Contents
Summary
The Tajikistani government is taking extreme measures to ban the practising of Islam from the country. This includes enforcing a hijab ban. Join us in opposing this.
Background
On 20th June 2024, the Tajikistani government banned the hijab (headscarf) considered to be a mandatory part of the faith of many Muslims, particularly observant Muslim women. The law is one of 35 laws enacted in what can only be seen as the governments most recent escalation in their violation of religious freedom that has spanned decades. The official decree said the ban was aimed at “safeguarding national cultural values and combating superstition and extremism” despite the country’s 98% Muslim majority population. The government has been pursuing a programme of restricting Islamic practices since the end of the civil war in 1997, which has seen an escalation since 2015 when president-for-life Emomali Rahmon proscribed the opposition Islamic Renaissance Party as a terrorist organisation, banning them from taking part in elections.
Action Required
We are calling on activists to write to the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) demanding that they protect women’s right to wear the hijab in Tajikistan.
Model Letter
[Your name]
[Your address]
[Date]
His Excellency Hissein Brahim Taha
Re: The banning of the woman’s headscarf in Tajikistan
Your Excellency,
Asalamu aleykum wa rahmatullah wa barakatu,
I am writing to express my deep concern over the latest attack on normative Islamic practices in Tajikistan by the government led by President Emomali Rahmon. As you aware, on the 20th June 2024 a bill was passed through Tajikistan’s National Assembly which made it illegal for women to wear the hijab (headscarf). This outrageous law puts many Muslim women in a simply untenable position, where they must choose between following either the law of their country or the mandated requirements of Islam, as they interpret it. It demonstrates a wilful ignorance of normative Islamic practices and constitutes a violation of the fundamental human right to practice a religion. This unjustified and continuing clamp down on Islam by the Tajikistan government in a Muslim majority country can only be described as blatant Islamophobia. It is outrageous that Tajikistan, a Muslim majority country, would mirror non-Muslim countries with these Islamophobic measures under the guise of “safeguarding national cultural values and combating superstition and extremism,” as stated in their official decree.
I therefore urge you to take a strong stance on this issue and take the necessary punitive measures against the government of Tajikistan and uphold the right to freedom of religion and the practice of Islam, including the wearing of the hijab by Muslim women. In this way you can begin the process of uniting the nations of the OIC into a block capable and willing to stand up against the injustices, Islamophobia and environment of hate that continues unabated, and that will no doubt work against the interests not only of women in Tajikistan, but the entire Muslim Ummah.
May Allah subhanu wa ta’ala guide you and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation towards the right decision.
Yours faithfully,
[Your signature]
[Your name]
Address
P.O.Box 178,
Jeddah 21411,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
If you are unable to send mail, you can also tweet them with a screenshot of your letter at @OIC_OCI
You can also send them a copy via the internet on their website at: Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (oic-oci.org)
