Uzbekistan issues new law on religious freedom

President Mirziyoyev has signed the law that provides for measures to combat extremism and terrorism. Currently, there are 2,300 religious associations of 16 different faiths active in the country, and representatives of religious communities of 130 different nationalities live in the country.

Tashkent (AsiaNews) - The President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, has signed the law ‘on the conception of state policy for the guarantee of freedom of conscience and religious profession of citizens’, which provides for measures to combat extremism and terrorism.

The law was approved by the lower house of the Olij Mažilis (the parliament of Taškent) at the beginning of February, and confirmed by the Uzbek senate at the end of the month, to establish the constitutional conditions for religious activities in the secular state of Uzbekistan, and develop models for the relationship between state structures and religious denominations, in the spirit of ‘religious tolerance, mutual solidarity and inter-faith dialogue’.

According to this concept, any tendency towards religious radicalisation must be adequately opposed, including with measures for the social rehabilitation of people who are subject to these influences. The work of investigation and prevention of the ‘spread of destructive ideologies’ in the information space will also be strengthened.

Currently in Uzbekistan there are 2,300 religious associations of 16 different faiths, and representatives of religious communities of 130 different nationalities live in the country.

Higher education and training is offered in 7 different languages, television programmes are broadcast in 12 languages, and there are newspapers and magazines in 14 languages.

Representatives of all faiths supported the approval of the concept, as the new law ‘ensures harmony between the religions in the country, as a guarantee of peace and stability for the future of Uzbek society’, as stated in the preamble of the law approved in parliament.

Delegates from the religious communities were invited to the Chamber to express their opinion on the text under discussion in detail on the mechanisms of politics in the religious sphere, clarifying the meaning of the secular nature of the State against any inadequate representation and radical interpretation.

The evaluations also presented information on the results that the approval of the new law is expected to achieve, starting with the ‘constitutional right of every citizen to freely profess any religion or not to profess any religion at all’, which constitutes one of the pillars of the rule of law.

This allows for the creation of an ‘atmosphere of harmony, solidarity and social cohesion’, spreading a sense of religious tolerance and harmony among the different ethnic groups in the country and ensuring the possibility of providing adequate training to personnel in the religious sphere, deepening the ‘study of religious issues with systematic projects of scientific research and academic level analysis’.

In Uzbekistan there is also a Council for Religious Affairs, in which all the leaders of the country's religious denominations are represented.

This allows for the joint development of a ‘sovereign, democratic state, based on law and the unity of social bodies’. The parliamentary debate ended with the assurance that the approved concept will in any case be ‘subject to a process of continuous improvement’, based on the proposals and opinions gathered not only from religious associations, but also from a broad consultation of the public opinion of all citizens.

The law will be presented and discussed at various events, religious meetings and informative and scientific conferences, which the State will help to organise, also with specific subsidies ‘for the information and analysis of religious issues’.

Therefore, it will be up to the religious denominations themselves to oppose any form of extremism, thanks to their ability to educate the faithful, and the state bodies will be available to support these activities, while at the same time checking that there are no hesitations or contradictions in proposing them, leaving room for spontaneous expressions and inappropriate initiatives by unauthorised groups or individuals.

• Uzbekistan
• religions
• extremism
• freedom
• Mirziyoyev