SEMINAR ON 'TAJIKISTAN TODAY'

ABSTRACT
RELIGION AS A SOCIAL AND POLITICAL MARKER IN TAJIKISTAN

Religion when politically active is associated with extremist representing the elite group thus detrimental to democracy. It can draw strong emotional appeal of the people as it can provide easy validation to any peaceful or violent agitation and in maintaining ethnic boundaries. The political history has revealed that the movements based on religion, whether for the establishment of the religious state or against it, have been successful in rising nationalist movements particularly in the countries with developing political ideology and economic crisis.

The history of Tajikistan has shaped the religious orientation of the country. During the ancient and medieval times Tajikistan was at the crossroads of many religions and civilizations. Some of the religions like, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Nestorian Christianity, Judaism, and Islam flourished in Tajikistan.

Presently, Islam is the dominant religion in Tajikistan. The ideology of Muslim brotherhood is skillfully manipulated by Tajik president Imomali Rahmon to be part of both the western and Muslim world. On the other hand President has been until now successful in eliminating the burgeoning radical Islam within its territories.

This paper is an attempt to critically analyse the role of religion in Tajik society and politics. The paper derives its conclusion from Jeff Haynes statement that “in the course of modernization, ethnic [and for that matter, religious] political identities and institutions are repeatedly created and recreated anew process that constantly destroys the old ethnic loyalties while creating new ethnic ideologies, institutions, and constituencies.” Such efforts are detrimental to nation building as there is no unified fixed ethnic idenity, other than religion, that can creat a nation-state under one banner.