VZCZCXRO7971
RR RUEHDBU
DE RUEHDBU #1117/01 2131223
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 011223Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0724
INFO RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 2209
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 2220
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2178
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 2543

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 001117 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  7/31/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KIRF TI
SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN'S SALAFI MUSLIMS GROWING IN NUMBERS 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: TJACOBSON, AMBASSADOR, STATE, STATE. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
¶1.  (C)  SUMMARY:  In Tajikistan, despite the government's fear 
of religious extremism which has led it to close down mosques, 
forbid girls from wearing hijabs in schools, and propose a new 
law on religion that could curtail practice of all faiths, the 
Salafi school of Islam is growing in size.  In a series of 
meetings with Salafis and local leaders in the Muslim community, 
PolOffs learned the difference between Salafis and mainstream 
Sunni Muslims in Tajikistan.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  PolOffs met with Muhammad Rahmatullo, a leader of the 
Salafi Muslims July 26.  According to Rahmatullo, Salafis are 
Muslims who practice Islam as it was practiced during the 
Prophet Mohammad's lifetime.  The Salafis, also called 
Sunnat-val-jamoat (meaning "followers of the Prophet's words and 
actions"), are conservative Sunni Muslims.  The relatively new 
group began appearing in Tajikistan five to six years ago and 
many of its original members are young men who have studied 
abroad in Muslim countries. 
 
¶3.  (C)  In Tajikistan, the Salafis do not have their own 
separate mosques, are not registered with the Ministry of 
Culture, do not have a central office, or consider themselves 
part of an organized group.  Thus far, Rahmatullo reports that 
the Salafis have not encountered any problems with government 
authorities.  He estimates that Salafis total at least 5,000 
members in Dushanbe alone.  Although Rahmatullo did not have a 
number for the entire country, he did say that the number of 
converts is growing and Salafis include members of civil society 
across all sectors including the government. 
 
¶4.  (C)  Bahriddin Karimov, a local Imam who has participated in 
the U.S. Community Connections exchange program agreed that the 
Salafi community is quickly growing in Tajikistan and added that 
Salafis are targeting young people.  Karimov noticed an 
increased number of Salafis who have begun praying at his mosque 
and realized he has gained a reputation as being a Salafi 
himself, although he adamantly declares he is not a Salafi. 
 
¶5.  (C)  Rahmatullo travels throughout Tajikistan to preach the 
prophet's teachings, usually as an invited guest at a wedding 
ceremony, circumcision party or other religious gathering. 
After the July 26 meeting, Rahmatullo handed PolOffs two copies 
of Russian-language Korans and suggested PolOffs read them for 
the next meeting. 
 
¶6.  (C)  Unprompted, Rahmatullo asked PolOffs about the 
Jehovah's Witnesses problems and knew that the group had 
problems with the government.  He also said that the Jehovah's 
Witnesses have asked the Salafis not to reach out to Tajiks 
newly converted to Jehovah's Witnesses because they are 
vulnerable.  Rahmatullo agreed to the request and claimed the 
two religious groups have reached a mutual understanding 
regarding their target audiences.  He also pointed out that 
compared to the Salafis, the Jehovah's Witnesses have managed to 
convert a larger number of Tajiks. 
 
SALAFI CUSTOMS: THE DIFFERENCE IS IN THE DETAILS 
 
¶7.  (C)  According to Salafi teachings, men wear beards and 
women hijabs.  Rahmatullo says that Salafis support education 
for women and women's contributions to the work force.  They 
also believe that women should attend mosque and point out that 
Salafi women desire to attend mosque, but cannot due to 
government restrictions on female attendance.  Displaying his 
conservative customs, Rahmatullo would not shake PolOff's hand 
when she greeted him.  During an initial meeting, Rahmatullo 
also suggested that he would have found PolOff more attractive 
as a woman had she been wearing a hijab. 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Although their customs are similar to other Sunnis, 
Salafis also have different praying styles than other Muslims. 
The difference is in the details.  At the end of a prayer, Sunni 
Muslims in Tajikistan usually softly say the word "omin" to 
themselves (note: equivalent to the Christian "amen"), whereas 
Salafis vocalize the word loudly.  Salafi Muslims during prayer 
raise their hands shoulder level.  In addition, Tajik Sunnis 
recite six prayers from the Koran during the five praying 
periods throughout the day at mosque, but Salafis recite fewer 
prayers at mosque. 
 
APOLITICAL AND ANTI-SHIA 
 
 
DUSHANBE 00001117  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶9.  (C)  Rahmatullo stated that he is not an Islamic Renaissance 
Party of Tajikistan member.  The Islamic Renaissance Party is 
the leading opposition political party based on religious 
ideology and welcomes both Sunnis and Shias.  He is critical of 
the Party because, according to Salafi teachings, politics and 
religion should not mix.  Muhiddin Kabiri, Chairman of the 
Islamic Renaissance Party, met with Rahmatullo in order to 
better understand the group and also to solicit its member to 
join the political party.  Rahmatullo did not welcome the 
invitation and refused to join the party.  Along the same vein, 
Salafis disapprove of government interference into religion and 
view the pending draft law on religion as a sign of government 
regulation on how Muslims should practice Islam. 
 
¶10.  (C)  Bahriddin Karimov told PolOff that his mosque's 
community members have told him they listened to tapes of 
Rahmatullo's sermons which call for the killing of all Shias. 
During Rahmatullo's conversations with PolOffs, he never 
explicitly expressed disdain for Shias.  However, he identified 
the majority of Islamic Renaissance Party leadership, with the 
exception of Muhiddin Kabiri, as Shias with ties to Iran. 
 
BIO NOTES FOR MUHAMMAD RAHMATULLO 
 
¶11.  (C)  Rahmatullo is 33 years old and was born in a Dushanbe 
suburb.  He is married with three young children.  His wife does 
not work.   His father was ill, but according to Rahmatullo, is 
recovering.  He is conversant in English with a noticeable, but 
not thick accent.  He knows Arabic and Urdu.  Rahmatullo studied 
Sharia law in Pakistan from 1992-1999 at the International 
Islamic University of Islamabad. 
 
¶12.  (C)  Rahmatullo told PolOffs that he had not originally 
intended to become a Salafi.  Several years ago he had met local 
Tajiks from the Takfiri group.  Fearing that they would use 
Islam for violence, Rahmatullo decided that he would use the 
Salafi group and ideas in order to lead the Takfiris and other 
Tajiks to be better Muslims. 
 
COMMENT: 
 
¶13.  (C)  Amidst a climate of mosque closures and government 
crackdowns on proselytizing, it is interesting that the 
government permits Salafis to operate and speak about religion 
in public venues.  It is possible that the government has not 
yet denounced the Salafis or categorized them as religious 
extremists is because the State Committee on National Security 
believes the group is a good counterweight to the influence of 
the Islamic Renaissance Party.  It is less likely that the 
security apparatus has failed to notice the growth of the Salafi 
movement. 
 
¶14.  (C)  Although most Tajiks are not very familiar with the 
Salafi group, we have found Rahmatullo and other Salafi members 
open and willing to meet with Embassy staff.  At this point in 
time, there is no evidence that the Salafis are an extremist 
group. 
 
END COMMENT. 
JACOBSON