After decades of enforced secularism, the people of this impoverished former Soviet republic have been flocking to their traditional religion with all the zeal of born-again movements anywhere in the world.

The authoritarian government here could not be more worried. Spooked by the specter of Islamic radicalism and the challenges posed by increasingly influential religious leaders, the Tajik authorities have been working fervently to curb religious expression.

Bearded men have been detained at random, and women barred from religious services. This year, the government demanded that students studying religion at universities in places like Egypt, Syria and Iran return home. The police have shuttered private mosques and Islamic Web sites, and government censors now monitor Friday sermons, stepping in when muftis stray from the government line.

Last month, lawmakers took what many here said was a drastic step further: they passed a law that would, among other things, bar children younger than 18 from attending religious services at mosques.

It is called the law “on parental responsibility for educating and raising children,” and the measure, according to officials, is meant to prevent children from skipping school to attend prayer services, and it would hold parents responsible if they do.

Government critics liken it to a Soviet-style attempt at reversing Islam’s spread. Many warn, however, that banning young people from mosques may have the opposite effect.

“After this law takes effect and the government and security services start applying pressure, youth could be drawn to illegal organizations,” said Mahmadali Hait, the deputy chairman of Tajikistan’s opposition Islamic Revival Party. “And it is possible that the level of radicalization in the country could increase.”

Growing religiosity in Tajikistan and in neighboring former Soviet republics is seen as a threat by the region’s entrenched authoritarian leaders, many of whom have been in power for decades. Unlike the political arena or the media, Islam is a potential font of dissent that, so far, they have been unable to monopolize.

The Taliban insurgency in neighboring Afghanistan has only compounded fears, especially now that the United States plans to withdraw its troops from the country. Clashes along Tajikistan’s extensive border with Afghanistan are not infrequent, and the authorities have linked foreign militants to several attacks on the police and military units in the last year. Travel between the two countries is relatively easy, and several Tajiks interviewed said they had visited Afghanistan for religious training.

“We have observed in recent years attempts by extremist movements to influence the world views of our children,” Tajikistan’s president, Emomali Rakhmon, said in a speech in April, arguing the need for the law on parental responsibility. “The leaders of various extremist groups and currents have started appearing in academic institutions, recruiting inexperienced youth.”

Independent experts say there is little evidence that militant Islamist groups have found much of a following in Tajikistan. Rather, they say, regional leaders often use the threat of Islamic extremism as a pretext to crack down on political opponents and their supporters.

Mr. Rakhmon and his circle, most of whom are secular former Soviet apparatchiks, fought and won a brutal civil war against a loose coalition of Muslim and secular opposition groups in the 1990s. Though former opposition field commanders were promised places in the government after the war, many have been jailed, exiled or murdered.

“We have secular extremism here,” said Khodzhi Akbar Turadzhonzoda , a prominent Islamic leader and a former member of Tajikistan’s Parliament. Talk of Islamic radicalism in Tajikistan, he said, “is a lie.”

“This is only to deceive the people, strengthen dictatorships, and spend more money on weapons and the secret services.”

On Fox News Sunday this morning, Herman Cain calmly and succinctly took one of the hardest lines against Muslims in modern mainstream politics.

Islam is not a religion like other religions, he said, and Americans have the right to keep it out of their communities if they wish.

Show host Chris Wallace asked about the Murfreesboro, TN mosque project Cain took a stand against last week. The planned construction project will build a new home for a Muslim group that’s worshiped in the Tennessee town for three decades. But protesters say the group behind the mosque is trying to impose sharia law on America, and they’ve tied up the project in court for months.

Cain made it clear this morning he stands with the critics.

“Let’s go back to the fundamental issue,” Cain said. “Islam is both a religion and a set of laws — Sharia laws. That’s the difference between any one of our traditional religions where it’s just about religious purposes.”

“So, you’re saying that any community, if they want to ban a mosque…” Wallace began.

“Yes, they have the right to do that,” Cain said. “That’s not discriminating based upon their particular religion. There is an aspect of them building that mosque that doesn’t get talked about. And the people in the community know what it is and they’re talking about it.”

Cain also addressed his past controversies with Muslims, including his promise to be wary of Muslim applicants to his administration, lest they be terrorists.

That’s not discrimination, Cain insisted.

“Aren’t you willing to restrict people because of their religion?” Wallace asked.

“I’m willing to take a harder look at people who might be terrorists, that’s what I’m saying,” Cain replied. “Look, I know that there’s a peaceful group of Muslims in this country. God bless them and they’re free to worship. If you look at my career I have never discriminated against anybody, because of their religion, sex or origin or anything like that. “

“I’m simply saying I owe it to the American people to be cautious because terrorists are trying to kill us,” Cain continued, “so yes I’m going to err on the side of caution rather than on the side of carelessness.”

