Why Is Prominent Uzbek Imam Mubashshir Ahmad Wanted by Authorities? – The Diplomat

On February 19, news broke that Alisher Tursunov, widely known as Mubashshir Ahmad, was wanted by Uzbek law enforcement for allegedly establishing a banned organization (Article 244-2 of the Criminal Code, which pertains to “establishing, leading, or participating in religious extremist, separatist, fundamentalist, or other prohibited organizations.”) He is the author of several Islamic books and the founder of Azon.uz, a widely popular religious multimedia project that amassed 1.2 million subscribers on YouTube alone before being shut down in 2023 for reasons that have yet to be explained. 

When Ahmad was placed on the wanted list was not disclosed by the police either, due to “investigation secrecy.”

The news sparked widespread speculation about the reasons behind the charges and what might happen to him, as he is currently residing in Turkiye. Two days later, Ahmad’s lawyer contacted Uzbek news outlet Kun.uz, clarifying that the accusations against his client do not involve serious crimes. Instead, Ahmad is apparently being charged with failing to follow the proper procedure for preparing and distributing religious materials.

After graduating from Al-Azhar university in Cairo, Mubashshir Ahmad returned to Uzbekistan and taught various religious subjects at Tashkent Islamic Institute for over two decades. 

He founded Azon.uz in 2017 and the project quickly gained traction, covering a wide range of topics beyond religion. By 2023 it had up to half million monthly visitors. 

Ahmad also consistently voiced pro-government statements and avoided direct criticism of state policies over the years. Amid the Russia-Ukraine war, as reports emerged of Uzbek labor migrants joining foreign armies, Ahmad went beyond disapproval – he explicitly condemned their involvement with the Russian military as haram, or unlawful. When the people of Karakalpakstan – an autonomous republic within Uzbekistan – protested in July 2022 against constitutional amendments that threatened to strip the region of its autonomy, Ahmad was among the religious figures urging restraint. He called for calm and caution, warning against the influence of “external forces” and insisting that Karakalpaks had not experienced any harm from Uzbeks. When the government launched a program allowing citizens to report traffic violations for monetary compensation, it faced public criticism for potentially encouraging surveillance of fellow Muslims, which some deemed unlawful. Ahmad, however, sided with the government, arguing that the initiative aimed to ensure public safety and could be considered lawful, while noting that he was still studying the issue.

However, his rising public prominence was not without difficulties. In 2018, just a year after launching Azon.uz, he was dismissed from the Muslim Board of Uzbekistan, where he had served as an assistant to the head of the Secretariat, Ulughbek Sultonov. Sultonov was also removed from his position. While the board stated that there were “no political reasons” behind Ahmad’s dismissal, some sources told RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service, Ozodlik, that he had become an “unwanted figure” due to his religious appeals in the press and online.

In February 2021, the editor-in-chief of Azon.uz, Abdulaziz Raimov, announced his resignation, citing in a letter pressure on the editorial team, sparking public debate. Raimov revealed that the deputy chairman of the Religious Affairs Committee had allegedly threatened and insulted the site’s founder over two published articles. Raimov refuse to remove the articles and submitted his resignation. Ahmad also revealed that he received a phone call from the deputy chairman, during which he was again threatened and insulted. 

In June 2021, four managers of Azon.uz, including Ahmad, were fined for publishing religious materials without formal approval from the Committee on Religious Affairs. This was despite Ahmad reportedly having received verbal approval from the committee, which had acknowledged his “sufficient religious knowledge” and expressed confidence in his ability to publish religious materials.

Two years later, in August 2023, Azon.uz abruptly ceased operations. Its social media pages were deleted, and its YouTube channel was rebranded as Fikrat, with all religion-oriented content removed. 

Following these events, Ahmad left for Turkiye, but it did not prove to be a safe haven. On December 28, 2023, he was taken from his home by police and detained at a local deportation center for undisclosed reasons, remaining there until late February 2024 when he was released.

An extradition agreement between Turkiye and Uzbekistan has been in effect since 2019.

The case of Mubashshir Ahmad highlights growing religious repression in Uzbekistan, where authorities have increasingly targeted religious figures and media projects that operate outside state control. What is clear is that despite his moderate stance and attempts to align with government policies, Ahmad’s rising prominence and his leadership of Azon.uz, a platform offering independent religious discourse, made him a target of government scrutiny. 

The Diplomat has previously reported on the increasing arrests of religious bloggers, but the case of Ahmad stands out. Unlike many of the bloggers targeted, Ahmad is a respected scholar who studied at Uzbekistan’s Tashkent Islamic Institute and worked in the country’s Islamic educational institutions for decades. Scholars of his caliber are typically considered relatively safe from such pressures. His case, however, may serve as a warning to other prominent scholars in Uzbekistan, signaling the risks of developing an independent discourse on religious teachings and encouraging them to keep a low profile.

Furthermore, the lack of clarity from the authorities regarding precisely what Ahmad had been charged with fueled rampant speculation based on the very real, and worrying, trends noted above. The confusion serves to illustrate the value of transparency.