2003

High Turkmen visa fees make it prohibitively expensive for many Uzbek Muslims living close to the western border with Turkmenistan from crossing over to visit family graveyards and places of pilgrimage.

Forum 18 News Service (F18News, Oslo, Norway) is a Christian initiative which is independent of any one church or religious group. Its independence is safeguarded by a board whose members are Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic Christians. F18News is objective, presenting news in a deliberately calm and balanced fashion, and presenting all sides of a situation. The overriding editorial objective of F18News is to as accurately as possible present the truth of a situation, both implicitly and explicitly.

Website: http://www.forum18.org/index.php

Uzbekistan: new controls on access to religious websites

By Igor Rotar - Forum 18 News Service, 19 June 2003

Access to two more foreign-based websites that carry news on religious developments in Uzbekistan has been barred by the authorities.

Website: http://www.forum18.org/index.php

Uzbekistan: total state control over Islamic faith

By Igor Rotar - Forum 18 News Service, 20 May 2003

After a major investigation, Forum 18 News Service established that the Muslim clergy is almost completely under the control of the Uzbek authorities, while the leadership of the muftiate’s spiritual administration is virtually an agency of state authority. Imams do not have the right to compose the Friday addresses themselves, but are obliged to read out texts approved by the muftiate. Ironically, Islam is the faith in Uzbekistan that is most thoroughly controlled by the authorities.

Website: http://www.forum18.org/index.php

Uzbekistan: Muslims fined for prayers in closed mosque

By Igor Rotar - Forum 18 News Service, 7 April 2003

Six Muslims in the village of Katarzan in the Uzbek section of the Fergana valley, including the local imam, were fined after holding prayers at their closed mosque in February to mark the Muslim festival of Uraza Bairam (Feast of Sacrifice or Id al-Adha).

Website: http://www.forum18.org/index.php

Uzbekistan: conviction of Jehovah’s Witness may set precedent for crackdown on Christian proselytizers

By Eurasianet, 4 December 2002

An Uzbek court has handed a Jehovah’s Witness a three-year suspended sentence for “inciting religious hatred.” Freedom of conscience advocates are concerned that the conviction heralds an expansion of the Uzbek government’s crackdown on religious expression. Eurasianet – 2 December 2002 – Marat Mudarisov, 26, was convicted on November 29 of violating article 156.1 of Uzbekistan’s […]

This article was originally published by Eurasianet.
Posted on Religioscope with permission.
Website of Eurasianet: http://www.eurasianet.org/index.shtml

EurasiaNet provides information and analysis about political, economic, environmental and social developments in the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as in Russia, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. EurasiaNet is operated by the Central Eurasia Project of the Open Society Institute.

Uzbekistan: prosecution of a Jehovah’s Witness

By Olga Borisova, 6 November 2002

The criminal trial of a young Jehovah’s Witness is being seen as the latest attempt by the authorities to crack down on non-traditional religious groups. Tashkent resident Marat Mudarisov is standing trial at the capital’s Akmal-Ikram district court accused of undermining the constitution and spreading ideas that offend the national and religious convictions of the […]

Olga Borisova is a correspondent for IWPR in Uzbekistan

This article was first published on 5 November 2002 (RCA No. 158) by the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR), London. Posted on Religioscope with permission.Articles published by the IWPR on Afghanistan, Central Asia, the Balkans, the Caucasus as well as other topics can be accessed on its website:
http://www.iwpr.net
IWPR supports recovery and development in crisis zones by providing professional training, financial assistance and an international platform to independent media, human rights activists and other local democratic voices.

Uzbekistan: former mufti criticises anti-Islamic campaign

By Galima Bukharbaeva, 15 August 2002

A respected religious leader has warned that the government’s crackdown on Islamic extremism will backfire, radicalising ordinary Muslims. IWPR – 13 August 2002 – Uzbekistan’s most respected spiritual leader has publicly announced his views of the government’s religious policy for the first time, describing the current situation as “totally absurd“. Sheikh Mukhammad Sodyk Mukhammad Yusuf expressed […]

Galima Bukharbaeva is the director of IWPR in Uzbekistan.

This article was first published on 7 June 2002 (RCA No. 137) by the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR), London. Posted on Religioscope with permission.

Articles published by the IWPR on Afghanistan, Central Asia, the Balkans, the Caucasus as well as other topics can be accessed on its website:
http://www.iwpr.net
IWPR supports recovery and development in crisis zones by providing professional training, financial assistance and an international platform to independent media, human rights activists and other local democratic voices. IWPR’s primary beneficiaries are local journalists who participate in its reporting, research and training programmes.

Uzbekistan: Haj pilgrims still strictly controlled and restricted

Uzbekistan: shrinking Lutheran Church begins recovery after decade-long exodus

Uzbekistan: crackdown on all faiths follows terrorist bombings

Uzbekistan: harsh border cuts Muslims off from Turkmen holy sites

Uzbekistan: new controls on access to religious websites

Uzbekistan: total state control over Islamic faith

Uzbekistan: Muslims fined for prayers in closed mosque

Uzbekistan: conviction of Jehovah’s Witness may set precedent for crackdown on Christian proselytizers

Uzbekistan: prosecution of a Jehovah’s Witness

Uzbekistan: former mufti criticises anti-Islamic campaign

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