BRUSSELS – Following France’s steps, Belgium will become the second European country to ban Muslim face veil, or niqab, in public places as of coming July 23 when the law banning the religious outfit becomes effective.

“I don’t like the burqa. Every person should be visible,” Emir Kir, the Secretary for Public Sanitation and Monument Conservation in the Brussels region, told Care2 website on Friday, July 15.  

“But I wonder if we need a law on it. If we do this, we could make it a symbol and reinforce extremists on all sides.

“And in the middle of this economic crisis, where everyone is concerned about their job, this is not the number one problem.”

According to the new law, passed earlier this week, Muslim women would not be allowed to go in public while donning full face veil.

If any woman failed to comply with the law, she will be punished with a penalty of 137.50 euros ($195) and up to seven days behind bars in jail as a punishment.

The law was backed at first reading in April 2010, but the second-reading vote was postponed as a consequence of the fall of the Belgian government and early elections held in June 2010. Belgium is still being governed by a caretaker cabinet.

Before the second-reading vote, the debate in the Belgian Parliament appeared less heated than it had been in 2010, French daily Le Figaro reported.

Supporters claim that the bill is intended to promote women’s rights and prevent a split between the Islamic community and the rest of Belgian society, though Amnesty International condemned such a ban as an “attack on religious freedom.”

On the other hand, Belgian Muslims see the measure as discriminatory, describing the move as stigmatizing the entire Muslim minority community.

Belgian Muslims are estimated at 450,000 – out of a 10-million-population – about half of them are from Moroccan origin, while 120,000 are from Turkish origin.

Yet, a very small portion estimated to 200 to 300 of the country’s hundreds of thousands of Muslims wear the face veil in public.

While hijab is an obligatory code of dress for Muslim women, the majority of Muslim scholars agree that a woman is not obliged to wear the face veil.

Scholars believe it is up to women to decide whether to take on the veil or burqa, a loose outfit covering the whole body from head to toe and wore by some Muslim women.

Not in UK

Shocked by the recent law passed in Belgium, Britain’s Muslims ruled out a similar ban in multicultural, tolerance UK, Catholic News website reported.

“Implementing the burqa ban will not happen because the UK is a more open and inclusive society than the rest of Europe … Multiculturalism is a British institution and the whole nation wants to preserve it,” the Muslim Council of Britain, MCB, told reporters.

Experiencing Britain’s tolerant environment, Muslims ruled out a similar ban to that applied so far in France, Belgium and some Spanish and German cities.

“There’s a more tolerant environment in the UK and they are much more inclusive than the French and Belgian societies,” Nabila Ramdani, a Paris-born UK-based journalist and academic says.

“Britain has always been more inclusive and practically deals with multiculturalism. You see it everywhere with minorities represented in media, politics, and business — something you don’t see in France or Belgium.”

Moreover, Ramdani cited the British anti-discrimination laws as protecting the UK from politicians passing such laws.

“There are no strong anti-discrimination laws in Belgium and France to fight that,” she said.

“Worse, in both countries you have institutionalized racism.”

The burqa has been the center of fierce debate since France banned the wearing in public places.

Following France and Belgium, several European countries, including Spain, are mulling similar moves.

Following the French law, enacted in September, calls have grown in Britain for a similar ban.

A YouGov survey conducted last year found that some 67 percent of Britons favor face-veils to be made illegal.

Last year, lawmaker Philip Hollobone introduced a bill in the parliament for Britain to follow France in outlawing face-veils in public.

The right-wing United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) has also supported calls for a veil ban in Britain.

Herman Cain expressed his opposition to a proposed Tennessee mosque, rekindling the controversy surrounding its construction as well as sharia fears.

• Herman Cain Pressed on Muslim Loyalty Test in GOP Debate
• Terry Jones Jailed in Mich. Before Anti-Sharia Protest
• Nearly 7 in 10 Americans OK with Community Mosque
• Tenn. Residents Express More Sharia Fears
• Judge Rules Tenn. Mosque Construction May Proceed
• Request for 9/11 Money to Fund Ground Zero Mosque Reignites Controversy
• U.S. Prisons Hotbed for Islamist Terror, Rep. King Says
• Witnesses Praise Peter King’s Muslim Hearing

• Islam

The presidential contender made it clear to reporters that he does not agree with the construction of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro.

“It is an infringement and an abuse of our freedom of religion,” Cain said of the center’s construction on Thursday, according to The Associated Press.

He also said he believes the planned center is not an “innocent mosque.”

The comments are expected to fuel the opposition movement that began in 2010 after Rutherford County officials approved plans for the massive expansion of an existing mosque.

