TURKMENISTAN: EVANGELICAL GROUP MAINTAINS LOW

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000048 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN; DRL/IRF E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/13/2020 TAGS: KIRF PGOV KISL PHUM TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: EVANGELICAL GROUP MAINTAINS LOW PROFILE; GRASSROOTS OUTREACH REF: A. 09 ASHGABAT 671 ¶B. 09 ASHGABAT 845 Classified By: Charge Sylvia Reed Curran, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. A small group of local evangelical Protestants manages to practice its beliefs without hindrance by the government, due primarily to the group's extremely low profile. The group eschews denominational ties, traditional church trappings, and links with foreign churches, considering such aspects as unnecessary or a distraction from their religious calling. While considering traditional methods of proselytization to be ineffective with Turkmen Muslims, some members of the group started a cherry farm in a rural enclave of conservative Islam with hopes of eventually converting their neighbors. The area in question is reportedly subject to heavy Iranian influence and could be fertile ground for Islamic extremism, a situation about which the Turkmen government appears to be doing nothing to address. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) On January 8, poloff met with Radik Zakirov, a member of a small group of local evangelical Protestants. The group has no name, its members have no ranks and the group is not affiliated with any denomination. Many of the members learned about Christianity during the 1990s through missionaries of different denominations. These missionaries worked together despite their denominational differences, serving as an example for this group. The group rejects traditional church formalities such as mandatory services on Sunday, although in practice the group usually meets on Sundays because it is a free day. Many members understand English and have access to Christian literature via the Internet. The group decided in 1999 not to form a formal church because it would require too much effort and distract the members from religious work. Back in the period 1999-2003 when repression of minority religious groups was intense, Zakirov came to the U.S. Embassy and international organizations such as OSCE to get help in conducting a dialogue with the Turkmen government. Zakirov, who is ethnic Tatar, speaks Turkmen, as do the other members of the group. The group has no ties with churches or organizations outside Turkmenistan and receives no outside support. The members did not want their religious outreach activities to become the means for earning a living. Zakirov opined that there are no obstacles to his practice of religion in Turkmenistan, but he thought a problem would come if eventually if people such as himself became more active in proselytizing. ¶3. (C) Zakirov has no formal religious training, nor do other members, but they study and teach each other. All have Bibles and use the Internet for obtaining religious material. During the mid-1990s, Zakirov worked for an American missionary who was involved is setting up a library of religious literature. After the missionary was forced to leave Turkmenistan in 1999, the library, mostly English language materials, remained with Zakirov. In addition to the Ashgabat group, there are similar groups in Turkmenabat, Turkmenbashy and Dashoguz. Relations between the groups are not hierarchical and Zakirov noted that when different approaches arise, for example the Turkmenabat group's emphasis on charity and material support to its members, the Ashgabat group does not interfere. The four groups have 25 members altogether, seven of whom are in Ashgabat. According to Zakirov, the group does not proselytize. He said he could not see traditional Turkmen outside Ashgabat converting to Christianity by means of preaching alone, which led him to consider how to "preach" through actions, rather than simply through words. ¶4. (C) Zakirov lives in Nohur, a remote area in the mountains near the border with Iran (reftels). He has leased land from a collective farm and is planting a cherry orchard for commercial production. He demonstrates agricultural practices to the local population, a couple of whom have ASHGABAT 00000048 002 OF 002 implemented improved practices. He has spent seven years working on the project and has lived in Nohur full-time for the past two years. In describing Nohur, Zakirov said most local elders refuse to support government schools, supporting Islamic and Arabic studies. It is typical for a seven year-old boy in Nohur to be able to recite, without understanding, passages from the Koran in Arabic. Zakirov said Nohurs are conservative people. A non-Nohur, non-Muslim acquaintance of his who has been married to a Nohur woman for 20 years said his wife's relatives still pressure him to become a Muslim. The local elders' view is that Christianity is a "mistaken belief" and there is no way to discuss it with them. Nohurs also consider themselves "pure" Muslims for historical and cultural reasons, which Zakirov said adds to their sense of pride. Religious zeal is strong and many Nohur residents have relatives in Iran. Young men are sent to Iran to study. According to Zakirov, in a village of 100 inhabitants, 10 are "akhuns" (Persian for theologian) who only teach, making it fertile ground for extremism about which the Turkmen government is unaware. ¶5. (C) Nohurs follow tribal traditions for sharing the land and pastures, and with a growing number of both people and cattle, there is not enough pasture and the area is becoming deforested. The Turkmen government does nothing to educate people about appropriate land use management practices, and no one in Nohur understands overgrazing and deforestation. As a result, springs produce less water as rain water is lost as run-off, rather than soaking into the ground. In the local mosque, the declining water level is explained as "the fault of sinful people among us." While the archin (elected local official) and collective farm director have concerns about land use, they do not raise the issue with the people, but concentrate on following orders from above. ¶6. (C) COMMENT: Due to a lack of formal structure and low-key approach to proselytization, Zakirov acknowledged that his group faces no government-imposed obstacles to practicing its religious belief. He did, however, express some apprehension about what could happen to him in Nohur if he ran afoul of his conservative Muslim neighbors. As a evangelical Protestant, he probably couldn't have found a tougher locale in Turkmenistan at which to pursue his evangelistic efforts. END COMMENT. CURRAN