Uzbekistan: Beard-shaving campaign to combat radical Islam

As reported by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on 9 June 2021, police in the city of Angren have been forcing dozens of Muslims to shave off their beards. According to a resident of the city: "Police warned us that if we refuse to shave our beards, they will do it using force. They took our pictures before and after the beards were shaved". World Watch Research analyst Rolf Zeegers comments: "Since 2019, the US State Department stated that it was no longer necessary to regard Uzbekistan as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC). One year later, USCIRF followed suit and dropped Uzbekistan from its list of countries recommended for CPC status. This move came as a surprise to many. It is true that things improved in Uzbekistan since the death of the previous president Islam Karimov on 2 September 2016. Relationships with Western countries improved as did the economic and social situation of Uzbek citizens. However, the example above is an indication that things have not changed that much in Uzbekistan regarding the freedom of religion. There have been frequent reports in recent years of this sort of "˜anti-beard" campaign which is presented as part of the effort to combat radical Islam. However, that campaign is not the only example: On 31 May 2021, Forum 18 reported that a judge in Samarkand Region sent Muslim teacher Asliddin Khudaiberdiyev to prison for 15 days as a punishment for teaching men and boys in a mosque how to read the Quran and say the namaz prayer. Although both examples are about Muslims, Christians are not being treated any better."