The Senators of the Tajik Parliament’s upper house have unanimously approved a bill “On the responsibility of parents for their children’s upbringing and education”, which prohibits minors from visiting place of religious worship, reports Interfax-Religion.

The bill will enter into force as soon as it will be signed by the President and published in the official media.

It should be mentioned, that the bill will punish anyone with no regards to their religion — Muslims, Christians or representatives of other religions.

Article 8, one of the most contradictory points of the bill, lists parents’ responsibilities. Once the bill enters into force, parents:

“must not allow children’s particiption in religious organizations’ activities, excluding children officially studying in religious establishments.”

This provoked concern by Western countries and human rights activists, as well as of the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan and clerical community of the country.

President Rahmon submitted the bill to the parliament in December, 2011. It took a bit more than half a year to pass the bill and get another tool of controlling religious activities of Tajik citizens.

The authorities justified the ban with the growing rate of extremism and the need to preserve the secular nature of the state.

Interfax quotes Senate Speaker Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloyev praised the PMs who approved the law “for continuing to adopt laws that have no analogs in world legislative practice.”

“I am confident that this law primarily aims at the protection of interests of the younger generation in Tajikistan.”

Senate Speaker Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloyev

Well, obviously there is no analogs in world legislative practice — those who are ‘smart’ enough, hide this sort of anti-constitutional efforts, like Uzbekistan.

“Article 8 of the law, which regulates relations between the younger generation and religious organizations, does not infringe on constitutional rights of the young. On the contrary, it protects them. The agitation of certain media outlets and civil society representatives is unfounded.”

Senator and Tajik State Medical University Rector Ubaidullo Kurbonov

It’s expected that this bill will bring to a greater anti-governmental attitude among Tajiks. Considering that radicals still present in the country, and the government does not work harder to qualify the border between those who truly belive in the values of their religion and those who are real extremists — this will just settle scores for the latter in their struggle for the young minds and their desperate parents.

aksakal:

“Our dear President should have understood long time ago that he does not live in the 20th century anymore. The progress is moving forward, everybody has a right to do and say whatever they want. Minor of 14 can build their future themselves. The thing is that there should be a control over the lectures of clerics to be delivered [before the young minds]. In order to prevent kids from going to this kind of establishments, they should be preoccupied with something, been offered something instead. One can’t achieve anything by prohibiting. Too many prohibitions will lead to [our] “Arab Spring” — the President should remember it and not count on a miracle, love his people and always share.”