The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 18 states that a person has the right to follow any religion that they please and change their religion freely. However, not every nation follows this article and Kyrgyzstan is one of those. This issue is plaguing the small Central Asian nation and has placed it under scrutiny. The people of this country should have the right to teach, practice, and worship the religion of their choosing. Map taken from https://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia/kyrgyzstan
In recent years, Kyrgyzstan has been cracking down on religious freedoms. In 2014, the State Commission for Religious Affairs or GKDR began harassing Jehovah 's Witnesses and Ahmadi Muslims. In the year before, both religious minority …show more content…
It stated that all unregistered religions are illegal and it bans proselytizing, private religious education, and the wearing of headscarves in school. The government has even gone as far as putting a restriction on Islamic groups that it deems a threat to national security. The primary target of this restriction is Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamic nonviolent international group that provides aid to areas of the country that lack state services. Hizb ut-Tahrir, as well as Jehovah 's Witnesses and other religious minorities, have been facing religious persecution by the government even with the laws that allow private discussion in homes. Both of these organizations have also had their registration either revoked or the government has refused to renew the registration. Every religion has to get themselves registered with the government in order to be allowed to practice in …show more content…
They continue to harass and prosecute religious groups and organizations simply because they are deemed an extremist group even though they are rather peaceful. The requirement to register a religion before being allowed to actively practice it is also an attack on religious freedom as it is always a hit or miss on whether or not the government clergy, which are all Sunni, decide to allow the religion to be practiced. The fact that a clergy of an accepted religion, Russian Orthodox, is stripped of his title because he simply was doing his job also goes into the religious prosecution. In 2014, however, a court in Osh City had acquitted two women of the Jehovah 's Witnesses belief on the grounds that they had been wrongfully prosecuted after being arrested for simply talking about their religion. The court had said that the women had been persecuted because of someone else 's prejudice. The local governments and police forces recognize that there is something wrong with the way religion is handled in the country and the ideas and beliefs that are currently being upheld by Kyrgyzstan 's central government and religious leaders has continued to go against the needs of the people and what the local governments want for the people. The Kyrgyzstan government needs to amend the laws that it follows to allow for everyone to openly follow their own religion
In recent years, Kyrgyzstan has been cracking down on religious freedoms. In 2014, the State Commission for Religious Affairs or GKDR began harassing Jehovah 's Witnesses and Ahmadi Muslims. In the year before, both religious minority …show more content…
It stated that all unregistered religions are illegal and it bans proselytizing, private religious education, and the wearing of headscarves in school. The government has even gone as far as putting a restriction on Islamic groups that it deems a threat to national security. The primary target of this restriction is Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamic nonviolent international group that provides aid to areas of the country that lack state services. Hizb ut-Tahrir, as well as Jehovah 's Witnesses and other religious minorities, have been facing religious persecution by the government even with the laws that allow private discussion in homes. Both of these organizations have also had their registration either revoked or the government has refused to renew the registration. Every religion has to get themselves registered with the government in order to be allowed to practice in …show more content…
They continue to harass and prosecute religious groups and organizations simply because they are deemed an extremist group even though they are rather peaceful. The requirement to register a religion before being allowed to actively practice it is also an attack on religious freedom as it is always a hit or miss on whether or not the government clergy, which are all Sunni, decide to allow the religion to be practiced. The fact that a clergy of an accepted religion, Russian Orthodox, is stripped of his title because he simply was doing his job also goes into the religious prosecution. In 2014, however, a court in Osh City had acquitted two women of the Jehovah 's Witnesses belief on the grounds that they had been wrongfully prosecuted after being arrested for simply talking about their religion. The court had said that the women had been persecuted because of someone else 's prejudice. The local governments and police forces recognize that there is something wrong with the way religion is handled in the country and the ideas and beliefs that are currently being upheld by Kyrgyzstan 's central government and religious leaders has continued to go against the needs of the people and what the local governments want for the people. The Kyrgyzstan government needs to amend the laws that it follows to allow for everyone to openly follow their own religion