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Islam and National Identity

Dombra Dispute and Niqab Bans Fuel Religious Debate in Central Asia

Standing before a court in Aktobe in June, 35-year-old Azat Konys apologized to “the entire Kazakh people” for insulting one of the country’s most cherished cultural symbols. Two months earlier, during a TikTok livestream, he had declared the dombra forbidden under Islam, compared the two-stringed instrument to part of the devil’s anatomy and called clerics from Kazakhstan’s official Islamic authority “dogs of hell.” Konys asked the court not to imprison him. The judge instead sentenced him to three years and six months for inciting religious and national hatred. The controversy began when Konys cited the Hanafi school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence, the dominant legal tradition among Muslims in Kazakhstan, to argue that the dombra and other stringed instruments, including the guitar and balalaika, were haram, meaning forbidden under Islamic law. The remarks caused particular anger because the dombra is more than a musical instrument in Kazakhstan: it has accompanied oral poetry and storytelling for generations and is officially celebrated as a symbol of cultural heritage and national identity. Police identified Konys after clips from the livestream circulated on social media and detained him in April. The case is an unusually stark example of how online religious disputes are spilling into legal and political life across Central Asia. Arguments that might once have remained within mosques or religious communities are now spreading through social media, forcing governments and official Islamic authorities alike to decide where religious expression ends and attacks on national culture begin. A more recent controversy arose in Kazakhstan’s Turkestan Region, where a 66-year-old guest at a toi, a traditional wedding feast, called for stricter adherence to Islamic law. He urged the organizers to separate men and women and remove music and alcohol from the celebration, while describing musicians as “heralds of Satan.” The video spread rapidly on social media, prompting nationwide debate. The man was detained and placed in a temporary detention facility for incitement of religious and social hatred. In a statement, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said that freedom of expression does not extend to statements that degrade the dignity of others or could provoke religious or social hostility. The Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan (SAMK), the country’s main official Muslim body, later issued its own response. It stated that Islam does not prohibit music in itself and stressed that publicly insulting artists or women is inconsistent with Islamic ethics. Another controversy centered on Nauryz, the spring equinox holiday celebrated throughout Central Asia and across much of the Turkic and Iranian cultural world. In March, a blogger in the Almaty Region described the holiday as “non-Muslim” and argued that it should not be celebrated. Police opened a criminal case against him on suspicion of inciting religious hatred. Kazakhstan’s Prosecutor General’s Office subsequently warned of legal liability for statements attacking Nauryz and other national traditions. The SAMK, meanwhile, publicly celebrated Nauryz as a national holiday promoting social harmony and charitable acts. The debate soon spread beyond social media into politics and the entertainment industry. Producer and television presenter Bayan Alaguzova said...

Bride Kidnapping

Bride Kidnapping in Central Asia: Why the Practice Persists Despite Tougher Laws

Bride kidnapping for the purpose of forcing women into marriage remains one of the least visible forms of gender-based violence in Central Asia. Although abduction and coercion into marriage are punishable under criminal law across the region, the offenses are defined differently from country to country. Their true scale is difficult to measure. Many victims never report the crime, while some cases are still viewed as a continuation of tradition rather than a violation of criminal law. Over the past decade, governments across Central Asia have begun revising their approaches to the problem. Kyrgyzstan strengthened criminal penalties following several high-profile cases. Kazakhstan did not close a legal loophole that allowed many perpetrators to avoid prosecution until 2025. Uzbekistan has a specific criminal provision covering the abduction of women for marriage, while Tajikistan does not appear to define bride kidnapping as a separate offense. In Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, however, assessing the prevalence of the practice remains particularly difficult because of limited research and incomplete official data. The term “bride kidnapping” has not always referred to the same practice. Anthropologists note that historically it covered a range of marriage customs, from mutually agreed elopements and staged abductions to the violent kidnapping of women. Contemporary researchers stress that the presence or absence of a woman’s free consent is the key distinction between these practices. Comparable customs once existed among a number of Central Asian peoples. One documented motive has been the desire to avoid kalym, the traditional bride price paid by the groom’s family to the bride’s relatives. Economic motives, however, did not alter the nature of the crime when a woman did not consent to the marriage. The issue has been studied most extensively in Kyrgyzstan. A nationally representative survey conducted in 2015–2016 by the National Statistical Committee with support from UN Women, UNFPA, and the International Organization for Migration found that 22.1% of marriages involved some form of bride abduction. Of these, 16.3% were reported as taking place with the woman’s consent, while 5.8% occurred without it. The frequently cited claim that more than one in five Kyrgyz marriages begins with bride kidnapping therefore combines consensual and non-consensual practices. It should not be presented as an estimate of forced abduction. The figures were based on respondents’ accounts and may not capture every form of family or social pressure surrounding consent. Known locally as ala kachuu, or “grab and run,” the non-consensual abduction of a woman for marriage is a criminal offense in Kyrgyzstan. In 2013, the penalty for abducting an adult woman for marriage against her will was increased to between five and seven years in prison. The corresponding sentence when the victim was under 17 was increased to between five and ten years. Tougher penalties, however, have not prevented further tragedies. One of the best-known cases was the 2018 murder of Burulai Turdaaly Kyzy, a 20-year-old medical student. After she was abducted, her family contacted the police. Officers brought both Burulai and her abductor to a police station but left...

