DUSHANBE, Tajikistan—Tajikistan said Wednesday that the alleged leader of a banned Islamic movement and dozens of followers have been arrested on charges of inciting religious hatred.

The arrests reflect mounting concern over the persistent popularity of radical Islamic groups in this poor ex-Soviet nation, which shares a porous 830-mile (1,300-kilometer) border with Afghanistan.

Security Service officers detained Mullo Sirodzhiddin, leader of the ultraconservative Salafiya movement, and about 40 followers Tuesday during a sermon at a mosque in the capital, Dushanbe, the Interior Ministry said.

"The detainees were taken to the premises of the National Security Service, which is where they are being held now," the statement said.

Inciting religious or ethnic hatred is punishable by up to 12 years in jail in Tajikistan.

The Salafiya movement, which has been banned in Tajikistan since the beginning of the year, is estimated to have an overall membership in Tajikistan of around 20,000 people, mostly young men.

Salafism is an ultraconservative Islamic movement that has grown in popularity across the Middle East and in Central Asia in recent decades. It preaches strict segregation of the sexes and resists any innovation in religion or adoption of Western ways.

Tajik authorities accuse the group of espousing an extremist religious ideology and posing a security risk to the country. They say many of Salafiya's members received

their religious training at madrassas, or religious schools, in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Salafiya is one of several similar groups that have widespread appeal in Tajikistan. Another underground group with a significant following is Hizb-ut-Tahrir, a transnational organization that advocates the establishment of a worldwide Islamic state.

Some government critics accuse authorities, however, of exaggerating the danger posed by Islamic groups as grounds for stamping out political freedoms. President Emomali Rakhmon has led the country uninterruptedly for almost 15 years, overseeing a period of deep economic stagnation.

Tajikistan endured a bloody civil war in the 1990s that pitted Islamic militants and other armed groups against government forces.

The AP
24th June 2009

Source: Monterey County, The Herald