BISHKEK -- Nearly one-quarter of the mosques in Kyrgyzstan's southern region of Osh face closure because they are not officially registered, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.
Kurbanaly Uzakov, the chairman of the government's State Commission on Religious Affairs, told RFE/RL that his commission filed a request with local officials in the Osh region to close 177 local mosques.
Officials with the Osh regional Muslim directorate, or Kazyiat, told RFE/RL that they do not see any threat from the unregistered mosques’ operations, adding that the imams at these mosques have been appointed by local religious leaders.
Kyrgyzstan's southern Osh, Jalal-Abad, and Batken regions traditionally have deep Islamic roots.
The Osh region alone has 722 mosques, including those facing closure.
Read more in Russian here
Kurbanaly Uzakov, the chairman of the government's State Commission on Religious Affairs, told RFE/RL that his commission filed a request with local officials in the Osh region to close 177 local mosques.
Officials with the Osh regional Muslim directorate, or Kazyiat, told RFE/RL that they do not see any threat from the unregistered mosques’ operations, adding that the imams at these mosques have been appointed by local religious leaders.
Kyrgyzstan's southern Osh, Jalal-Abad, and Batken regions traditionally have deep Islamic roots.
The Osh region alone has 722 mosques, including those facing closure.
Read more in Russian here