Religion

Tajikistan Hijab Ban Denied by Authorities Amid Confusion

Tajik authorities have denied reports that the country has introduced a new ban on beards and hijabs, following renewed attention to the government’s regulation of religious dress and appearance. An official from Tajikistan’s Committee on Religion, Regulation of Traditions, Celebrations and Ceremonies told Asia-Plus that no new legislation prohibiting beards or hijabs had been adopted. The committee said recent reports had misrepresented the state of religious rights in Tajikistan and had relied on information from unreliable sources. The government statement followed a July 25 report by Azattyq Asia (RFE/RL) describing continued pressure on some men with beards and women wearing Islamic headscarves. Azattyq reported that officials had conducted campaigns encouraging women to wear traditional Tajik clothing and avoid styles regarded as foreign. Several men also alleged that police had detained them because of their facial hair, with some claiming that officers forcibly shaved their beards. One man told the outlet that he had been ordered to send police a photograph of his clean-shaven face each week after spending three days in detention. The police did not respond to Azattyq Asia’s request for comment on the allegation. There is no Tajik law explicitly prohibiting men from growing beards. However, the government has imposed broader restrictions on clothing and forms of religious expression. In June 2024, Tajikistan adopted amendments prohibiting the import, sale, promotion, and wearing in public of clothing deemed "alien to national culture". The Times of Central Asia reported at the time that violations could result in substantial fines, although the legislation did not clearly define which clothes fell under the prohibition. Officials have offered differing interpretations of the law. Some have said it covers hijabs, religious veils, abayas, and other forms of Islamic clothing, as well as ripped jeans and clothing considered excessively revealing. The government has said its policies are intended to preserve Tajik traditions and prevent religious extremism. Human rights organizations have argued that the restrictions interfere with freedom of religion and personal expression. International rights groups have called on Tajikistan to repeal the clothing provisions.

Press Freedom

Tajikistan Frees Two Journalists as Press Freedom Concerns Persist

An international media rights group has welcomed the release from prison of two journalists in Tajikistan, while urging the government to free others who remain in jail. Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, said Zavkibek Saidamini and Abdusattor Pirmukhammadzoda were freed on July 18 after four years in detention. “They should never have been jailed, just like their colleagues, who must also be released,” RSF said. The two journalists were sentenced to seven years in prison in 2022 after being convicted of links to groups labeled as extremist, and were released under an amnesty law that was passed by Tajikistan’s parliament and signed by President Emomali Rahmon in June. Under the new law, thousands of people became eligible for early release or a reduction in the length of their prison sentence. Saidamini and Pirmukhammadzoda, who had denied the charges against them, spoke about their experience in jail as well as their thoughts for the future in an interview with Asia-Plus, a news agency based in Tajikistan. Saidamini, 43, said he had been suffering spine and leg problems in jail but hoped to return to journalism, working as a freelancer if state television channels are willing to hire him. “In the past, we tried to speak about shortcomings,” Saidamini told Asia-Plus. “Our only aim was to help resolve problems in one state institution or another.” Pirmukhammadzoda, who worked for many years at state radio, didn’t say whether he planned to return to journalism. In Facebook posts in 2022, he was critical of the government and the prosecution of journalists. Tajik journalists who are still in jail include Abdullo Ghurbati, Khurshed Fozilov, Rukhshona Hakimova, and Ahmad Ibrohim, according to Asia-Plus. Blogger Daler Imomali is also in detention. In April, the Committee to Protect Journalists submitted a report on what it called a significant deterioration in media freedom in Tajikistan to the United Nations Human Rights Council. It said that since 2022, nine journalists had been sentenced to jail terms of up to 20 years. In announcing the amnesty law, Tajikistan’s presidency said it “allows persons who have committed crimes to be rehabilitated, return to their families and relatives, and engage in constructive work.”

