On New Year’s Eve, a young man dressed up as Ded Moroz (Father Frost) was lethally wounded in Dushanbe. Parviz Davlyatbekov, a 24-year-old economist, was attacked and stabbed by a group of young people near his house when he was about to visit his family for a New Year’s party. Davlyatbekov was later delivered to a hospital with multiple stab wounds and died the following night. According to Davlyatbekov’s relatives, he was killed by a group of Islamic radicals. They say that he was attacked by a crowd yelling “You Kaffir (infidel)!”
New Year’s Eve remains one of the most popular holidays throughout the former Soviet countries, including Tajikistan. The holiday is celebrated with New Year parties, family meals and fireworks. According to the law in Tajikistan, the New Year holiday is an official holiday celebrated throughout the country. All major squares in the country are decorated with New Year trees and different festive events are held in schools and kindergartens with participation of Ded Moroz.
Like Santa Claus in the West, Ded Moroz is the main character of the winter holiday, who brings toys and candy to children and wishes a happy New Year to all. The difference between Santa Claus and Ded Moroz is that Santa is a character of Christmas, while Ded Moroz and the New Year holiday are nonreligious.
On December 30, one day before New Year’s Eve, the head of the Ulema Council of Tajikistan, Saidmukarram Abdukodirzoda, stated to the media that people in Tajikistan should not celebrate the New Year’s holiday. Abdukodirzoda claimed that decorating the New Year tree, dancing and playing around it, is a tradition alien to Tajik culture, and moreover contradicts the Islamic holy laws. In addition, the theologian reminded that the New Year holiday is usually celebrated with alcoholic drinks and excessive food, which are condemned by Islam.
The statement made by the head of the Ulema Council incited a heated discussion in the media on the issue of New Year celebrations in Tajikistan. Opponents of the tradition state that the New Year holiday was introduced in Tajikistan during Soviet times and has nothing to do with Tajik traditions and culture. Tajiks have their own traditional holiday, Navruz, which is celebrated on March 21 each year and is the New Year for Tajiks according to this line of reasoning. More radical opponents claim that the holiday and its traditions contradict Islamic holy laws and traditions. The proponents of the holiday, however, claim that it is entirely secular and has nothing to do with religion. Since Tajikistan uses the Gregorian calendar, the New Year should be celebrated as a holiday marking the end of the year and the beginning of the new one.
According to persistent rumors in Dushanbe, Davlyatbekov was attacked by a group of radical young Islamists only because he was wearing the costume of Ded Moroz, which, according to radical groups, is against Islamic laws and traditions. Some experts say that the statement made by the head of Ulema Council was instrumental in motivating the group of young people attacking the young man, and could provoke other radical Islamists who are against any secular holidays which are “alien to holy laws.” However, according to an official statement by Tajikistan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, the murder of the 24-year-old resident of Dushanbe had no religious motives, but was plainly “a domestic crime, committed by a group of drunken young people.”
Akbar Turajonzoda, another popular theologian and religious leader in Tajikistan, rejected the view that Davlyatbekov’s murder was an act of Islamic radicals. Moreover, Turajonzoda warned media “not to impart religious overtones to the murder of Ded Moroz.” At the same time, Turajonzoda confirmed that imams in Tajikistan call on their worshipers not to celebrate the New Year holiday. According to Turajonzoda, imams tell their followers “do not celebrate this holiday, because this is not our holiday.” However, “this does not mean that imams call their worshipers to condemn all who celebrate this holiday,” according to Turajonzoda.
Most experts agree that Islam is rapidly spreading to all sectors of society in Tajikistan. However, there is some confusion regarding the place of Islam in the predominantly secular state. Some experts say that such statements of religious leaders such as those of the head of Ulema Council could result in serious incidents caused by radical young Islamists. Others think that this tragic episode could be utilized by the government as another supporting argument for its position against Islamization in the country.