Tajikistan’s mufti urges servicemen not to humiliate fellow soldiers
Tajikistan’s chief mufti, Saidmukarram Abdulqodirzoda, has urged servicemen to support rather than humiliate one another during military service. He made the appeal on October 20 at a meeting with border guards and recruits at the Poytakht Training Center of the Border troops of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) in Dushanbe.
The center is located in the capital’s Firdavsi district. The Council of Ulema announced the meeting and published a video of the mufti’s address.
“Do not offend anyone — on the contrary, support one another,” Abdulqodirzoda told the servicemen, describing mutual support as an expression of honor, dignity and Islamic morality.
According to the Council of Ulema, he also stressed the importance of protecting the country’s borders and the responsibility servicemen bear to the people and the state. He urged them to perform their duties conscientiously, maintain discipline, act honestly, respect one another and exercise patience in accordance with Islamic moral principles.
Abuse of recruits by senior servicemen, commonly known as dedovshchina, has long been a concern in Tajikistan’s armed forces. Such abuse can involve the humiliation and physical assault of younger soldiers. Authorities do not always acknowledge reports of such incidents.
Abdulqodirzoda has previously met with recruits to offer them guidance and advice.