Press Release
The Mufti of Uzbekistan and Mosque Imams Uphold the Current Non-Islamic Government Law
(Translated)

On September 5th, the Legislative Chamber of the Supreme Council reviewed the draft law "Amendments and Additions to the Criminal Law and Administrative Responsibility Law." According to this draft law, it aims to determine administrative and criminal responsibility for promoting superiority or inferiority of one group of people over others based on their national, racial, ethnic, or religious affiliation, as well as performing religious rituals related to marriage between individuals who have not registered their marriage according to the law.

Through this draft, administrative responsibility is imposed for promoting polygamy or publicly rejecting gender equality. In order to enhance the effectiveness of measures taken to maintain public order, especially in the context of the "Safe City" concept, a measure of administrative responsibility for being in public places with face coverings to the extent that identity cannot be determined is being introduced.

After a short time following the announcement of the draft law, mosque imams, led by the Mufti, began to defend every change in the law, based on special orders, and they claim that this is how it is in Islam! Whenever the government issues a law that completely contradicts the views of the Muslim people in the country, it deploys its army of imams, led by the Mufti, to smoothly convey it to our people. This weapon has been used this time as well. Here, it is appropriate to pose some questions to Mufti Nuriddin Kholiknazarov and all the imams under his authority: The government plays to the tune of foreign oppressors like America and Russia, and it is squandering the country's wealth and resources for free. As if that weren't enough, it promotes Western concepts like the deadly poison of "gender equality" and "women's and children's rights," which destroy people's lives, especially the youth, through the law. But what happened to you, O scholars, who are praised as the inheritors of the Messenger of Allah (saw) who should lead the Islamic nation on the right path?! Aren't you ashamed to engage in the dirty work of inciting our Muslim people to submit to non-Islamic laws, while you see every minute the wicked actions and betrayals of the government, yet you remain silent like mute devils?! Have you become like wicked people who justify laws that contradict Islam by claiming they are part of Islam and don't even hesitate to present evidence from the Quranic verses and Hadiths?! Where is the piety and fear of Allah in your hearts?! Do you think you can justify yourselves before Allah by presenting a moderated Islam that the government commands and that reassures only the people?! Is there a limit to this moderated Islam, or will this limit narrow until you abandon the religion?!

Indeed, even under the deceptive democratic laws applied to us - if you are aware - your service is increasing. You are directly complicit in serving the government in favor of the colonizing disbelievers and betraying the people. If you had embraced pure Islam for the Muslims in our country and encouraged them to live by it, distancing themselves from other non-Islamic systems, you would have preserved yourselves and the Muslims who pray behind you from the misery of this world and the hereafter, and you would have fulfilled your primary mission.

If you had not traded in the Deen, the government would not have been able to alienate Muslims from Islam and impose disbelievers' laws on them. On the contrary, you would have saved the government from the influence of the infidel colonial powers and greatly contributed to its alignment with Islam and Muslims. In doing so, you would save yourselves and the Muslims because you would then have helped establish the Khilafah (Caliphate), which is a symbol of our pride and strength, and you would have earned the honor of being the heirs of the Messenger of Allah (saw), Allah. As Allah Almighty says:

[وَلَا تَشْتَرُوا بِآيَاتِي ثَمَناً قَلِيلاً وَإِيَّايَ فَاتَّقُونِ * وَلَا تَلْبِسُوا الْحَقَّ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُوا الْحَقَّ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ] ‏

“And do not exchange My signs for a small price, and fear [only] Me. And do not mix the truth with falsehood or conceal the truth while you know [it].” [Al-Baqara:41-2].

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Uzbekistan