Friends fear for 'gentle' man sent to Uzbek labor camp

[harun]

Source: CNN.com - Ivan Watson

Human rights organizations say the convictions appear to be part of a broader crackdown in the former Soviet republic, targeting members of "Nurchilar," a moderate Muslim movement of Turkish origin, which follows the writing of a 19th-century Sufi Muslim theologian.

"Unfortunately this is not an unusual case," said Igor Vorontsov, a researcher with Human Rights Watch in St. Petersburg. "The government has persisted in its persecution of independent Muslims."

Thousands of miles from the Republic of Uzbekistan, news of Dadahanov's jail sentence has stunned academics and Christian community leaders in Connecticut. They fondly describe a committed social activist and observant Muslim, who rode between work and classes on a secondhand bicycle and spent more than a year distributing food to soup kitchens in one of America's poorer cities.

"He had a naive trust in the goodness of human beings," said Patty Jenson, an administrator at the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport. "I am shocked. I know he is there unjustly. What is happening is unjust."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/03/09/uzbek.jailed/index.html

---

Ironic to see this post today. Got a call from a dear friend of mine from Ubekistan who was trying to get political asylum status here in the U.S. so he wouldn't have to go back (for this very reason). He was granted the request today (thank God). Authorities there are out of control and he fears for the rest of his family that is still there.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Sufis

believe in tolerance and moderation. They also believe in the separation of church and state. Sufis are the Muslims to support and cultivate. Sufis teach love and peace, not war and hate.

[derby378]

4. In other words, Sufis are the Muslim version of Quakers (n/t)

[WriteDown]

2. Nonsense...

Haven't you heard of the totalitarian regime the US has become. Your friend will be better off in Uzbekistan. :eyes:

[JCMach1]

3. Uzbekistan is a total mess... I could go into the BS a friend of mine had to go through to visit

her home just a couple of years back...

She was under major suspicion because her father was a former Soviet politico and she had been living in a Muslim country for too many years...!

The good news is the bribe worked and she only spent about a week in jail.