LONDON (BP)–A Pentecostal church group in Uzbekistan has been ordered not to preach in Uzbek, the state language of the Central Asian country, according to a May 27 report from the London-based Keston News Service.
The order is one of several developments in Uzbekistan “which could soon lead to a significant restriction on religious freedom in our country,” according to an open letter from press officer Dmitri Pitirimov of the Evangelical Christians/Baptists of Uzbekistan.
Pitirimov’s letter recounted that the Tashkent-based head of a Full Gospel church, Bishop Sergei Nechitailo, was summoned to the Committee for Religious Affairs, where the committee’s deputy chairman, Shoazim Minovarov, demanded that his denomination’s churches stop preaching in Uzbek.
Contacted by Keston on May 22, Minovarov stated, “I confirm the report that we advised Nechitailo to stop preaching in the Uzbek language, and also that we asked him not to distribute Uzbek-language religious literature from the Church of Christians of the Full Gospel.”
Minovarov continued, “The fact is that there has been a large number of complaints about the Church of Christians of the Full Gospel of Uzbekistan from residents in the mahalla [city sector] where it is based. People have expressed concern that members of the church are trying to persuade Uzbeks to turn away from Islam and convert to their religion.”
Minovarov told Keston that a similar request was made to the Jehovah’s Witnesses. “Members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses have been going to people’s homes, trying to preach their beliefs. You must understand that such behavior is unthinkable according to Uzbek tradition. For example, an Uzbek cannot go even to his brother’s house if there is no man in the household at the time.”
Asked by Keston whether any Uzbek law prohibits the preaching of Christianity in the state language, Minovarov replied: “According to the law on religion ‘actions intended to convert believers of one confession to another (proselytism and also any other missionary activity)’ are forbidden. The actions of the Christians of the Full Gospel and of the Jehovah’s Witnesses constituted proselytism.”
Also cited in the open letter from Pitirimov of the Evangelical Christians/Baptists of Uzbekistan:
— Pravda Vostoka, an official state newspaper, published an article on May 8 based on an interview with Metropolitan Vladimir (Ikim), head of the Orthodox Church in Central Asia, who spoke out strongly against the spread of Protestantism in Uzbekistan. “The substance of this article demonstrates clearly that a course of action has been taken to toughen religious policy on the rapidly-growing Evangelical Christian movements,” Pitirimov wrote.
— 18 Christians, including two foreigners, recently were detained in the western Uzbek city of Nukus following an investigation into the sources of Christian literature in Central Asian languages and were accused of holding a seminar unlawfully. Pitirimov’s letter gave no further details about the events in Nukus.
Sergei Mitin, chairman of the Tashkent-based Bible Society of Uzbekistan, told Keston by telephone, “We are very concerned about recent events. It is impossible to rule out the possibility that the authorities are beginning a campaign against Protestant communities in the republic.”
Pitirimov urged Keston, “Please give maximum publicity” to these developments in Uzbekistan.
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