A/HRC/37/49/Add.2 8. New mosques were built with community donations and foreign aid and some religious schools were re-opened. Some people began to openly observe holidays, rituals and Friday prayers, while others, particularly younger Muslims, undertook religious education and adopted a religious dress code and other obligations prescribed by a more conservative interpretation of Islam. Some Muslims also started to establish their own mosques, select their own imams and adopt Islamic practices as the congregations saw fit. Such developments beyond the Government’s purview were seen by the authorities as a challenge to the political order and a threat to national security. Furthermore, Islam was seen as having the potential of bringing people together to form alternative political organizations in the country. 9. From 1994 to 1995, the authorities conducted a campaign against “unofficial” Islam: men wearing beards faced harassment and arbitrary detention, while some popular independent Muslim clerics allegedly “disappeared”. Following the murder of some police officers in Namangan in December 1997 — for which Islamic fundamentalists were blamed — independent mosques were closed and Islamic leaders and other practicing Muslims not affiliated with officially sanctioned Islamic institutions faced broad crackdowns. Mosques were banned from using loudspeakers, with the allegation that loud prayers constituted a public nuisance. 10. Beards and headscarves were seen as symbols of religious devotion, especially among young people, and considered a mark of their affiliation with “unofficial” Islam or political partisanship. Furthermore, veils continued to be identified with ignorance, repression and fanaticism — a legacy from Soviet times. 11. Religious materials from abroad encountered rigorous censorship and confiscation. The State-controlled media stigmatized and labelled Muslims who were strictly observant as terrorists and fanatics. 12. Today, religion remains much more alive in the villages than in the cities. The majority of Muslims (possibly over 85 per cent of the population) in Uzbekistan follow the Hanafi jurisprudence of Sunni Islam, which is characteristically non-political and introspective. Many citizens continue to follow a primarily secular path and may adopt the Muslim appellation and identity without any corresponding religious practice. 13. There are 2,242 registered religious entities, representing 16 confessions, in Uzbekistan, including 2,068 Sunni Islam groups (with mosques, educational institutions and religious centres). Among the Muslim groups are several Shia Islam congregations. Registered minority religious groups include ethnic Korean Christian, Russian Orthodox, Baptist, Pentecostal (Full Gospel), Seventh-day Adventist, Jewish, Catholic, Baha’í, Lutheran, New Apostolic, Armenian Apostolic, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Krishna Consciousness, Temple of Buddha and Christian Voice of God Church communities, as well as one interconfessional Bible society. 14. Freedom of religion or belief is guaranteed by article 31 of the Constitution, but limited by article 20, which stresses that the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution and exercised by a citizen shall not encroach on the “lawful interests”, rights and freedoms of other citizens, the State or society. Freedom of religion or belief is also regulated by the 1998 Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations (hereafter, the 1998 Law), the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Offences. III. Secularism and religious tolerance 15. Uzbekistan considers itself a secular State as article 61 of its Constitution guarantees the separation of religious organizations and associations from the State, non-interference by the Government in the activities of religious associations and equality before the law. All religious communities — regardless of the size of their congregations — should enjoy the same range of rights and freedoms. Article 57 of the Constitution prohibits the formation of political parties on religious grounds and article 5 of the 1998 Law stresses that the State shall not entrust religious organizations with fulfilling any State functions nor shall the State finance activities of religious organizations nor activities associated with propaganda of atheism. 4