Freedom of religion in Central Asia

Participants of an OSCE conference on freedom of belief in Central Asia call for tolerance, dialogue between governments and religious groups and religious education as ways of tackling extremism.

Root causes of terrorism

It has become increasingly apparent that terrorists gain advocates in countries where human rights are denied and civil liberties are repressed.

Denial of individuals' basic right to worship and to follow a religion of their choice, for example, can destabilize a society.
If discriminated against, misguided, and alienated, practising and devout believers can also be driven to violence.

To address these issues, the OSCE organized a conference on freedom of belief and expression in Jalal-Abad, southern Kyrgyzstan, on 15 and 16 February 2002.

A pressing issue

The break-up of the Soviet Union has seen a significant growth in religious life in Central Asia, both traditional and non-traditional, missionary activities.

Governments in the region, however, have sought to suppress any religious activity that is not approved by government-appointed religious administrative bodies established in the Soviet era.

In Uzbekistan, more than 2,000 people are believed to have been arrested and convicted since 1999 for participation in banned Islamic groups, particularly the Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamic fundamentalist party. In Tajikistan, more than 105 members of the group were arrested in 2001, and 117 in Kyrgyzstan.
 

Seeds of fundamentalism

The conference also highlighted other concerns. Despite the increase in religious activity, religious learning is still low among the population in general and, as a result, people are easily converted to extremist movements.

This is exacerbated by the worsening economic situation during the transition years.

"Many poor people here are waiting for a miracle and Hizb-ut-Tahrir supporters are promising miracles. They claim that the State doesn't care and they promise paradise," said one participant.
 

Addressing extremism

As a way forward, participants called for tolerance, dialogue between religious communities and governments and better education.

They also appealed to States to "ensure that, in their efforts to prevent dangerous actions and groups, they do not infringe on the rights of people to hold religious or non-religious beliefs." (read the appeal and plan of action).

"Too often in the past the dialogue has been based on statements of positions, not viewpoints," observed Jeremy Gunn, a member of the OSCE Advisory Panel on Freedom of Religion or Belief.

"Bringing the parties together - religious leaders, representatives of government and non-government organizations, diplomats and scholars - encouraged greater understanding on one of the most pressing issues in Central Asia: the relationship between the state and religion. Much still needs to be done, but the conference was a very welcome step."