Beware of Extremists in Russia and... Women

Passengers of Uzbek City Airport, Namangan, who travel to Russia, feed on Islamic sermons about loyalty, dangers from religious extremism and Russian women, writes REL.

The main purpose of Uzbekistan's campaign with names preaching at the airport is to keep people away from terrorist and extremist groups.

A video posted on social Uzbek media July 15th Shows an imam addressing passengers before entering the plane toward Russia.

Accompanied by an airport worker, the imam warns passengers against terrorist organisations he describes as a “one of the greatest threats of our time”.

He tells the measure to be <x0vilian to terrorist groups operating in the guise of Islam” and trying to recruit people, especially those seeking religious knowledge on the internet.

This happens especially with immigrant workers writer in Russia“, says imam Abduvos.

“If you need information about Islam or you want to expand religious knowledge, you can easily find such information on Uzbekistan's website, such as Muslim.uz, islom.uz, or ravza.uz”, the imam explains.

Muslim.uz is the official site of the State Department of Islamic Affairs, while the ravza.uz is headed by the regional office of this department in the town of Namangan.

Contacted by Radio Free Europe, an official at Namangan International Airport confirmed that sermons are carried out under the state campaign against extremism.

These sermons were drafted by the Committee for Religious Affairs for Travelers travelling to Russia for work”, said the official, who asked to remain anonymous, as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

“Since it is impossible to gather all travellers on the road, sermons are held at the starting gate”, he said.

But according to him, sermons are held before every flight from Namangan to Moscow, St Petersburg, Jekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, and other Russian cities.

At least 2 million immigrants from Uzbekistan, the most populated Central Asian country, with some 32 million people working in construction, factories, or the agriculture sector in Russia.

There have also been hundreds of Uzbek migrants who have joined the extremist Islamic State group in Syria or Iraq after being recruited and radicalised in Russia.

In the past, Uzbekistan has sent imma and other Islamic figures to Russia to meet Uzbek migrants and warn them against extremist and terrorist groups.

Whether the imam preaching is taking place at other airports in Uzbekistan is unknown.

In Namangan, imams preaching at the airport also call on passengers traveling to Russia to remain loyal to their husbands, Islam, and their homeland “regardless of where they are located”.

Muslim women should not deceive their husbands, and Muslim men should not deceive their wives, no matter where you are, because God does not like sinners”, says Abduvos.

The imam also urges those who go to Russia not to forget their financial and moral responsibilities” to their parents and children.