1 USCIRF Country Update: Tajikistan | December 2023

COUNTRY UPDATE:

TAJIKISTAN

UNITED STATES COMMISSION on

INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

732 N. Capitol Street, NW, Suite #A714

Washington, DC 20401

202-523-3240

December 2023

By Mollie Blum, Researcher

The Repression of Religious Freedom in 

Authoritarian Tajikistan

Overview

As part of an effort to maintain complete, authoritarian control over all segments of 

society, the government of Tajikistan commits systematic, ongoing, and egregious 

violations of religious freedom. The Tajik government has placed undue restrictions 

on all facets of religious practice, including prayer, celebrations, education, and rituals. 

Those who fail to comply with Tajikistan’s regulations can face severe penalties. While 

Tajikistan’s religious freedom violations negatively impact all religious groups, they 

especially target the Hanafi Sunni Muslim majority. 

In April 2023, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or 

belief, Nazila Ghanea, conducted a fact-finding mission to Tajikistan to investigate 

the religious freedom situation and found that “the spectrum of the enjoyment 

of freedom of religion or belief falls alarmingly short of the scope of guarantees 

in international human rights law.” Since 2012, the United States Commission 

on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended that the U.S. 

Department of State designate Tajikistan as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) 

for engaging in or tolerating particularly severe violations of religious freedom. While 

the State Department has followed USCIRF’s recommendation beginning in 2016, the 

CPC designation has been accompanied by a waiver given the “important national 

interest of the United States” that relieves the U.S. government from taking otherwise 

legislatively mandated presidential action. 

The following country update provides an overview of religious freedom conditions 

and developments in Tajikistan. It details the legal framework regulating religion, the 

situation of Sunni and Ismaili Shi’a Muslims, issues impacting Christian communities, 

and cases of transnational repression. 

Legal Framework for Religion in Tajikistan

Several laws, including the administrative and criminal codes, regulate religion in 

Tajikistan. The law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations (religion 

law) regulates all religious activity in Tajikistan and includes specific provisions 

governing the activities of Muslims. While the religion law purports to guarantee 

freedom of conscience and religion for all Tajik citizens, it recognizes the “special 

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Abraham Cooper

Chair

Frederick A. Davie

Vice Chair

Commissioners

David Curry

Susie Gelman 

Mohamed Magid 

Stephen Schneck

Nury Turkel 

Eric Ueland

Frank Wolf

Erin D. Singshinsuk

Executive Director

USCIRF’s Mission

To advance international 

freedom of religion or 

belief, by independently 

assessing and unflinchingly 

confronting threats to this 

fundamental right.
2 USCIRF Country Update: Tajikistan | December 2023

role” of Hanafi Islam. However, the religion law 

includes restrictive provisions that do not comply 

with international human rights standards such as 

the prohibition of unregistered religious activities, 

limits on religious education both in Tajikistan and 

abroad, restrictions on religious materials, and specific, 

discriminatory requirements for registering mosques and 

appointing Muslim religious leaders. 

The law on Resistance to Extremism (extremism law) 

aims to prevent “extremism” but fails to adequately define 

the term. Various government bodies are charged with 

addressing “extremism”; for example, the Committee 

on Religion, Regulation of Traditions, Celebrations, and 

Ceremonies (CRA) is tasked with analyzing religious 

activities, investigating religious associations operating 

without registration, and regulating religious education. 

The Ministry of Justice is tasked with maintaining a list 

of banned “extremist” organizations, which includes 

nonviolent religious organizations such as Hizb ut-Tahrir 

and Tablighi Jamaat. It has additionally banned Salafism, 

which the CRA in May 2023 characterized as a “direct 

threat to society.” Moreover, in 2015 Tajik authorities 

placed on the list of banned organizations the Islamic 

Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), a political 

party rooted in Islamic values that opposed President 

Emomali Rahmon’s rule and sought to positively 

reform Tajikistan by fostering human rights, rule of law, 

and democracy. Oftentimes charges of “extremism,” 

terrorism, or belonging to the “Salafi” movement are used 

interchangeably to target the peaceful religious activities 

of Muslims. 

