Forum 18 notes new penalties and shift of power away from judicial courts

Tajikistan (MNN) ― Tajikistan has added new punishments for non-Islamic religious activity. According to Forum 18 News Service, Tajikistan has tightened its religious restrictions and given power to the State Committee for Religious Affairs to oversee punishments. Forum 18 says these new restrictions are "part of a steady tightening of state controls over all religious activity."

Under the newly-added penalties, people can be fined for sending Tajik citizens abroad for religious education, preaching or teaching religious doctrines in their homes, and establishing ties with religious organizations overseas.

Religious organizations can be penalized for carrying out any religious activity not specifically spelled-out in their statutes.

"The Religion Law and the administrative penalties totally violate believers' rights," members of one religious community told Forum 18.

Another alteration is the ability for Tajikistan's State Committee for Religious Affairs (SCRA) to directly administer punishments to religious groups without investigation by police or prosecutors. One independent legal expert said courts should administer punishment for legal violations, not the state.

"[In 2011], after the new provisions to the Religion Law were added, the authorities did not particularly punish religious communities," said the anonymous members. Now they're afraid that with the introduction of these new penalties, authorities will start cracking down on them.

Hikmatullo Sayfullozoda of the officially registered Islamic Renaissance Party (IRP) told Forum 18 that new penalties and changes in the Religion Law were "made to limit as much as possible the religious believers from exercising their religious freedoms."

Tajikistan is #34 on the Open Doors World Watch List. These new fines could become a substantial financial burden, especially for believers without work or those living in poorer areas. Pray for Tajik believers facing persecution.

Kazakhstan and other former Soviet nations earn a spot on the World Watch List

Photo by Irene

Kazakhstan (MNN) ―Kazakhstan has experienced a lot of religious firsts over the last year, including the introduction of two new restrictive religion laws. The start of 2012 has thrust them into another one: a spot on theOpen Doors World Watch List.

The World Watch List is a detailed analysis of Christian persecution worldwide, ranking the top 50 nations with the worst persecution worldwide. The 2012 list came out this week, revealing Kazakhstan at slot 45.

It's Kazakhstan's first time on the list. Still, Joel Griffith with Slavic Gospel Association says he wasn't surprised to see Kazakhstan ranked.

"When you consider the ‘Stan' countries that are largely Muslim in makeup, Kazakhstan--since the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991--had really been a country where there was quite a bit of religious freedom," says Griffith. "Here in the past couple of years, we've seen that steadily start to decrease, sadly, with Kazakhstan joining the other central Asian Islamic Republics and cracking down on their religious groups."

Kazakhstan does seem to be following suit with surrounding countries. Other former Soviet nations have been on the list for years. Tajikistan came in at 34 this year, Azerbaijan at 25 and Turkmenistan at 18, to name a few. Uzbekistan moved up from 9th last year to a ranking of 7th for 2012--a placement two spots worse than Iraq.

"It's hard to imagine that the Soviet Union and atheistic communism came to an end 20 years ago," says Griffith. "It's almost like we're waking up and entering that world all over again. Even though it doesn't go under the name ‘Soviet Union,' we're seeing some of the same restrictive practices rear their heads again."

Much of the reasoning behind crackdowns in these nations is the avoidance of radical Islam. Unfortunately, Christians suffer so much as a result that ministry may need to resort to old ways, says Griffith.

"I think basically we have to do what we did during the Soviet days--as long as we're able to assist [churches] with resources, to do that as directly as we can. And then we have to start planning for times when maybe access is going to be very restricted and we need to be a little bit more creative about how we do it."

Ministry will not need to revert completely back to Soviet days; Griffith points out that the addition of internet and smart phone capabilities to ministry now certainly allow for more opportunities. Still, the safety of the church is a priority.

Prayer is needed for these former Soviet nations. The Gospel is still spreading despite restrictions, but pray for safety and boldness as these Christians enter a new year of hardship. Pray, more immediately, that SGA children's Christmas programs would not be disrupted tomorrow, Russian Christmas. 

Restrictive child religion law to be enacted after Ramadan

Tajikistan (MNN) ― A controversial law which bans most children under 18 from participating in religious activities is set to go into effect in Tajikistan once Ramadan ends.

The Law on Parental Responsibility for Education and Upbringing of Children was passed by parliament on July 21. On August 2, President Emomali Rahmon gave the law his stamp of approval as well.

"It looks like indeed this controversial Law of Parental Responsibility has actually entered the force," confirms Joel Griffith with Slavic Gospel Association. "The president did sign it. It does appear also that this particular law was the personal initiative of the president."

F18 News service notes that "religious communities of all faiths are struggling to find out how the law's almost complete ban on children's participation in religious activity will be enforced." But based on the testimonies of men like Hikmatullo Sayfullozoda of the Islamic Renaissance Party, it seems certain that the laws enforcement, to whatever degree, will begin at the end of August.

