Bearing the brunt of vicious persecution.
Imagine a place where every single person in your community is on high alert, watching you and trying to understand whether you have left your family’s religion and embraced a new one… Once they realize you are no longer a Muslim and now a convert to Christianity, your life will never be the same again.If you are a woman, you could be abducted, forcibly married, expelled from (or forced out of) home, or incarcerated by your family (house arrest) and subjected to physical and sexual violence.
If you are a man, you could experience economic harassment at your business or access to your place of work, fines, imprisonment, military or militia conscription even if you are a conscientious objector, travel bans or restrictions on your movement, and physical and psychological violence.
This is the life of pressure and persecution of Christian converts across the region of Central Asia, including Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan.
On August 24, Open Doors, a human rights organization, reported on the baptism of a Muslim man in a Central Asian country whose family rejected and disowned him due to his conversion:
Muhat’s baptism is the most exciting day of his life. It’s also the most dangerous. He has to get baptized in total secrecy – knowing that if he were discovered, he could face even worse persecution than he’s already received.
Muhat lives in Central Asia. That’s not his real name and it would be too dangerous to share which Central Asian country he’s in. Like almost everyone in his country, Muhat grew up as a Muslim in a Muslim home. He had no thoughts of leaving his faith until his close friend, Zinnat, invited him along to an underground church meeting.
Zinnat had recently left Islam to follow Jesus. He hadn’t told Muhat at first, because it had to be kept a secret, but Muhat had seen some significant changes in Zinnat’s life. He was now much more respectful to women, and always ready to admit when he was wrong. He spoke about forgiveness and having a close relationship with God. Muhat was intrigued and wanted to know more.
At the underground church meeting, Muhat realized he had lots of questions that no Muslim had ever been able to answer. The Christians seemed to have a real connection with God, and with each other. Muhat kept returning to the group, again and again. And one day, he knew: it’s time to choose; it’s time to give my life to Jesus and become His follower.
It was the start of a new life, but also the start of persecution. At the underground church meetings, persecution had been a regular topic of conversation. Muhat heard how hostile people in their country were to Christians, particularly converts from Islam. But he also saw that it didn’t deter people. One of the group members even said: “It is an honor to be persecuted, just like Jesus. Surely it is normal to experience persecution as followers of Jesus!”
When Muhat’s family discovered his secret, they were furious. Muhat’s father was particularly angry. “You are no longer my son,” he told Muhat. “You are no longer worthy to be a son.” Eventually, Muhat was disowned by his family and thrown out of home.
In all Central Asian countries, Christian converts from Islam bear the brunt of persecution. If indigenous (Muslim) citizens convert to Christianity, they experience immense pressure, and in many cases, physical violence at the hands of their families and the local community who force them to return to their former faith. Their families could lock the converts up, beat them and even expel them from their communities. Local Islamic leaders preach against them, adding pressure.
Local authorities monitor and raid unregistered churches after making official registration extremely difficult for those churches. They threaten, fine, or detain members of those churches for illegal religious activities. As a result, most converts do their best to hide their faith.
Open Doors ranks Uzbekistan at number 25 on its World Watch List, which tracks countries where Christians face severe persecution and restrictions. Uzbekistan remains a highly authoritarian state under President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s control since 2016, with opposition movements and independent media effectively banned:
All Christians in Uzbekistan face varying degrees of pressure and violence based on their faith identity. Russian Orthodox churches encounter minimal interference from authorities as they rarely engage with the indigenous Uzbek population. However, Muslim-background converts face severe violations from state actors, family members, and local communities, with persecution intensifying in rural areas compared to urban centers. Unregistered churches are particularly vulnerable to police raids, arbitrary arrests, threats, and financial penalties.
Traditional Islamic culture and patriarchal norms place women lower than men and subservient within the family context. Women are not free to choose their own religion and face severe opposition to conversion. Incarceration by a convert’s family remains a common and socially accepted form of putting female converts under pressure. Access to social networks, specifically Christian networks, is restricted in the hope that the convert will return to Islam. Abduction and forced marriage are risks, with sexual violence (including within marriage) often unacknowledged and normalized. Shame and stigma prevent many from ever reporting crimes against them.
Tajikistan ranks number 27 on the Open Doors World Watch List:
Only state-controlled institutions are allowed in Tajikistan. Pressure from the authorities has increased since 2015, causing a rise in the number of raids on meetings, Christian materials confiscated and an increase in Christians being fined and interrogated.
When a parent converts to Christianity, family members will try to take custody of the children to raise them according to Islamic principles.
Christian children experience slander from community members, and Muslim children are often kept from having contact with them. All children are required to study the ‘History of Religions’ at high school, which is taught from a Sunni Muslim perspective.
There are restrictions on foreign Christians visiting Tajikistan. They need a special visa, which is very difficult to obtain.
Turkmenistan ranks number 35 on the Open Doors World Watch List. According to Open Doors research, there is no freedom of religion in the country and Christians are closely monitored: --->READ MORE HERE
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