The law on the Regulation of Traditions and Ceremonies 

(traditions law) regulates religious ceremonies and seeks 

to protect “traditional” values and prevent citizens’ 

excessive spending. The law restricts the location, time, 

and duration of events, the number of guests permitted 

to attend, and the amount of food the host can provide, 

among other aspects of social gatherings. 

Finally, the law on Parental Responsibility in the 

Upbringing and Education of Children (parental 

responsibility law) prohibits children from participating 

the in activities of religious associations. The law also 

reiterates that parents must ensure that their child 

obtains permission from the state, as required in the 

religion law, if the child wants to study religion abroad.

Sunni Muslims

While the CRA regulates all religions, Hanafi Sunni 

Muslims, who make up 95 percent of Tajikistan’s 

Muslim population, also fall under the authority of 

the Islamic Council of Ulema. The Ulema Council is a 

nominally independent body that guides the practice 

of religion based on its interpretation of Hanafi Sunni 

Islam by issuing fatwas, training and appointing 

imams, overseeing the import of religious materials, 

and selecting a mufti, along with other activities. The 

CRA also manages Sunni institutions by approving the 

registration of mosques and working with the Ulema 

Council to approve imams, prepare Friday sermons, and 

even create a uniform for imams. Both bodies support 

the policies of President Rahmon’s administration that 

serve to mute the influence of Islam and strengthen the 

president’s authority. For example, prior to the 2015 ban

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USCIRF Country Update: Tajikistan | December 2023 3

on the IRPT, the Ulema Council helped sow societal 

disdain for the religious political party by having local 

imams give sermons with anti-IRPT propaganda. 

Several restrictions on religious practices specifically 

target Muslims. In August and September 2022, 

authorities temporarily closed all Islamic bookstores 

in Dushanbe for allegedly violating the religion law. 

The bookstores resumed operations by the end of the 

year. In 2004, a fatwa banned women from attending 

mosque and a 2005 Ministry of Education decree banned

them from wearing hijabs in schools. Additionally, a 

2017 CRA decree dictated how to mourn at funerals, 

prohibiting deeply meaningful and oftentimes religious 

expressions of grief such as loudly crying, pulling one’s 

hair, beating one’s head, or wearing black. In June 2022, 

local authorities detained and tortured a woman who 

wore black to mourn her son’s death. When she lodged a 

complaint, the police threatened her with 15 days of jail 

time. Furthermore, in a 2017 speech, President Rahmon 

encouraged people not to wear hijabs, black dresses, 

or beards, which led to a widespread official campaign

targeting individuals perceived as religious based on 

their appearance. Although such campaigns have slowed, 

authorities still sporadically force men to shave their 

beards, coerce women to remove their hijabs, and use 

negative rhetoric to discourage such practices. In April 

2023, Abdullo Rahmonzoda, the head of the Committee 

for Youth and Sports, advised bloggers to not grow beards 

or promote them online because such actions could be 

interpreted as sympathizing with terrorist groups and 

threaten national security. 

The Tajik government also has targeted Islamic 

education. There are virtually no operating madrasas left 

in Tajikistan. Moreover, the government continues to 

strictly enforce state approval mechanisms for imams. 

In October 2023, the CRA warned that an unauthorized 

imam provided funeral services in Hisar city in place 

of the state appointed imam. Authorities are reportedly 

investigating whether the unauthorized imam “degraded 

the dignity of the dead body.” In November 2023, the 

CRA announced it was investigating an individual who 

reportedly addressed a mosque congregation in the 

absence of the state appointed imam. 

The Tajik government also regularly fines individuals 

for violating the traditions law related to their Islamic 

religious practices. As reported by the CRA, in the first 

six months of 2023, officials conducted over 12,000 raids 

on various types of ceremonies and found 419 violations 

of the law. For example, in January 2023, the Vahdat 

city court fined an individual an unknown amount for 

providing food at a religious ceremony. 

