Kyrgyz clerics to urge restraint on anniversary of violence
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 6 June 2014 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Kyrgyz clerics to urge restraint on anniversary of violence, 6 June 2014, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/53b280ab14.html [accessed 20 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
June 06, 2014
By RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service
Grand Mufti of Kyrgyzstan Maksatbek Hajji Toktomushev
Islamic clerics in Kyrgyzstan are meant to use their sermons – starting with Friday Prayers on June 6 – to urge followers to refrain from ethnic violence.
A June 5 order by Kyrgyzstan's Grand Mufti Maksatbek Hajji Toktomushev obliges clerics to focus their sermons from June 6 to June 13 on Islamic teachings about brotherly relations between all Muslims, regardless of their nationality.
The order comes as Kyrgyzstan marks the fourth anniversary of deadly clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz citizens that killed more than 400 people in the southern regions of Osh and Jalal-Abad after the ouster of former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
Meanwhile, supporters of Kyrgyzstan's detained former parliamentary speaker Akmatbek Keldibekov – a politician from Osh and backer of Bakiyev – reportedly were continuing on June 6 to protest on a highway in the Osh region, despite calls from Keldibekov for the removal of their roadblock.
With reporting by Muftiyat.kg
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
