TURKMENISTAN: MOSQUE-HOPPING IN ASHGABAT FINDS NO TRACE

UNCLAS ASHGABAT 000617

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL/IRF

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI KIRF KISL TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: MOSQUE-HOPPING IN ASHGABAT FINDS NO TRACE
OF THE RUHNAMA

REF: A. ASHGABAT 0601


B. ASHGABAT 0566

C. ASHGABAT 0557


1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.


2. (SBU) SUMMARY: PolOff's visit to various Ashgabat mosques
revealed the conspicuous absence of the Ruhnama, former President
Niyazov's required "spiritual guide," underscoring the book's
decline in influence in post-Niyazov Turkmenistan. Considering that
under Niyazov it was compulsory for all mosques to display the
Ruhnama, its absence emphasizes the degree to which traces of the
Ruhnama -- and former President Niyazov's cult of personality --
have gradually disappeared in Berdimuhamedov's Turkmenistan. END
SUMMARY.

MOSQUE-HOPPING IN ASHGABAT: NO TRACE OF THE RUHNAMA


3. (SBU) PolOff visited several mosques around Ashgabat on May 12.
A couple of the mosques had bookshelves with copies of the Qur'an
for the use of visitors, but PolOff found no trace of the Ruhnama in
any of them. After finding the first mosque he visited completely
deserted, PolOff next tried the Hezrety Omar Mosque, close to the
city center. When he arrived, at least 25-30 men (no women) were
leaving the mosque, the main prayer space of which was located up a
flight of stairs on the second floor. The central two-thirds of the
space appeared to be reserved for men, while the remainder was
partitioned off, presumably for the use of women. According to a
notice posted in the back, prayer had started at 1:30 pm and was
just getting out, although five or six men were still silently
finishing their prayers. PolOff asked a young man who was just
arriving whether this was a Shia or Sunni mosque. At first he did
not seem to understand the question, but then said that both Sunni
and Shia pray here together.


4. (SBU) The third mosque PolOff visited was the Azady Mosque,
founded in 1993, which local EMBASSY employees characterized as an
"unofficial" mosque - that is, not registered with the government.
According to a posted sign, prayer had begun at 2:00 pm, meaning
that once again PolOff arrived when almost everybody had already
left. The front of the mosque featured several large posters of
Mecca, and there was a balcony in the back, presumably for the use
of women.


5. (SBU) Finally, PolOff attempted to find a fourth mosque by giving
directions to a taxi driver, but ended up getting dropped off
instead in a residential neighborhood in front of a small and
unobtrusive "house mosque" that literally appeared to be nothing
more than a tiny white house with a green dome on top. A sign in
Arabic and Turkmen identified it as the "Hoja Ahmad Yasavi Mosque" -
the name of a famous 12th-century Sufi saint who lived in what is
today southern Kazakhstan - meaning the mosque was almost certainly
Sunni, not Shia. Several men were busily working on the exterior,
painting the front and repairing the roof, suggesting that the
mosque is actively used. PolOff attempted to engage one of the
young men painting out front in conversation, but the man spoke only
broken Russian. PolOff asked him if he attended the mosque, and he
said he did, but offered little more.


6. (SBU) COMMENT: PolOff's visits to the mosques were spontaneous,
with no advance warning. The disappearance of the Ruhnama from
mosque bookshelves is a major development over the past year.
Considering that under Niyazov it was compulsory for all mosques to
display the Ruhnama, its absence underscores the degree to which
traces of the Ruhnama -- and former President Niyazov's cult of
personality -- have gradually disappeared in Berdimuhamedov's
Turkmenistan. END COMMENT.

HOAGLAND