On July 5, the last legal Protestant church in the region of Karakalpakstan was closed after all religious activities by the Emmanuel Full Gospel Church were banned by the regional Justice Ministry (click here to read more). The church appealed to the country's Supreme Court, which ruled on November 9 that the ban would remain unchanged. According to a November 11 report from Forum 18, the church intends to continue its battle. To read more details, click here.
(Source: Forum 18)
VOMC has been working with project partners over the past couple of years to affirm and equip Christian women for continued ministry and to encourage unity among them.
Project Fund: Equipping the Saints
Population
31,360,836 (2023 est.)
Ethnicity (%)
Uzbek (83.8), Tajik (4.8), Kazakh (2.5), Russian (2.3) Karakalpak (2.2), Tatar (1.5), other (4.4)
Religion (%)
Islam (88), Eastern Orthodox (9), other (3)
Leader
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev (2016)
Government type
Presidential republic; highly authoritarian
Legal system
Civil law system
Source: CIA World Factbook
Thank you for praying on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Uzbekistan who are undergoing severe mistreatment by those governing over them. Ask the Lord to remind these persevering believers that they are truly His beloved children. As their Heavenly Father, He is the One who governs their souls and eternal destiny. May they have a heightened awareness of His abiding presence, everlasting love, help in times of trouble – and whatever else they specifically need – as conveyed through the infallible promises of His powerful Word.
A draft law, which is purported to "further strengthen the rights of children," recently passed its first reading in Uzbek parliament. However, the proposed legislation seeks to punish parents or guardians who allow their children to receive "illegal" religious education before reaching the age of 18.
While members of the Baptist church in Karshi, Uzbekistan, were gathered for worship on Easter Sunday, April 9th, police broke open the door and forced their way inside. Using electrical prods, they incapacitated some of the attendees while others cried and prayed. Ten members, including young people, were taken to the police station where they were held in custody until mid-afternoon. The detained believers were released after records of offence were drawn up against them.
This past Christmas, a neighbourhood celebration in Uzbekistan was hosted by Tatyana Akhmadiyeva, a member of a local Baptist church. At the event, she offered Christian magazines to 15 of her neighbours. Local authorities received a report about the distribution and summoned Tatyana for questioning. She was told that the publications had been imported illegally, since they had not been evaluated by the "Struggle with Extremism and Terrorism Department." As a result, the officials confiscated the magazines, which they claimed were unlawfully distributed, and fined Tatyana the equivalent of two weeks' average wages.
Although religious communities in Uzbekistan would like to obtain official permission (to exist), as required by the state, all their applications have been blocked. Protestant churches, Shia Muslim communities, along with groups of other minority religious affiliation, have not only had their registrations denied, but now they are being subjected to subsequent fines, torture and other punishments.
