Emomali Rahmon: “A government cannot progress with superstition” – Indirect message to the Taliban.
The President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, emphasized in a recent speech to the country’s House of Representatives the fundamental role of knowledge, awareness, and rationality in the progress of governments.
He stated that development is impossible without education and distancing from superstitions.
Rahmon warned that reliance on superstitious beliefs not only fails to foster societal growth but also poses a serious obstacle to nation-building and national progress.
Referring to his country’s religious policies, he noted that Tajikistan has built more mosques than other Central Asian countries, yet mosque construction has also slowed proportionally.
The president stressed that the religious identity of the Tajik people remains unshakable, adding, “No one can take our Islam from us.”
According to Rahmon, the country’s current priority should be education, the pursuit of knowledge and arts, and the enhancement of public awareness.
His remarks come amid widespread criticism of the Taliban in Afghanistan, who have imposed severe restrictions on education especially for girls and promoted a strict, politicized interpretation of religion.
Many observers interpret Rahmon’s statements as a clear, indirect message to the Taliban: sustainable progress, development, and state-building are impossible without knowledge, awareness, and rationality.