Alleged violations of the law can also result in 

imprisonment. USCIRF maintains a database of religious 

prisoners of conscience, which includes nine individuals 

imprisoned in Tajikistan, most of whom subscribe 

to Sunni Islam. The charges brought against these 

individuals are part of the government’s campaign to 

silence any opposition to President Rahmon’s authority, 

which prioritizes tight control over everything that could 

influence society, including religion. As Hanafi Sunni 

Islam is the religion of most of the population, Sunni 

Muslims are the largest target of government repression. 

Authorities went after many of the individuals listed in 

USCIRF’s database for stepping outside the confines of 

the state’s preferred version of Islam. For example, in 

March 2023, imam Mukhammadi Mukharramov was 

sentenced to eight years in prison for the “organization of 

an extremist association” when he taught Islam to a small 

group of Muslims. In June 2021, imam Mahmadsodyk 

Sayidov was sentenced to five years in prison for 

“participating in an extremist religious organization” 

after he refused to give the state-provided sermon at his 

mosque. Together with Sayidov, authorities also arrested 

Abdugafor Rajabov and Aslamkhon Karimov because they 

happened to be attending the mosque when Sayidov gave 

his unauthorized sermon. Both men were sentenced to 

five years in prison on extremism charges. 

Persecution of Ismaili Shi’a Pamiris in 

Gorno Badakhshan 

The Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) 

consists mostly of ethnic Pamiris who subscribe to 

Ismaili Shi’a Islam and make up around 3 percent of 

the total population of the country. During Tajikistan’s 

civil war from 1992 to 1997, Pamiris comprised part 

of the opposition and have maintained a tumultuous 

relationship with the Tajik government ever since. The 

government has struggled to establish its authority in 

the difficult to access region and has sent in police and 

military forces to crack down on the population through 

extrajudicial killings, torture, and jailings. In November 

2021, protests erupted when Tajik military forces killed a 

local man. The government response to the protests was 

violent and culminated in an “anti-terrorism operation” 

that led to deaths, arrests, torture, and prison sentences 

without fair or open trials. The government also ramped 

up a campaign to target ethnic Pamiris and clamped 

down on existing freedoms in GBAO, which has included 
4 USCIRF Country Update: Tajikistan | December 2023

the increased restriction and penalization of Ismaili Shi’a 

religious activity. 

One of the ways that the government has suppressed 

Ismaili Shi’a Muslims is by targeting the activities of 

their spiritual leader, the Aga Khan, and the Aga Khan 

foundation, which provides many necessary social 

services in GBAO. For example, the government has 

prohibited the Aga Khan from entering Tajikistan since 

2012. In addition, authorities have pressed locals to 

remove portraits of the Aga Khan from their homes and 

replace them with photos of President Rahmon. Notably, 

the government has also nationalized and revoked the 

licenses of various Aga Khan institutions. 

Authorities have also targeted Ismaili religious practices. 

For example, in January 2023, authorities told locals 

that students could no longer study at the Institute of 

Ismaili Studies in London, the premiere educational 

institution for Ismailis. Authorities allegedly shut down 

all Ismaili prayer houses in GBAO—except for one 

prayer house in Khorog—and the Ismaili Tariqah and 

Religious Education Board (ITREB). ITREB teachers 

have reported receiving summonses to police stations 

and being subjected to questioning. Authorities have also 

threatened to imprison anyone who holds prayer services 

in their home while local officials have fined at least two 

individuals in 2023 for holding unauthorized prayer 

services. In April 2023, President Rahmon issued a decree

banning funerals for those killed in “anti-terrorism 

operations,” which authorities have reportedly violently 

enforced. In July 2022, prominent local cleric Muzaffar 

Davlatmirov was arrested for leading funeral services 

for three local leaders killed by police and was later 

sentenced to five years in prison on extremism charges. 