Residents opposing its construction protested in the streets, charging that the county had not properly informed them of the ICM’s plans. Residents later sued the county. During the trial, Attorney Joe Brandon Jr. peppered officials with questions about Islamic customs and Sharia law.

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Plans for the ICM reveal that it will be a mosque, an Islamic school and sports center for its followers to worship and gather in.

Its website describes the center’s mission as a place to “improve the practice, knowledge, and understanding of Islam among all people” as well as “elevate the image of Islam and Muslims among non-Muslims in general.”

Susan Lynn, a former Tennessee General Assembly member, says residents are especially worried by the second mission statement.

“I think the overall concern is that it will be such a large mosque. Murfreesboro is a college town and it seems as though this extension may be directed at influencing the college students,” said Lynn.

State Senator Bill Ketron says that the center is supposed to expand to well over 50,000 square feet.

“Where are the people going to come from to fill it up?” questioned Ketron. “That leads one to believe that they’re going to [be reaching into the community] to increase their membership.”

Tennessee has already had one of its own swept into radical Islam while in college.

Memphis native Carlos Bledsoe converted to Islam at the age of 20 while he attended Tennessee State University. Bledsoe dropped out of college traveled to Yemen where he became radicalized. He returned to the United States as Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad and later killed an American soldier.

Muhammad’s father, Melvin Bledsoe, testified in the first of the Washington, D.C., hearings on Islamic extremism earlier this year. He told lawmakers there are radicals who “hide behind moderate Muslims” preying on America’s youth.

Muhammad’s story has given rise to sharia concerns. ACT! for America, a non-profit group that believes radical Islam is invading America, has nine chapters in the state. Neighboring Kentucky has seven chapters.

Additionally, legislation has been introduced to identify domestic terror groups and recognize Sharia as “a political doctrine” that “support[s] the replacement of America’s constitutional republic … with a political system based upon Sharia.”

Despite these fears, it is still unclear whether or not the ICM is a radical stronghold or a moderate place of worship.

The center states on its website that ICM’s work is “in line with the Islamic rules and The USA laws.”

Lynn said that while there is a possibility that any mosque could be practicing Sharia, she “trust[s] the federal government watches organizations constantly as they should.

“If they see anything suspicious, I trust that they do what’s necessary and attend to it.”

Cain told reporters Thursday that he believes in American laws and American courts and feels that the mosque expansion is “just another way to try to gradually sneak Sharia law into our laws, and I absolutely object to that.”

Cain’s thoughts match those of ICM opponents. They are currently appealing a November 2010 ruling allowing the ICM to continue construction.

Lynn, a Christian, meanwhile, said there are many “wonderful churches” in Murfreesboro and encouraged concerned Christians to become more involved in their outreach to college students.

In the fine tradition of last summer’s months long nontroversy over a proposed Islamic community center near Ground Zero, GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain has declared his opposition to a proposed mosque in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

With no trace of irony, Cain said he thought building the mosque was “an infringement and an abuse of our freedom of religion,” declaring that “this isn’t an innocent mosque”:

”It is another example of why I believe in American laws and American courts,” Cain said. “This is just another way to try to gradually sneak Shariah law into our laws, and I absolutely object to that.”

A little background: The proposed mosque in Tennessee became a target of arson and vandalism in September of last year, not long after the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque” became the freak show story of the summer. A local group tried to block construction, claiming that Islam wasn’t actually a religion. The plaintiffs’ attorney argued that Muslims aren’t entitled to the same rights as others because “these are the same people who flew jets into the World Trade Center on 9/11,” and said the whole thing was an effort to bring Tennessee under Taliban-style Islamic law. The whole controversy prompted the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department to file a brief noting that Islam is in fact, a religion.

As with Cain’s unconstitutional religious test however, the problem for him and other mosque opponents is not sharia law. It’s U.S. law. There are both federal and state laws on the books that prevent local zoning laws from being used to block construction of religious institutions, which is why opponents argue that Islam isn’t a religion. At both the federal and the state level, those bills were the work of Republicans — it just didn’t occur to them at the time that “religious freedom” applied to Muslims. The judge, not surprisingly, agreed that Islam is a religion and let construction go forward.

More broadly, Cain has spent the last few months fibbing about declaring he’d exclude Muslims from his cabinet or from the judiciary if he were elected. Cain later tried to walk back his unconstitutional religious test for public service, complaining that “I’ve been asked that same question 18,000 times.”

Of course, the reason why Cain keeps getting asked about his anti-Muslim views is that no other 2012 GOPer has matched his extensive use of anti-Muslim rhetoric to win over the Islamophobic wing of the Republican base. Cain may not be doing too well in the polls, but if there’s an anti-Muslim primary underway, he is the clear frontrunner. With people like Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum in the race, that’s no small achievement, although I’m not sure it’s one to be proud of.