Tajikistan bans under-18s from mosques

TAJIKISTAN'S authoritarian leader has approved a law barring minors from praying in mosques, as his regime seeks to curb the influence of Islam.

President Emomali Rakhmon signed the bill on Tuesday, said state TV yesterday, despite protests from human rights activists and the opposition Islamic Revival Party.

The law requires people under 18 to study in secular schools, barring thousands from attending religious madrassas. However the new law does not specify what sanctions parents face for defying it. Mr Rakhmon's government has already taken steps to curtail what it calls the Islamisation of Tajikistan, closing numerous private mosques, forcibly repatriating Tajik nationals studying at Muslim universities abroad, and compelling preachers to adhere to government-issued guidelines.