Targeting of Christian Communities

About 0.7 percent of the population identifies as 

Christian, with most belonging to the Russian Orthodox 

Church. Compared to other Christian groups present 

in the country, the Russian Orthodox Church does not 

experience much official repression, in large part because 

Orthodox Christians do not proselytize and because of 

the church’s connections to Russia. Meanwhile, other 

Christian groups such as Protestants and Jehovah’s 

Witnesses report difficulties obtaining registration, 

harassment from government officials, and restrictions 

on their religious activities. 

For example, in May 2022, an official announced that 

no new churches would be registered and reminded 

that those under 18 cannot participate in church 

activities, including religious camps. Since that 

announcement, the number of registered non-Islamic 

religious associations (66) has remained unchanged. An 

estimated 20 Protestant groups want registration but do 

not have it, so they are forced to operate secretly with 

the risk of state retaliation at any time. Other groups, 

such as some Baptist communities, refuse to register 

due to their religious beliefs. Although Baptists in 

Dushanbe do not typically have issues with authorities, 

those outside of the capital face harassment. Even those 

groups with registration face harassment and undue 

restrictions on their religious activities. For example, 

religious communities have long been forced to complete 

questionnaires regarding their religious activities. In 

August 2022, officials announced that all registered 

non-Muslim religious organizations must have their 

employees complete detailed questionnaires and provide 

personal and financial information for themselves and 

their families. Some fear the information will be used to 

target future religious activities. 

Jehovah’s Witnesses

Since 2007, Jehovah’s Witnesses have been banned 

as an extremist organization in Tajikistan and the 

government has denied repeated registration attempts 

by the group. In an April 2022 communication 

to the United Nations Human Rights Committee 

(UNHRCtee) regarding a Russian Jehovah’s Witness in 

Tajikistan, the Tajik government revealed that Jehovah’s 

Witnesses were banned once again in March 2021. The 

UNHRCtee concluded that Tajikistan’s refusal to register 

Jehovah’s Witnesses violated their human rights under 

international law, which prompted Jehovah’s Witnesses 

to attempt to register again. Despite the UNHRCtee 

decision, authorities again rejected their application to 

register in April 2023, a decision the Supreme Court later 

upheld in August 2023. 

Jehovah’s Witnesses also face intense harassment from 

authorities, including home raids, fines, surveillance, 

and brief detainments. For example, in February 2023, 

authorities questioned a Jehovah’s Witness about 

belonging to an “extremist organization.” In April 2023, 

authorities asked the family of a Jehovah’s Witness 

who had previously been imprisoned for his religious 

conscientious objection if they still belonged to an 

“extremist organization.” In June 2023, local officers 

harassed a Jehovah’s Witness to provide information 

about other Witnesses. Also in June, authorities detained 

and questioned two Jehovah’s Witnesses for proselytizing 
USCIRF Country Update: Tajikistan | December 2023 5

and fined them for “inciting religious hatred.” In 2019, 

Tajik authorities arrested then 69-year-old Shamil 

Khakimov for his peaceful religious activities. Khakimov 

suffered from several health issues, but he never received 

proper medical treatment in prison and his condition 

worsened. Khakimov was released on May 16, 2023, after 

serving his full prison sentence. 

Transnational Repression 

Tajikistan is one of the world’s worst perpetrators

of transnational repression. Throughout his rule, 

President Rahmon has increasingly used transnational 

repression to target those who express criticism of or 

oppose his leadership. Among those who are targeted 

include human rights defenders, members of the 

political opposition, journalists, and religious figures 

and individuals, including those who seek religious 

education abroad. Oftentimes, authorities level charges 

of promoting “extremism” or adhering to “Salafism” 

indiscriminately to punish dissent. Many Pamiris and 

alleged IRPT members who fled Tajikistan due to 

religious and political persecution at home have been the 

targets of transnational repression. 

