Tajik Intelligence Agencies Return 4,000 Students from Abroad
(Translated)
News:
Tajikistan authorities have returned more than 4,000 students from abroad under the pretext of preventing their potential involvement in terrorist organizations. This was announced by the Chairman of the State Committee for National Security, Saymumin Yatimov, during a conference held in Dushanbe. According to him, these young people were studying abroad and were under the intellectual influence of extremist groups and religious educational institutions whose activities raised concerns among the Tajik security services. Yatimov confirmed, saying: "In order to prevent them from joining such groups, more than 4,000 Tajik students have been returned to their homeland, where they were targeted by terrorist organizations and foreign religious educational institutions."
Comment:
It is worth noting that the Tajik regime has been imposing strict control over the religious education of Tajik youth for 15 years. It all started when 2009 was declared the "Year of Imam Abu Hanifa." Under the pretext of preserving the Hanafi school of thought, repressive measures were taken against students of religious universities, especially those studying abroad. Within a few years, all religious educational institutions in the country were closed, with the exception of the Islamic Institute in Dushanbe, which is under strict government supervision.
Since then, religious education in Tajikistan has only been allowed in officially recognized institutions and with parental consent. The only operating institution of this type is the Islamic Institute in Dushanbe, which accepts a very limited number of students. As a result, there is a severe shortage of qualified personnel in this field. Most independent religious figures and people who have received religious education have long left the country or are serving prison sentences on trumped-up criminal charges. The rest are under close surveillance by the security services.
One of the main pillars of President Rahmon's internal policy is to prevent any form of religious-political revival, similar to what happened in the 1990s. Given the current trends, it does not appear that anything in this regard will change even after Rahmon's expected retirement, given the statements made by his successor. It is worth noting that in August of this year, Rustam Imam Ali, the Mayor of Dushanbe and Chairman of the Assembly of Representatives, expressed concern about the issue of illegal religious education during a meeting with representatives of law enforcement agencies and judicial bodies in the capital. He said at the time: "Eighty percent of those who received illegal religious training are young people under the age of thirty."
Written for the Radio of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut-Tahrir
Muhammad Mansour
