Tajikistan’s Battle Against Beards to ‘Fight Radicalisation’
Dear friends,
Violation of religious freedom and human rights is a growing issue because as our society is moving forward and becoming more advanced, we naturally ask more questions. When there are questions, there is conflict and disagreement, and from there arises discrimination. Especially in this era in which an internet connection is so easily obtained, people pick up things faster.
No matter how ‘strong’ or powerful we think we are, we should never interfere with peoples’ religious choices, we certainly do not have the authority to do so. We should instead be open about it, respect other religions and embrace them from the depths of our hearts. I am reprinting this here for strictly educational purposes.
Tsem Rinpoche
Tajikistan’s Battle Against Beards to ‘Fight Radicalisation’
Anora Sarkorova
BBC Russian Service, Tajikistan | 21 January 2016
Police in Khatlon say they have shaved the beards of nearly 13,000 men (file photo)
“They called me a Salafist, a radical, a public enemy. And then two of them held my arms while another one shaved half of my beard.”
Djovid Akramov says he was stopped by Tajik police outside his house, along with his seven-year-old son, last month – and taken to the police station in Dushanbe where he was forcibly shaved.
He became one of hundreds of thousands of men in Tajikistan arrested in recent years for wearing a beard.
Shaving beards is part of a government campaign targeting trends that are deemed “alien and inconsistent with Tajik culture”.
Earlier this week, police in Tajikistan’s Khatlon region said that they had shaved the beards of nearly 13,000 men as part of an “anti-radicalisation campaign”.
The BBC spoke to nine other men who described similar experiences – being detained in the street and forcibly taken to the police department or a barber shop, where they were shaved.
The government campaign is explained by the need to fight radicalisation, amid fears that Central Asia might follow the path of countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq or Syria towards extremism.
Women have been told to wear traditional Tajik colours – not black
Estimates suggest that between 1,500 and 4,000 Central Asians could have joined different Islamist militant groups in Syria, as of June 2015.
The move against beards is seen as part of a broader government campaign against the adoption of Islamic cultural practices in Tajik society, and to preserve secular traditions.
According to official data, 99% of the Tajik population are Muslim. However, atheism was officially encouraged during 70 years of Soviet rule.
‘Don’t Wear Black’
The campaign against Islamic practices also affects women. There is an official ban on wearing hijabs in schools and universities – but in practice it is enforced in all state institutions.
Police say that over the past year, they have closed about 160 shops where hijabs were being sold, and convinced 1,773 women to stop wearing hijabs.
Shaving beards is part of a government campaign against “alien culture”
President Emomali Rakhmon has also warned Tajiks: “Don’t worship alien values, don’t follow alien culture. Wear clothes of traditional colours and cut, not black.”
“Even in mourning, Tajik women [should] wear white, not black,” he said.
And the authorities have previously called on parents to give their children traditional Tajik names, rather than Arabic or foreign-sounding names.
Colourful headscarves are popular in Tajikistan
It is not clear whether these policies will have an impact on preventing radicalism.
Djovid Akramov says he will not forget the humiliation he felt while being forcefully shaved at the police station.
“The worst is the impunity of the policemen, who were enjoying the opportunity to bully people,” he says.
It is this kind of conduct that can prompt people to become radicalised, he says.
Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35372754?OCID=twitterasia
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Tajikistan is a country in Central Asia surrounded by Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. It’s known for rugged mountains, popular for hiking and climbing. Sunni Islam is, by far, the most widely practiced religion in Tajikistan. Religious liberty might be supposed to mean that everybody is free to discuss religion. Beliefs are a choice. We have the power to choose our beliefs. Our beliefs become our reality Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The status of respect for religious freedom eroded during recent years. Government policies reflected a concern about Islamic extremism .Tajikistan is unique in the world because it is illegal for people under age 18 to practice religion publicly, which includes attending mosques. Women are not allowed by the government to enter certain mosques and wearing black hijabs. Shops are not allowed to sell too and women are to wear traditional Tajik colours. Not only that additionally to it, the government places strictly limits on pilgrimage visits. As reportedly they harassed devotees by forcibly shaving their beards which are not allowed. Hundreds of thousands of men even children as young as seven years old in Tajikistan arrested in recent years for wearing a beard. Banning beards and dresses is really odd. It’s the government campaign against the adoption of Islamic cultural practices. Sad human rights within Tajikistan were been violated and basic human rights remains limited . Tajikistan continues to struggle with human rights till today.Interesting read of government’s fear leading to problems further.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
It’s an indication of great fear.
