Muslims have been banned from using loudspeakers to read out
the call to prayer at all unregistered mosques in the capital Dushanbe under a
decree issued by the city executive committee, local Muslims told Forum 18 News
Service on condition of anonymity. However, officials denied to Forum 18 that
any decree had been issued, merely a "request".
The spokesman for the Tajik muftiate, Said Negmatov, told Forum 18 on 28 August
that he had "not heard anything" about a decree from the city
authorities and could therefore make no comment.
The imam-hatyb of Dushanbe's central mosque Khabibhon Azimjanov proved better
informed. "I have indeed heard about such a decree," he told Forum
18. "In fact it was not even a decree, just a verbal request." He
said the order did not affect his and other large mosques, and that the central
mosque was still using loudspeakers to broadcast the call to prayer as before.
"It is possible that some old people who find it hard to reach the larger
mosques would like the call to prayer to be made using loudspeakers in their
mahalla [city district], but times change," Azimjanov added. "Around
ten years ago calls to prayer were broadcast on the radio, but that is now
impossible!"
The head of the religious affairs department of the city administration,
Shamsuddin Nuriddinov, admitted to Forum 18 on 28 August that the authorities
had "requested" the leaders of unregistered mosques not to use
loudspeakers for the call to prayer.
However, he believes that only registered Muslim places of worship may be
regarded as mosques. "According to Tajikistan's law on religion,
registration is obligatory and therefore unregistered religious associations
are operating outside the law," Nuriddinov insisted to Forum 18. In fact
there is nothing in the law on religion about a requirement to register