On February 19, the news announced that Osher Tursunov, widely known as Mubashshshshir Ahmad, was sought by the Uzbek police for having allegedly established a prohibited organization (article 244-2 of the penal code, which concerns “establish, direct or participate in the extremist, separatist, fundamentalist or other prohibited organizations.”) He is the author of several Islamic books and founder of Azon.uz, a very popular religious multimedia project that has raised 1.2 million Subscribers on YouTube alone before being closed in 2023 for reasons that have not yet been explained.
When Ahmad was placed on the desired list was not disclosed By the police, due to the “secret of investigations”.
The news has aroused many speculation about the reasons for the accusations and what could happen to him because he currently lives in Turkiye. Two days later, Ahmad’s lawyer contacted Ouzbeks Kun.uz news, clarifying that accusations against his client do not imply serious crimes. Instead, Ahmad is apparently responsible for not following the appropriate procedure to prepare and distribute religious materials.
After graduating from Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Mubashshshir Ahmad returned to Uzbekistan and taught Various religious subjects of the Islamic Institute of Tashkent for more than two decades.
He founded Azon.uz in 2017 and the project quickly gained ground, covering a wide range of subjects beyond religion. By 2023, he had until half-million monthly visitors.
Ahmad has also systematically expressed pro-government declarations and has avoided direct criticism of state policies over the years. In the midst of the Russian-Ukrain war sentenced their involvement in the Russian army as haramor illegal. When the people of Karakalpakstan – an autonomous republic in Uzbekistan – protested in July 2022 against the constitutional amendments which threatened to strip the region of their autonomy, Ahmad was one of the religious figures urging restraint. He called For calm and prudence, warn against the influence of “external forces” and insisting that Karakalpaks had not suffered any damage from the Uzbeks. When the government spear A program allowing citizens to report traffic violations for monetary compensation, it was faced with public criticisms for having potentially encouraged the surveillance of other Muslims, which some deemed illegal. Ahmad, however, side With the government, arguing that the initiative aimed to ensure public security and could be considered legal, while noting that it still studied the question.
However, its growing public importance was not without difficulty. In 2018, just a year after launching Azon.uz, it was rejected From the Uzbekistan Muslim Council, where he had been assistant to the secretarial chief, Ulughbek Sultonov. Sultonov was also removed from his position. While the Council said that there was “no political reason” behind the dismissal of Ahmad, some sources declared to the Uzbek service of RFE / RL, Ozodlik,, that he had become an “undesirable figure” because of his religious calls in the press and online.
In February 2021, the editor -in -chief of Azon.uz, Abdulaziz Raimov, announcement His resignation, citing pressure on the editorial team, provoking a public debate. Raimov revealed that the vice-president of the religious affairs committee would have threatened and insulted the founder of the site on two published articles. Raimov refuses to delete the articles and submitted his resignation. Ahmad too revealed that he received a telephone call from the vice-president, during which he was again threatened and insulted.
In June 2021, four managers of Azon.uz, of which Ahmad, were a fine To publish religious documents without formal approval of the Committee for Religious Affairs. This despite Ahmad would have received the verbal approval of the committee, which had recognized his “sufficient religious knowledge” and expressed his confidence in his ability to publish religious documents.
Two years later, in August 2023, Azon. stopped Operations. Its social media pages have been deleted and its YouTube channel was renowned as FikratWith all the content focused on deleted religion.
After these events, Ahmad LEFT For Turkiye, but that did not prove to be a safe refuge. On December 28, 2023, he was taken from his home by the police and detained in a local expulsion center for unknown reasons, remaining there until February 2024, when he was released.
A extradition agreement Between Turkiye and Uzbekistan has been in effect since 2019.
The case of Mubashshshir Ahmad highlights an increasing religious repression in Uzbekistan, where the authorities have increasingly targeted religious figures and media projects that operate outside the state. What is clear is that in spite of its moderate position and attempts to align themselves with government policies, the rise of Ahmad and its management of Azon.uz, a platform Offering an independent religious discourse, made him a target of government control.
The diplomat has previously reported On the growing arrests of religious bloggers, but the case of Ahmad stands out. Unlike many targeted bloggers, Ahmad is a respected scholar who studied at the Islamic Institute of Tashkent Ouzbékistan and worked in Islamic educational establishments in the country for decades. Researchers of its caliber are generally considered to be relatively sheltered from these pressures. His case, however, can serve as a warning to other eminent researchers in Uzbekistan, signaling the risks of developing an independent discourse on religious lessons and encouraging them to keep a low profile.
In addition, the lack of clarity of the authorities concerning precisely what Hmad had been accused of fueled rampant speculation based on very real and disturbing trends, noted above. Confusion is used to illustrate the value of transparency.