Rule of Law

Former Tajik Prosecutor’s Office Investigator Detained in Case of 23-Year-Old Woman’s Death

Tajikistan’s prosecutor general has confirmed that a former senior investigator is in custody in connection with the death of 23-year-old Mehrona Noibova, whose body was found near the Pyanj River in April. At a July 22 press conference, Prosecutor General Khabibullo Vokhidzoda said criminal proceedings had been opened against Firuz Saidzoda, formerly a senior investigator for especially important cases at the Prosecutor General’s Office. He said Saidzoda remained in detention while the investigation continued. The case was opened under Article 109, Part 1 of Tajikistan’s Criminal Code, a provision which covers causing a person to take or attempt to take their own life through threats, cruel treatment, or systematic humiliation. It carries a prison sentence of three to five years. The authorities have not disclosed the conduct underlying the case or the evidence gathered against Saidzoda. Noibova travelled with a group of friends to the Chorchaman resort in Darvoz district on April 3, according to local reports. She disappeared early the following morning. Her body was found on April 7 near the Pyanj River in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region. The fast-flowing Patkunob River runs through the resort and joins the Pyanj nearby. [caption id="attachment_52664" align="aligncenter" width="1774"] The Chorchaman resort in Darvoz district[/caption] Saidzoda and another Prosecutor General’s Office employee, Davlat Arabzoda, were among those on the trip. Vokhidzoda said Arabzoda had accompanied Saidzoda as a driver on a personal journey and was not involved in Noibova’s death. Noibova’s family has challenged the account that she took her own life. In April, a family friend told Radio Ozodi that relatives were being pressed to accept that explanation and sign case documents. The allegation has not been independently verified, and the Prosecutor General’s Office did not publicly address it at the time. Vokhidzoda’s remarks provide the first official confirmation that an employee of the Prosecutor General’s Office has been detained in connection with the case. The office has not released forensic findings, explained how Noibova entered the water, or specified what alleged threats, treatment, or humiliation formed the basis of the Article 109 investigation. [caption id="attachment_52666" align="aligncenter" width="1774"] The Pyanj River on the road between Qal’ai Khumb and Shurabad; image: Stephen M. Bland[/caption] The authorities have also not announced when the investigation is expected to conclude, whether the case will be sent to trial, or which body is overseeing an inquiry involving one of the Prosecutor General’s Office’s own former investigators. No court has so far ruled on the allegation against Saidzoda. If the case reaches trial, it will enter a judicial system in which acquittals are exceptionally rare. Tajikistan recorded one acquittal in the first half of 2026, after none in 2024 or 2025. As The Times of Central Asia reported in February, acquittals have accounted for well under 1% of criminal judgments in recent years. The authorities have not disclosed whether Saidzoda has entered a plea.

Labor Migration

Nearly 160,000 Citizens of Tajikistan Listed in Russia’s Controlled Persons Register

Nearly 160,000 citizens of Tajikistan, including about 25,000 minors, have been listed in Russia’s register of controlled persons, a senior official from Tajikistan’s migration service said. The figure reflects the impact of tighter Russian migration rules on one of Central Asia’s largest sources of migrant labor. Sharif Norzoda, Tajikistan’s deputy minister of labor, migration, and employment, said around 160,000 citizens of Tajikistan are currently listed in the register, with children included because they accompanied family members who had moved to Russia. The register, maintained by Russia’s Interior Ministry, is updated every four hours and contains information on foreign nationals who no longer have legal grounds to remain in the country. Individuals included in the database are required to regularize their legal status in Russia. Norzoda said more than 15,000 citizens of Tajikistan had sought assistance from the country’s migration service during the reporting period. The ministry also said 3,953 Tajik citizens facing temporary bans on entering Russia were advised against unnecessary travel after consulting migration authorities, helping them avoid being turned back at the border. According to the ministry, more than 10,700 labor migrants who returned from Russia have already found employment in Tajikistan. Russia introduced the register of controlled persons on February 5, 2025, to tighten migration enforcement. The database is accessible through the Russian Interior Ministry’s website and the government’s online services portal. It is intended to monitor foreign citizens whose legal right to stay in Russia has expired. The tighter migration regime has prompted Tajikistan to diversify destinations for its migrant workers. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, the government has expanded labor migration initiatives beyond Russia, seeking new employment opportunities in Europe and East Asia.