EMBASSY DUSHANBE REACHES OUT TO RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES IN THE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 000357

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KIRF KISL TI
SUBJECT: EMBASSY DUSHANBE REACHES OUT TO RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES IN THE
FERGHANA VALLEY

REF: 09 DUSHANBE 346

DUSHANBE 00000357 001.2 OF 002



1. (SBU) Summary: EmbOffs and William Trigg, USAID's Regional
Society and State Advisor based in Bishkek, travelled to the
Ferghana Valley in Northern Tajikistan to conduct outreach
events with young people and members of the religious community.
EmbOffs met students at a madrassa and worshippers at a Friday
praying mosque in the remote Asht district; spoke to members of
the religious community in Isfara; and gave presentations to
students at the American Corner in Khujand. EmbOffs were
enthusiastically received at each venue, and we can see the
enormously positive impact that a robust public diplomacy
strategy can have in this country. End summary.



ISFARA TO KHUJAND




2. (SBU) We started off by calling on Domullo Safokhon, the imam
khatib of the Central Mosque in Isfara, and his deputy, Hoji
Homidullo Karimov. Isfara is often described as the most
religious part of Tajikistan, and both Safokhon and Karimov
spoke to us frankly about issues affecting their work (reftel).
Safokhon and Karimov work closely with the imams in the
district's Friday praying mosques, proactively arranging
meetings between imams and secular government officials to
discuss issues of mutual interest. We had expected that the
imams would be somewhat reluctant to speak at length with us,
given the sensitivity of religious issues; we even doubted that
they would show up for our meeting. We were surprised at how
open our discussion was, however. The Central Mosque provides
after-school religious instruction in Isfara, and Karimov said
he would be happy to work with us in reaching out to young
people.




3. (SBU) Our next stop was the American Corner in Khujand, where
we gave presentations on Muslim life in America and on Barack
Obama. We were met by a crowd that was bigger than we had
previously seen at that American Corner; the room was packed
with about 50 students, mostly from Khujand State University.
The students were amazed to find out that there are about as
many Muslims in the United States as there are people in
Tajikistan. They were even more amazed to find out that members
of different Islamic sects - Sunni and Shia, for example - even
prayed at the same mosque. The students had many questions
about the new administration, and it was obvious that they had a
positive impression of President Obama. After the session, the
students mobbed us and asked us even more questions about life
in the United States.



ASHT - WHERE FEW AMERICANS HAVE TREAD




4. (U) The next day, we drove to the remote Asht district, which
borders Uzbekistan and has a population of about 180,000. This
was the first trip that an EmbOff had made to Asht in about ten
years. There are many Uzbek villages throughout the district,
and many Tajiks also speak Uzbek. One resident of Shaydon, a
town in the center of the district, told us that the only work
that people could find was in Russia. He also said that he had
not had electricity since January 14.




5. (SBU) Our first meeting was with Mullo Sadullo, the director
of a madrassa near Shaydon. Tajikistan has 19 madrassas, and 9
of them are in Sughd Province. Sadullo told us that all of the
madrassas report to the Council of Ulamo, the
government-affiliated religious council. The Council approves
the madrassas' curricula, and the Council's regional
representatives monitor the examination process. The curriculum
in the madrassas throughout the country should essentially be
the same, with only a few minor variations.




6. (SBU) There are 59 students at Sadrullo's madrassa - 40 men
and 19 women. The madrassa does not take the place of secular
education; students range in age from 16 to 22 and must first
complete compulsory secondary school. The normal course of
study lasts 4 years and encompasses 25 subjects, 10 of which are
secular. Women generally stay about two years, then leave to
get married. Students receive a diploma, and then can go on to
an institution of higher education. Sadrullo said his goal was

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not to prepare imams, but rather to give students a firm
religious base. Of the madrassa's 162 graduates since 1999,
only 8 have become imams.




7. (SBU) Sadrullo arranged for us to speak separately with the
men and women students. The men were fascinated by Trigg's
descriptions of religious life in the United States - that there
were prayer rooms in public buildings, and that women can freely
wear hijabs in school. The majority of their questions involved
personal conduct and appearance ("can Americans get a passport
if they have a beard?"). The women were less vocal with us, and
about half of them looked at the floor while we were in the
room; one woman asked us whether women and girls can wear hijabs
in schools in the United States.



AMERICAN PERFORMS A MIRACLE




8. (SBU) We finished off our trip to Asht by visiting a Friday
praying mosque in the village of Sahrob. The mosque had just
been completed in 2008 (funded from Saudi Arabia, reportedly),
and there were about 1000 to 1500 men - mainly in their 20s and
30s. Oddly, the imam-khatib of the Central Mosque in Shaidon
was also there, which made us wonder who was leading the prayers
at the Central Mosque. Nevertheless, he handed the mosque's
imam the prepared sermon that had been faxed from Dushanbe. We
were surrounded by curious onlookers; we were clearly the center
of attention.




9. (SBU) Trigg and PolAssistant went into the mosque to pray.
The imam invited Trigg to address the worshippers, and Trigg
accepted - speaking in both Uzbek and in English. After Trigg
finished, the imam declared, "Could you ever imagine that an
American would come and pray at our mosque? It is a miracle."




10. (SBU) Comment: The events and meetings that we attended
confirm that the demand for information about Americans and the
United States in Northern Tajikistan is enormous. The more we
engage, the better we look, and there are enormous
opportunities. Our interaction with Mullo Sadullo was
interesting, but it appeared to us as though the authorities
view the madrassas as yet another instrument to control
religious communities. End comment.
JACOBSON