Tajikistan Closes 2 Major Prayer Halls
Tajikistan’s State Committee on Religious Affairs has shut down two main prayer halls in the major markets of the capital, Dushanbe, a report says.
The prayer halls in Shah Mansour and Soltan Kabir markets have been closed under strict orders from the committee’s authorities, Tajikistan Islamic Renaissance Party’s website reported.
The prayer halls hosted 80 to 400 people on a daily basis.
The committee authorities and police forces also fined the worshippers, forcing them to sign written assurances that they would not say their prayers in the two locations any longer.
The Tajik government has banned praying in public places and offices and shut down hundreds of mosques and prayer halls over the past years.
In 2011, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon signed a law that banned the country's youths from participating in religious gatherings in mosques.
According to the law, only the children and teenagers who study at state-run religious schools are allowed to attend mosques and join religious associations. But other teenagers may pray at mosques only at religious festivals and at funerals.
Source: Press TV
The prayer halls hosted 80 to 400 people on a daily basis.
The committee authorities and police forces also fined the worshippers, forcing them to sign written assurances that they would not say their prayers in the two locations any longer.
The Tajik government has banned praying in public places and offices and shut down hundreds of mosques and prayer halls over the past years.
In 2011, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon signed a law that banned the country's youths from participating in religious gatherings in mosques.
According to the law, only the children and teenagers who study at state-run religious schools are allowed to attend mosques and join religious associations. But other teenagers may pray at mosques only at religious festivals and at funerals.
Source: Press TV
