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Mosques-
there are about 300 in Tajikistan-
play an important cultural role in the life of Tajikistani Muslims
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Like
fellow Muslims worldwide, more than five million Tajikistani Muslims celebrate
the holy month of Ramadan and reveal many of their Ramadan-related customs,
traditions and cultural and spiritual activities. The total Tajikistani
population is about six million persons, 90% of whom are the most devoted
Muslims in mid-Asia and the most observing of religious duties and Islamic
identity.
Eastern
Goods in Tajikistani Markets
As
the month of Ramadan approaches, an unusual restlessness and watchfulness
prevails over Tajikistani life on all its governmental, familial and individual
levels. Informational and cultural bodies and organizations responsible for food
supply and consumers diligently boost their activities to help get the public
materially and spiritually prepared for the holy month. Markets and shops
undergo big changes by displaying Ramadan goods and commodities and Eastern
products-dates, incense, prayer mats, sibhahs (prayer beads), miswak
(tooth sticks) and Islamic inscriptions-imported from Arab countries and Iran.
In
the House of Allah
Mosques-
there are about 300 in Tajikistan- play an important cultural role in the life
of Tajikistani Muslims throughout the whole year and especially during Ramadan.
Sheikh
Muhammad Ali Zad, Imam of one of Dushanbe’s (the capital city) mosques states,
“Because mosques play an important informational role, especially during
Ramadan, we prepare for this month by beautifying, widening, repairing and
cleaning the mosques and replacing their carpets. It has become a custom,” he
adds, “New mosques are inaugurated during Ramadan so as to receive the
blessing of this noble month.”
Restoring
and decorating the mosques with beautiful Islamic artwork and
“Happy-Ramadan” posters signifies the greatness of the month’s virtues and
represents one of Tajikistan’s most spectacular Ramadan traditions.
Worshippers
come to perform their prayers in congregation and crowd the mosques during
Ramadan- as if this month were the only season for worship and asceticism. A
student of the Tajikistani Islamic Institute reflects, “I feel extremely happy
when I see the mosques fully crowded by worshippers during Ramadan, an event
that does not occur at other times of the year. The youth increasingly engage in
pious deeds and religious work. Some of those who commit religiously prohibited
deeds, astonishingly, give up their bad habits and regularly perform their
obligatory and Tarawih Prayers in mosques.
“In
fact, this is a precious opportunity which places great responsibility upon
imams and preachers, who, through modern methods, should increase their cultural
activities during the holy month to address the hearts of those people so that
they do not withdraw again after Ramadan.” Imams at many mosques give daily
lessons, distribute religious booklets and deliver sermons after the performance
of Prayers and during the Tarawih Prayer’s intervals.
The
Tarawih Prayers are performed in congregations in Tajikistani mosques because
Tajikistani Muslims take as great an interest in this Prophetic tradition as in
the obligatory prayers. Unlike Muslims in other countries who perform only eight
rak`ahs (prostrations) in the Tarawih prayers, Tajikistani Muslims,
following the Hanafi School of jurisprudence, perform 20 rak`ahs, and
believe that this practice is a confirmed tradition of the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him).
The
Neighborhood at One Table
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One
of the most important features unique to the month of Ramadan is the
attendance of people at one table
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One
of the most important features unique to the month of Ramadan is the attendance
of people at one table, whether or not they are members of one family.
Throughout most of Tajikistan, mosques are considered the main meeting place,
and so communal dinning tables are erected. The mosque not only provides Iftar
(meal to break the fast) at charity tables, for the needy and wayfarers, but it
serves the whole neighborhood. People prepare the meal at home, serve it on the
one table, and share one another’s food, to reinforce the Islamic principle of
unity.
Another
type of communal iftar, which is upheld in Tajikistani houses during
Ramadan, is when the master of the house entertains all his relatives, neighbors
and friends who, according to Tajikistani tradition, cannot decline his
invitation. A certain space in the house is devoted for congregational and
Tarawih Prayers. After the Prayers, sessions of cultural activities, religious
forums and Qur’anic recitations take place. In some Sufi circles, dhikr
rings (a Sufi ritual consisting of repetition of words in praise of Allah) are
organized. All these activities include the intermittent serving of snacks.
Because
so many householders compete to hold group iftars on a neighborhood
scale, officials prepare lists of the names of those who wish to host such
parties and formulate a timetable organizing the whole thing.
“Asch
Plaw” on a Ramadan Table
Some
changes usually take place on the dining table in celebration of Ramadan. Wide
varieties of foodstuffs decorate the Tajikistani table: Bukhari rice (known as asch
plaw), soup, kebab and manto-a dish made of minced meat covered in
dough and steamed. The iftar table is also laden with many kinds of juices and
syrups, such as apricot and plum juices and apple and cherry syrups. Traditional
sweets are served and include varieties of jam, honey, candy and nshala,
a sweet whitish-to-yellowish substance; it is not only delicious but also aids
digestion, which is why it is an important item on the Ramadan table.
