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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Tajik village told 'no music, no wedding' |
| 2015-09-07 |
| [RFE/RL] In the Tajik village of Chorkhuh, wedding music has been frowned upon for years and frequently replaced with Islamic readings by mullahs. That tradition may soon come to an end, if local authorities get their way. Alarmed by the prevalence of Islamic practices, village officials have set up a band to perform at weddings and are promising to enforce a new rule: No music, no marriage. Without a receipt from a band, the civil registry office will refuse to register any marriage. Deputy village head Isomiddin Kholiqov said, "Our society has come close to destruction under the influence of mullahs." Kholiqov said that local wedding parties had become almost identical to funerals in recent years. He said, "We invested $2,500 to purchase music instruments, microphones, and other necessary equipment this summer. Families have to give a month's notice to hire the band and pay the fees in advance." Families will not be forced to use the official band. Insisting the intent is to ensure happy, lively, secular-style wedding parties, officials say they will be given an option of hiring other bands. Chorkuh, home to nearly 40,000 people, came under scrutiny beginning in the early 2000s when dozens of its inhabitants were arrested for alleged connections to the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. The newly banned Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan has had many members and supporters in the village, even during Soviet times. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #2 I remember reading a few years ago that the Caudillo in one of the former Soviet stans ordered all women to wear miniskirts. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2015-09-07 01:12 |
| #1 local wedding parties had become almost identical to funerals Seems reasonable enough... |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2015-09-07 01:01 |