Tajiks doubt that the attack on the most important Islamic leader was “hooliganism”

Tajikistan's supreme Islamic leader has not been seen in public since a knife attack of unprecedented proportions last week in which he suffered a knife wound to the forehead, according to witnesses.

Police appear to be downplaying the September 11 attack on Saidmukarram Abdulqodirzoda, head of the state-backed Islamic Centre Ulema Council – the highest Islamic authority in the predominantly Muslim country – calling it an act of “hooliganism”.

A police statement said he was “minorly injured” in the attack and was released from hospital the same day after a medical examination.

However, many Tajiks doubt that the attack in Dushanbe's central mosque shortly after afternoon prayers was a random act of hooliganism.

Critics suspect that the attack is related to the Ulema Council's role in supporting the strictly secular government's increasingly restrictive religious policies.

Authorities said the attacker was in custody but did not provide any details about him, his motives or his connections. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack.

Eyewitnesses told RFE/RL that a young man stabbed Abdulqodirzoda with a knife as he addressed mosquegoers in the courtyard of the crowded mosque after prayers.

“Abdulqodirzoda suffered a knife wound to his forehead. Mosque visitors immediately overpowered the attacker. The police arrived very quickly as the district police headquarters is nearby,” said an eyewitness who wished to remain anonymous.

A source familiar with the matter said the attacker was based in a Dushanbe suburb, but did not provide further details.

When RFE/RL contacted Abdulqodirzoda, 61, late on September 11, he said in the brief phone call that he was “fine” and that there was “no reason to worry.”

Police and other government officials declined to provide further details, citing ongoing investigations.

Independent in name only

Since there is no official information, there is speculation about the reasons for the attack on Abdulqodirzoda, who has headed the council since 2010. He is also known as Mufti, a term used in Central Asia to refer to the highest religious leader of a country.

Many Tajiks believe that Abdulqodirzoda may have been targeted because he and the council fully support government policies that are widely criticized for restricting religious freedom.

In a recent move, Abdulqodirzoda angered many Muslims – in Tajikistan and around the world – by supporting the authorities' long-standing and unpopular campaign against “clothing alien to Tajik culture,” the term the authorities use to describe Islamic dress.

In July, the council issued a fatwa – a religious edict – against “black clothing,” a Tajik euphemism for the Islamic hijab.

The fatwa came just days after Parliament officially ostracized “foreign garments” after wearing a hijab was unofficially banned in schools and workplaces for almost two decades.

Muhamadjon Kabirov, editor-in-chief of the Tajik-language, Poland-based news website AzdaTV, is convinced that the motive behind the attack on Abdulqodirzoda reflects society's dissatisfaction with the council and its chairman.

“Tajik society views the Mufti as a government official, not a religious leader,” Kabirov said. “People believe that his goal is not to defend the religious freedom of citizens. On the contrary, they believe that his mission is to promote government policies, which include undermining people's religious traditions.”

In the northern province of Sughd, a teacher who asked not to be identified told RFE/RL that the attack may have been carried out “by someone who is angry at the mufti's work. But that does not mean that all people support such acts.”

“Personally, I don't trust the Mufti or the Islamic Council, but I don't think violence is the answer,” the teacher said. “People condemn this attack even if they are unhappy with it.”

The Ulema Council is legally an independent body. However, like the other official religious bodies in the Central Asian countries, it is subject to strict state control.

The Tajik authorities also strictly control the operation of all mosques. Imams are appointed with the tacit consent of local government officials.

The council and government officials frequently conduct tests that they say are designed to assess imams' knowledge of religious and governmental matters.

All recommendations and decrees of the council – the only fatwa-issuing body in Tajikistan – reflect government policy. The religious decrees are not binding but have symbolic significance.

In 2018, the Council recommended that workers at the Roghun hydroelectric power plant construction site “postpone” their fasting during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

The council said fasting from dawn to dusk is taking a toll on the welfare of workers who are engaged in heavy physical labour. The huge Roghun is an important strategic project for the government.

In 2014, the Council announced that rebellions against the authorities and cooperation with domestic and foreign organizations – including media – whose goal is to “destabilize” the country are considered “grave sins.”

Abdulqodirzoda said: “The duty of Islamic figures is to promote a moderate Islam that desires peace and stability for all.”