The government fear of having their people moving into radicalism, fear of loosing their culture and also it’s also an indication for fear of loosing their control or power. However, the very action taken might have actually force their people to be one. Is the move necessary? Instead of changing the outer appearance, it’s more important to set their values right.
I think people can try to control your actions, but one’s minds can hide a variety of thoughts and motivation. To suppress others, with force only works up till a certain extent, but if people are convinced by the logic of why they should not do something, then they can police themselves.
With Tajikistan’s population at 99% being Muslim and with the current unrest within the Muslim world, especially in the Middle East, I am not surprised that the Government body would worry about radicalism. However I feel that they are taking the wrong steps of forceful actions on men with long beards. Having long beards does not automatically make one radical but the hurtful actions of the Government officials that forced beard shaving against one’s wishes will leave a negative impact on their minds. This wrongness could fester in their minds and eventually may become radical as they think they are righting a wrong.
I believe that good governance would be a better way to overcome radicalism as happy citizens will have nothing to act against. Therefore public education and community projects will bring the citizens together for better bonding and understanding.
I find this in parallel with the Dorje Shugden ban which is baseless. If the Tibetan-In-Exile government were to unite instead of creating segregation with the ban, they may have faired better in the world platform.
Thank you Rinpoche for bring up this article and its was quite interesting how our fear could bring out wrong actions even if it was with good intention. As karma repeats, one wrong action may lead to more and more bad actions being committed.
This article has made me think about many things.
Is growing a beard or dressing in a certain way considered religious practice? What is the difference between a religion and a cult, spirituality and cult behavior?
We have seen the cult of Nazism rear its head, we have seen the cult of Maosim rear its head, we are seeing the cult of capitalism spreading across the globe and leaving a trail of destruction.
The Tajiks are afraid. They are afraid that these practices will lead to a cult and separatist movement later on as they demand their own country to live according to their own laws.
But is banning beards and dresses the way forward or is there a better way to govern a country? I would say that as long that there is no harm on others, Tajiks should be allowed to do as they think fit such as growing a beard etc. But if there is harm or the intention of harm to be inflicted on others, then the force of the law should be brought upon them.
There is also the element of populist politicians doing things to gain the support of the majority at the expense of the minority. This is another trend we see in the world today.
It’s complicated.
All these actions stem from fear. Fear of something unknown and its impact on self. It is very sad that the actions of a few becomes accepted “knowledge” to represent the general resulting is mass segregation, discrimination and ultimately violence against those we hardly know. We simply judge and label someone because of how they look, where they come from etc. Not taking a chance to actually getting to know them.
What is most sad is that our children grow up witnessing these acts of discrimination, fear and aggression. How would they grow up? How could they have trust and faith in love, kindness and honesty when suppression and misuse of power is what they grew up with.
May more knowledge about our social diversity become available to the public so that we can see the similarities and commonalities that actually bind us together and not focus on differences that separate us.
Choice of religion, religious practice and expression of spirituality is a personal choice and right. Nobody has the right to impose and force their own interpretation of what’s right what’s wrong on others. It’s between you and your god/deity/creator/creed. What does that have to do with the government or anyone, including even your parents? If it is forced, it’s no longer real or the heart’s will. One can exert influence, lead by example and teach a religious belief but if it gets imposed by law, it becomes dictatorial.
When people are persecuted or marginalised or punished for their religious choices that goes against the fabric of human rights and freedom of religion which also includes the freedom to change one’s religion or belief. This is strictly my personal opinion.
In my humble opinion, there are 2 concerns here; the concern on identity and the concern on the behavior of moral police.
Many people are often lost in terms of identity when it comes to race vs religion. They would adopt the traditions from the originating place of their faith, whether knowingly or not, as a proof of the strength of their faith. To me, coexistence between cultures and religions is possible because it is mutually enriching. But as people start to feel that religion or ethnicity is fading away, one or the other, then expression of dissatisfactory, if not carefully carried out, will turn out to be discrimination.
Which bring us to the second concern – the behavior of the moral police. The intention of the policy maker could be good but the implementation is definitely flawed because this is a delicate matter involving freedom to religion, religion to express and basic human rights (keep beard, wear certain colors, etc). Instead of using cold-hearted authoritarian style (i.e. police) to force people into adherence, why not run education / awareness campaign and use incentive to revive ethnicity?
Thank you Rinpoche for this interesting article. It allows me to reflect on the aspect of human interaction versus policy setting.
Humbly, bowing down,
Stella Cheang