Amid Hue and Cry Over Bombay High Court Ruling On Hijab, A Look at Hijab Ban in Islamic Country Tajikistan
By New Age Islam Staff
Writer
28 June
2024
Tajikistan Parliament Bans Hijab and Eid
Festivities in The Country
Main Points:
1.
2.Tajik government closed 1500
mosques in 2011 and 1938 mosques in 2017.
2.
Beards are banned in public places
and schools.
3.
Azan is not allowed on loudspeakers.
4.
5.Girls wearing hijab are expelled
from schools.
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(File Photo) for Representative Purpose
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While there
has been much hue and cry aver hijab ban in some colleges in India, the
restrictions on hijab and other Islamic clothing and practices in an Islamic
country Tajikistan with 98 per cent Muslim population evokes much surprise and
debate. The government of Tajikistan has banned hijab in all public places
after over a decade of secularisation of Tajik society. The President of
Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon has been criticising Islamic burqa and other Islamic
practices as a symbol of foreign and alien culture. He has been promoting
ancestral values and national culture.
Before the
hijab was banned by the Tajik parliament, hijab and miniskirts and beards were
already banned in secular schools in the country. Girls wearing hijab were
expelled from schools. This was one of the many restrictions placed on the
Muslim society of Tajikistan to prevent Pan-Islamic religiosity in public. At a
time when the religious scholars and leaders of Asian countries have been
promoting Arab culture among the Muslims, the Tajik government has declared
Arab culture 'alien' to Tajikistan. The Tajik parliament dubbed hijab as Astik,"alien garment" and
exhorted the Tajik Muslims to adopt national culture and clothing.
It would be
surprising for many Muslims of India and Pakistan that the Tajik government
under Emomali Rahmon has been cracking down on unregistered mosques, churches
and synagogues and monitoring religious education and religious activities of
Tajik people. It has not hesitated to close down or destroy unregistered
mosques, churches or synagogues. In 2011, it shut down 1500 mosques and in
2017, 1938 mosques. More importantly or rather disgustingly, some mosques were
converted into tea shops, some into medicine centres and some into beauty
parlours. The mosques, churches and synagogues that refuse to government
principles and regulations are shut down.
Beards are
also seen as a potential symbol of extremism by the Tajik government and
therefore men, particularly students are banned from wearing beards.
The Tajik
government has also banned the custom of Eidi, the gift to children from elders
and Eid festivities. Children below 18 years of age are barred from Friday
prayers and from religious activities. They are more encouraged to pay
attention to their studies and to do their homework.
Prayers in
public halls are prohibited in Tajikistan and all religious activities should
have prior approval of the government.
The Friday
sermons are pre-approved with topics given by the government as is the norm in
some Arab countries. Clerics cannot give private sermons as is done by maulvis
in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in the name of Milad or Islah-e-Moashra (social reform), spreading sectarian hatred among
the Muslim masses.
Salafism or
Wahhabism is not approved because it is considered a foreign religious
doctrine. (It does not mean that the Barailvi sect is approved). Only
government approved religious education is allowed in schools. There is only
one madrasa in Tajikistan. If a student wants to study religion abroad, he
needs the government approval.
The Tajik
government promotes national clothing. It has shut down hundreds of Islamic
clothing stores and has published a guide book of national clothing.
Names is
yet another issue on which the Tajik government has clear directive. It
discourages Arabic names and promotes Tajik or at best Persian names. The
president suggested that the Persian epic Shahnameh should be consulted as a
source for names. On the contrary, in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Muslins
tend more and more towards Arabic names for their babies. The replacement of Khuda Hafiz with Allah Hafiz is, one
example of the influence of Arab culture.
The Tajik
government does not recognise Islamic organisations and has therefore, banned
the Islamic Renaissance Party. The party has been banned as a terrorist
organisation.
The Tajik
president Emomali Rahmon, therefore, has successfully prevented public show of
religiosity without facing any violent protests and opposition. There have been
criticism of the government decisions in the country and abroad but on the
whole, the decisions of the government have been accepted by the majority of
the population. Emomali knows from the developments in the South East Asian
Muslim majority countries that uncontrolled religious activities and sectarian
or extremist ideologies gradually over take the society and in the end, it goes
out of control of the government as has happened in Pakistan and Middle East.
Therefore, he has restricted religious activities and public visibility of
religiosity in the country. It may be said that he has crossed the limits by
restricting Eid festivities for children or forcing the Muslim men to shave
their beards or restricting the number of mosques in a town. He has perhaps
done it to prevent the growth of religious fanaticism as a result of
uncontrolled religiosity in Muslim societies.
The hijab
ban in Tajikistan shows that the Islamic countries have different approach and
interpretation of modesty in Islam. The Quran does not prescribe face veil but
the Islamic scholars and exegetes have preached that a woman should cover her
face. This was repeated and reiterated so many times and by so many scholars
that the face veil has become a religious issue. The girl students have,
therefore, been made to believe that covering their face is their religious
duty. In Iran, keeping the face uncovered is allowed but the woman must cover
her hair as if the hair is a 'satar', a body part to be covered. Mahsa Amini
was killed by the religious police not because she had not covered her hair but
because she had not covered it 'properly'. It means inly some part of her hair
could be seen. The so-called ulema of Taliban say that the full body of the
woman, including her face must be covered when she ventures out and she should
be accompanied by her close man relative. These interpretations have also
influenced the Indian women who believe that her hair is also a 'Satar' to be fully covered. It is the
Islamic scholars who have confused the Muslim Ummah with their divergent,
sometimes, contradictory interpretations of the Quranic verses.