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan ends August 31. Griffith speculates that the Tajik government won't enact the law during Ramadan due to the possibility of uproar in the mostly-Muslim nation during an Islamic holy month.

When the law does go into effect, though, no one is certain what precisely it will mean. On August 16 when Forum 18 attempted to ask the Religious Affairs Committee in Dushanbe about the law, no one was prepared to explain what religious activity by children is now permitted.

"It's a little bit too soon to see just how this law will be enforced," agrees Griffith.

The Parental Responsibility Law, in practice, would place a ban on most children under 18 from participating in religious activities. The Office of Human Rights in Tajikistan told Forum 18 that the law is needed especially for parents who lose control of their children to extremist religious groups.

Whatever the intentions of the law, however, it will certainly affect ALL children of ALL religions. "That not only affects parents and their right to raise children in the faith as they choose, but also children being able to attend worship services and children being able to participate in church-led functions like summer camp ministries," explains Griffith. "It really is a serious concern for exactly what the ramifications of this law are and will be in the future."

It's hard to say what it will mean, but if the laws are enacted and put into practice, state religious affairs officials told Forum 18 that they have specialists who would be in place at religious services to be sure the laws are being followed. If they find kids or teens in religious activities, higher structures will be appealed to.

The Parental Responsibility Law even calls for parents to restrict certain types of jewelry, tattoos, and even names they can choose for their kids.

The law has been met with criticism from various religious and human rights groups, but so far, it seems to be moving full-speed ahead. Christians are bracing themselves for the September enactment of the law, but will not cease teaching their children about Christ.

"This seems to be heading back to the Soviet days where they're just going to have to do things discretely and clandestinely," notes Griffith. "So it just continues to be a matter of prayer."

Pray for protection for believers and their families, who may be targets in regard to this law in coming weeks. Continue to pray that this law might be turned around, and that the Lord would change the heart of the Tajik president so freedom to preach the Truth would reign.

SGA has several missionary contacts in Tajikistan. To track the progress of the laws as SGA hears from their missionaries, visitsga.org.

Praying for A Miracle on Children's Religious Rights

Children's rights to attend
 worship services and functions
 in Tajikistan are under attack
 with new laws waiting to be passed.
 (Photo courtesy of Grace Episcopal Church)

Tajikistan (MNN) ―Parliament in Tajikistan adopted two new laws Thursday July 21 which would ban most children under the age of 18 from religious activities.

As reported by Forum 18, these documents are to be forwarded to President Emomali Rahmon for his approval. If President Rahmon signs these legal documents, it could spell out increased suppression of parent and child religious rights in the country.

Joel Griffith with Slavic Gospel Association says, "Apparently the Presidential administration was sort of behind [the effort] to put this kind of a law through to begin with, so the initiative came from there. So if it's not signed, it would certainly be a miracle."

Specifically, the two measures adopted are the Parental Responsibility Law and the Criminal Code amendments. These would affect many religious organizations, including churches in Tajikistan supported by Slavic Gospel Association.

The Parental Responsibility Law, in practice, would place a ban on most children under 18 from participating in religious activities. The Office of Human Rights in Tajikistan told Forum 18 that the law is needed especially for parents who lose control of their children to extremist religious groups.

"I'm sure the government would say that it's aimed basically at extremism," says Griffith. "It's really difficult to know what their real motivation is for passing such a thing, because it goes beyond targeting just what everybody would agree maybe would be extremist elements and ends up impacting mainstream as well.... As the law is worded, it would seem to impact everybody."

On top of that, the Parental Responsibility Law also calls for parents to restrict certain types of jewelry, tattoos, and even names they can choose for their kids.

This, paired with the amendments to the Criminal Code, demonstrates the type of penalty given to violators. A maximum of two years' imprisonment would be sentenced to organizers and participants in things such as unapproved gatherings, meetings, and demonstrations.

Griffith states, "You've got local churches themselves that would be impacted by this; there's question whether children would even be allowed to go to a worship service until they're 18 years old.... It's a matter of deep concern to the churches."

If the laws are enacted and put into practice, state religious affairs officials told Forum 18 that they have specialists who would be in place at religious services to be sure the laws are being followed. If they find kids or teens in religious activities, higher structures will be appealed to.

Griffith assures, "Evangelical churches are going to continue to proclaim the Gospel no matter what, and I'm sure that they are going to continue to teach their children the things of the Lord. But obviously as they proceed to do that, it would put churches and their families at great risk if this [proposed law] is enforced aggressively."

Please pray that these laws would not be signed by Tajikistan's President. If the laws are passed, pray that they truly are limited to extremist groups and would not endanger the evangelical church in the country and that the Lord would protect them.

Proverbs 21:1 says, "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He will." (ESV)