Visit of high-ranking representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ the SaintsOn the Last Days in Tashkent may signal a selective softening of Uzbekistan's position towards abroad spiritual groups. However, the interest of the authorities in contacts with Mormon leaders seems to stem primarily from economical calculations and the desire to strengthen cooperation with the US alternatively than from a real change in spiritual policy.
Faced with the Uzbek government's desire to thoroughly rebuild the country's economy, Tashkent's long-standing reluctance towards foreign, proselytic spiritual groups may be weakened selectively. The signal of possible changes was a visit in mid-January of a delegation led by Jack Gerard, 1 of the leading leaders of the Mormon movement, formally known as the Church of Jesus Christ the Saints in the Last Days (LDS). An crucial component of the program was the visit of the delegation to the government-sponsored muslim Civilization Center in Uzbekistan.
Foreign spiritual groups, specified as Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses, are not officially registered in Uzbekistan, which in practice means that their activity in the country is illegal. However, Mormon leaders seemingly take action to make authoritative recognition. Gerard, for example, in a government press release expressed his appreciation for the Center for muslim Civilization, which reflects the state-approved communicative concerning Islam and its contribution to the economical and technological improvement of the region over the centuries. "It is the Centre that helps us to realize that the beginnings of discipline and cognition go back to the territory of present-day Uzbekistan" said Gerard.
A visit by a delegation led by Gerard followed a November journey by another high-ranking Mormon leadership representative, David Bednar, who met with Uzbekistan's President, Shawkat Mirzijoev.
In favour of the Uzbek authorities' engagement in contacts with Mormon leaders, economical considerations seem to be the first. The President's message made after the Mirzijoyev-Bednar gathering indicated that Uzbekistan was curious in strengthening economical ties with Utah, powerfully linked to Mormonism.
Uzbek officials besides suggested that the historical experience of the Mormon movement may be a mention point for Tashkent in search of a balance between state modernisation and spiritual governance.
Muzaffar Kamilow, advisor to the president of Uzbekistan for Religion, published a comment in The Deseret News – a average belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ the Saintson Last Days – in which he praised the impact of Mormonism on Utah's economical development. "Religious values, harmoniously linked to local customs and traditions, unite people and strengthen the sense of common work and solidarity" – Kamilow wrote in a commentary on January 21, published in parallel with Gerard's visit to Uzbekistan. In his opinion, in this respect, Utah's experience is of global interest: in a society where economical achievements coexist with moral and ethical priorities, stableness and prosperity become a natural state.
Source: Eurasianet
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