Most cases of transnational repression take place in 

Russia, a close ally of Tajikistan and a country where 

many Tajik nationals work, but some instances have also 

occurred throughout Europe. In Russia, in cooperation 

with Tajik security services, Russian authorities have 

forcibly disappeared individuals by request of the 

Tajik government. For example, in December 2018, 

former local IRPT leader, Naimjon Samiev, was forcibly 

disappeared in Chechnya and taken to Tajikistan where a 

court sentenced him to 15 years in prison on politically 

motivated “extremism” charges. In another case in July 

2022, two Pamiri rights activists living in Russia, Oraz 

and Ramzi Vazirbekov, were disappeared and taken 

to Tajikistan against their will. A court in Dushanbe 

later sentenced both men to 16 and 13 years in prison, 

respectively, on falsified “extremism” and criminal 

association charges. 

Individuals in Europe have faced threats of detention, 

arrest, deportation, and extradition, particularly in 

connection with the International Criminal Police 

Organization (INTERPOL) Red Notice system. The Tajik 

government abuses INTERPOL by submitting fraudulent 

requests for its citizens on alleged “extremism” charges. 

The Tajik government also pressures dissidents to return 

home voluntarily by harassing and imprisoning their 

family members in Tajikistan. Upon return to Tajikistan, 

such individuals are often sentenced to prison, where 

torture is common practice, without a fair or open trial. 

For example, in March 2020, Hizbullo Shovalizoda, an 

alleged IRPT member, was extradited from Austria to 

Tajikistan after an Austrian court rejected his asylum 

application. A Tajik court later sentenced Shovalizoda 

to 20 years in prison on “extremism” charges. Also, 

the Tajik government attempted to lure exiled Tajik 

blogger Sherzod Mamadjonov back to the country. 

Mamadjonov lives in Germany and is an outspoken critic 

of Tajikistan’s restrictive policies towards Muslims. The 

Tajik government has resorted to harassing his mother, 

Shohida Mamadjonova, by repeatedly summoning her 

to the police station to force her to convince her son to 

return home. In February 2022, Shohida went to a police 

station to retrieve her phone after the police confiscated 

it during a previous summons. During her visit, she was 

disappeared and a few days later the Interior Ministry 

announced that it had detained Shohida on suspicion of 

“organizing extremist activities.” Officials later sentenced 

Shohida to six years in prison. 

Conclusion 

The government of Tajikistan blatantly violates freedom 

of religion or belief as defined in international human 

rights law in pursuit of greater authoritarian control 

over all segments of society. As a result, the religious 

freedom landscape in Tajikistan is virtually non-existent, 

negatively impacting all religious groups in the country. 

As recommended in USCIRF’s 2023 Annual Report

chapter on Tajikistan, the U.S. government should lift 

the waiver releasing the administration from taking 

otherwise legislatively mandated action as a result 

of Tajikistan’s CPC designation. In addition, aid to 

Tajikistan should be conditional on efforts to bring 

religious freedom conditions in line with international 

human rights standards. The U.S. government should 

also impose targeted sanctions on Tajik government 

agencies and officials responsible for severe religious 

freedom violations. Finally, the U.S. government should 

press the Tajik government at the highest levels to release 

religious prisoners of conscience. 
UNITED STATES COMMISSION on INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

732 N. Capitol Street, NW, Suite #A714

Washington, DC 20401

202-523-3240

www.USCIRF.gov

@USCIRF

Media@USCIRF.gov

Professional Staff

Michael Ardovino

Policy Analyst 

Danielle Ashbahian

Chief of Public Affairs

Keely Bakken

Supervisory Policy Analyst

Susan Bishai

Policy Analyst

Mollie Blum

Researcher

Elizabeth K. Cassidy

Director of Research & Policy

Mingzhi Chen

Senior Policy Analyst

Patrick Greenwalt

Policy Analyst

Sema Hasan

Policy Analyst

Thomas Kraemer

Chief Administrative Officer

Veronica McCarthy

Public Affairs Associate

Hilary Miller

Researcher

Nora Morton

Operations Specialist

Dylan Schexnaydre

Researcher

Jamie Staley

Supervisory Policy Advisor

Scott Weiner

Supervisory Policy Analyst

Luke Wilson

Researcher

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the 

U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, 

the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief.