{"id":3915,"date":"2025-03-03T07:11:10","date_gmt":"2025-03-03T07:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/natharatmouchrika.net\/home\/?p=3915"},"modified":"2025-03-03T07:11:10","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T07:11:10","slug":"uzbekistan-warily-muslims-welcome-softer-state-stance-on-ramadan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/natharatmouchrika.net\/home\/?p=3915","title":{"rendered":"Uzbekistan: Warily, Muslims Welcome Softer State Stance on Ramadan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

For Solijon, the devout Muslim owner of a small restaurant in Andijan, Uzbekistan, this year\u2019s Ramadan is memorable. Unlike previous years, officials have not forced him to sell alcohol and report on his pious guests during the holy month.<\/p>\n

Uzbek authorities have long viewed religious rites with suspicion, fearing they lead to a rise in piety, which many officials equate with extremism. Authorities have, in the past,\u00a0banned Ramadan-related festivities<\/a>\u00a0and strictly monitored mosques. In Andijan, authorities even forced local shops and restaurants to sell alcohol, which is forbidden for practicing Muslims. Solijon and his religious friends are praising the changes, though they suspect the apparent relaxations of central control over faith are temporary and do not signal the end of Uzbekistan\u2019s\u00a0notoriously restrictive approach<\/a>\u00a0to religion.<\/p>\n

More than 90 percent of Uzbekistan\u2019s 26 million people consider themselves Muslim, giving Ramadan, when Muslims traditionally fast from sunrise to sunset, special significance.<\/p>\n

Believers were surprised when, just before Ramadan began, President Islam Karimov instructed authorities to organize religious celebrations. Karimov\u2019s unprecedented decree deemed Eid ul-Fitr, the day that marks the end of the fasting period (and which falls on August 31 in Uzbekistan this year), a national holiday. Karimov also ordered official media to provide \u201ccomprehensive and positive\u201d coverage of state-sponsored Ramadan festivities.<\/p>\n

Muslim clerics \u2013 all appointed by the Muftiyat, the state-run Muslim Spiritual Board \u2013 dutifully commended the new approach. \u201cOur government ensures that followers of all religions enjoy equal rights. I can say confidently that there are no restrictions on religious practice. The recent decree [by Karimov] attests to that,\u201d said a Muftiyat representative speaking on state television on August 29.<\/p>\n

According to estimates by Uznews.net, an independent news website, more than 50 percent of adults fasted during this Ramadan season. Though many inside Uzbekistan believe that figure is inflated, there are indications piety is on the rise. Restaurants in cities across Uzbekistan have remained closed during the fasting hours and restaurant owners report a drastic decline in alcohol consumption.<\/p>\n

The authorities\u2019 new stance toward Ramadan follows a related trend, believers say — relaxation in government policy toward perceived religious activism. State harassment of devout residents continues, but not on the traditional large scale when Muslims have been rounded up and jailed for allegedly belonging to banned groups such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and Hizb-ut-Tahrir. Government officials say they have asked local neighborhood committees to discipline community members, instead.<\/p>\n

The \u201cgovernment feels more confident and relaxed\u201d about the rise in piety because the threat of religious extremism has decreased in recent years, an Uzbek military officer told EurasiaNet.org. \u201cWe have defeated our internal and external enemies and achieved stability,\u201d he said on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n

Believers who have been critical of government policy in the past are unsurprisingly relieved by the changes. Now, \u201cif one shows deference to authorities and does not interfere in politics, it is possible to enjoy some freedoms, including the freedom to worship,\u201d said Solijon, the restaurant owner.<\/p>\n

Local officials admit they are relieved, too, facing less pressure from the central government. An official in the city of Ferghana said the government\u2019s crackdown on religious dissent in previous years has put him and his colleagues in a bind. Because they are related to community members by blood and marriage, the central government\u2019s demands to report on residents and arrest those suspected of membership in banned religious groups caused tensions.<\/p>\n

Still, most believers do not see the change as an end to Uzbekistan\u2019s restrictive laws on religion. The National Security Service (SNB)\u00a0continues to wield enormous influence<\/a>\u00a0on state religious policy. Insiders say that public prayers during Ramadan have been allowed only in mosques approved by the SNB. Headscarves are prohibited in some public venues. Observers add that coverage of Uzbekistan\u2019s upcoming\u00a0Independence Day festivities<\/a>\u00a0on September 1 has dominated state media outlets while Ramadan-related festivities received scant attention, despite the presidential decree.<\/p>\n

The central government\u2019s laxer attitude toward this year\u2019s Ramadan did not prevent local officials from forcing teachers and students, many of whom were fasting, to take part in lengthy rehearsals for Independence Day celebrations. \u201cIt was very exhausting to stand outside in hot weather for the whole day without water and food,\u201d said a Ferghana teacher who was fasting.<\/p>\n

Link: https:\/\/eurasianet.org\/uzbekistan-warily-muslims-welcome-softer-state-stance-on-ramadan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Solijon, the devout Muslim owner of a small restaurant in Andijan, Uzbekistan, this year\u2019s Ramadan is memorable. Unlike previous years, officials have not forced him to sell alcohol and report on his pious guests during the holy month. Uzbek authorities have long viewed religious rites with suspicion, fearing they lead to a rise in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3916,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-religion"],"yoast_head":"\nUzbekistan: Warily, Muslims Welcome Softer State Stance on Ramadan - \u0645\u0648\u0642\u0639 \u0646\u0638\u0631\u0627\u062a \u0645\u0634\u0631\u0642\u0629<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/natharatmouchrika.net\/home\/?p=3915\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ar_AR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Uzbekistan: Warily, Muslims Welcome Softer State Stance on Ramadan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For Solijon, the devout Muslim owner of a small restaurant in Andijan, Uzbekistan, this year\u2019s Ramadan is memorable. 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