Islamic Schools Shut down in Tajikistan

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Authorities in Tajikistan have closed 37 Islamic schools in the southern part of the country, Islamsng website reported.  They have cited illegal activities as the reason for closing the schools.  Nosratollah Mirzayev, deputy of security department in Khatlon province in the south, said the main purpose behind the move is to prevent the spread of influence of radical groups such as Salafaia and Jama’at Tabligh Islami.  “Students of these schools were illegally sent to other countries for continuing their education,” he asserted.  This is while some Tajik scholars and clerics say the government’s move is in line with its anti-Islam and anti-Muslims policy. It is said that the government itself has set up groups like Salafaia in order to use them as pretexts for cracking down on Islamic activities.  The Tajik government has banned studying Islamic sciences abroad for the country’s citizens. Recently, it has also enforced a law according to which those below 18 years of age can not attend mosques to perform religious rituals./129