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Islamic faithful concerned that HIV/AIDS awareness clashes with traditional
values
By Alisher Khamidov
June 7, 2001
Central Asian governments, with the help of international donor organizations,
are becoming increasingly active in HIV/AIDS prevention efforts. [For
background, see the Central Eurasia Project's Eurasia Policy Forum]. However,
the increase in programs designed to stop the spread of the virus is a cause
for concern among some Islamic clergy and practicing Muslims, especially in the
Ferghana Valley. State campaigns encouraging safe sex and tolerance for
homosexuals and prostitutes are seen by the faithful as clashing with
traditional values.
Since the 1991 Soviet collapse, religious leaders in the region have voiced
concern over deteriorating social values in their communities, linking the
moral decline with the post-Soviet penetration of Western pop culture and
vices. They consider the spread of HIV as perhaps one of the most tangible
signs of the population's spiritual degeneration. Government campaigns to
promote awareness, they add, do not address the root causes of the
proliferation of infections, namely the popular drift away from Islamic values.
A return to a traditional lifestyle would be the best way of containing the
disease, some clerics suggest.
Islam's influence is widespread in the Ferghana Valley, a region of nearly 9
million inhabitants divided among Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Indeed, authorities view the valley as a hotbed of radical Islam, underscored
by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan's insurgent activities of the past two
summers. When roughly 20 new HIV-positive cases were reported recently in the
Kyrgyz city of Osh, which has a population of about 250,000, some local
religious leaders said that the HIV infections were an indicator of the
spreading decay of societal values.
"The reason for these evil troubles is lack of faith, discipline and purity
among those who lead corrupt lives influenced by foreign lifestyles shown on
cinema, video and newspapers. If all people in society followed Shariat, if all
people feared God's anger, then all these problems would not appear in the
first place," said Mahamadjan Mamadjanov, former imam of Central mosque in Osh.
Many officially-sponsored imams have helped officials spread word about
HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention programs. At the same time, such programs
have been attacked by unsanctioned and more radicalized religious groups,
especially the Hizb-ut-Tahrir. The eradication of the disease requires the
elimination of Western influences, many radicals feel. In recently published
leaflets, the Hizb-ut-Tahrir condemned public campaigns to promote safe sex
through the use of condoms. The religious group also attacked local officials
for being corrupt and unable to solve societal problems, including the spread
of drug addiction and prostitution.
The sensitivities of religious leaders over HIV/AIDS harm reduction projects
are shared by many ordinary citizens. Several media awareness/prevention
campaigns have met strong popular resistance, especially in Uzbekistan and
Tajikistan. In response to popular disapproval, and fearing a loss of audience
share, many local media outlets have dropped HIV/AIDS awareness public service
advertising, in particular those containing explicit references to sex.
"In most towns of the Ferghana Valley, sensitivity about practices connected
with sex is traditionally high," said Yusup Tavakilov, a journalist based in
the Uzbek city of Andijan. "In many families, while watching the TV, if there
is a porno scene, or anything that implies sex, they will switch to another
channel. Otherwise, it creates embarrassment for family members."
Some Hizb-ut-Tahrir activists are taking matters into their own hands. In May,
a band of mounted young people, using sticks and kamchi (lashes), swept through
one of Osh's main thoroughfares, Ulitsa Kyrgyzstana, to disperse prostitutes
who had gathered on street corners. Witnesses noted that raiders yelled at
girls and constantly shouted "Allah Akbar." In a private conversation with a
local journalist, Hizb-ut-Tahrir members indicated they would continue to take
such measures against prostitutes, implying they do not believe that
authorities have the will or the desire to address societal problems.
In response to the Hizb-ut-Tahrir action, police in Osh staged a more brutal
raid on local prostitutes. Authorities arrested dozens of women and subjected
them to humiliating HIV testing procedures. A local television news crew was
allowed to film the process, and to report on it in the evening news. In an
interview with the TV correspondent, a chief officer in charge of the operation
said the raid was part of a new anti-AIDS campaign. He added that the crackdown
on prostitution would be ongoing. The raid provoked an outcry from many local
non-governmental organizations, including Medicins Sans Frontieres.
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