Legal framework on freedom of religion and actual application
Turkmenistan is constitutionally defined as a secular state, as outlined in Article 1 of its constitution.[1] Article 18 of the 2008 Constitution of Turkmenistan affirms the equality of religious organisations before the law and the state’s duty to guarantee freedom of religion and belief. However, it also explicitly prohibits religious interference in state affairs and ensures that no religion is granted privileged status. It also mandates that the education system remain secular. Article 41 ensures the right of individuals to choose and practice any religion—or none—either individually or collectively, and to take part in religious rituals and ceremonies. Article 28 prohibits discrimination based on religion. Article 30 states that the exercise of individual rights—including religious freedom—must not violate public order, morality or national security. Article 44 forbids the formation of political parties based on religious ideology and outlaws organisations that promote religious discord.
The constitution mandates two years of military service for men over the age of 18, without exemptions on religious grounds. However, since 2022, conscientious objectors have been permitted to undertake an alternative civilian service in the State Migration Service.[2]
Turkmenistan is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),[3] which contains provision concerning religious freedom.
Religious affairs and religious organisations are governed by the 2016 Law on Freedom of Religion and Religious Organisations,[4] recently amended in 2021. The law regulates the legal status of religious organisations, the rights of individuals to practise their religion, and the role of the state in safeguarding these freedoms. Its preamble guarantees freedom of religion and belief, affirms equality regardless of religious conviction, and acknowledges the historical role of Islam in Turkmenistan. The law also establishes the Commission on Work with Religious Organisations and Expertise of Resources Containing Religious Information, Publishing and Printing Products in Turkmenistan (hereafter “the Commission”) to oversee the implementation of religious policy and ensure compliance.
All religious communities are required to register with both the Commission and the Ministry of Justice of Turkmenistan (MOJ). Unregistered religious activity—including worship, distribution of religious literature, and missionary work—is illegal and subject to administrative or criminal penalties. Article 10 of the Religion Law grants the Commission wide-ranging powers, effectively placing all aspects of religious life under its control. Chapter IX also gives extensive authority to the Prosecutor General and the MOJ.
While the 2016 Religion Law nominally guarantees religious freedom, its restrictive provisions significantly limit independent religious practice. For example, registered religious organisations may provide no more than four hours of instruction per week to children during extracurricular hours, with prior parental consent and approval from the Commission (Article 8, Religion Law). In addition, the burdensome and bureaucratic registration process places all religious activity under tight state control, seriously limiting free religious expression. Registration procedures and surveillance are used to ensure that religious activity aligns with state policies and do not challenge the authority of the government.[5]
Despite the state's secular status, Islam is frequently instrumentalised to reinforce the totalitarian rule of the Berdimuhamedow family, which has governed the country for almost 20 years. This is done by appointing and controlling imams tasked with monitoring the faithful and gathering information on their political and social views.
State control also extends to the interpretation of Islam, and Muslims who deviate from the state-sanctioned version risk persecution, including lengthy prison sentences.[6] In urban areas, much of the population is only nominally religious, and religious extremism remains rare.[7] Nevertheless, interest in Islam has been increasing among Turkmen.[8] The regime regards “excessive” religiosity with hostility and has implemented measures against practices it associates with radical Islam, such as banning beards among young men[9] on the grounds that they do not correspond to local cultural traditions.[10]
Since 2014, Turkmenistan has been designated a Country of Particular Concern by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), in compliance with the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom.[11] This designation was renewed in USCIRF’s 2024 Report, although Antony Blinken, then US Secretary of State, repeatedly waived the accompanying sanctions, citing the “important national interest of the United States.”[12] According to Freedom House’s 2024 report, Turkmenistan scored 0 out of 4 for religious freedom.[13]
Incidents and developments
Turkmenistan remains firmly under the rule of the Berdimuhamedow family. Serdar Berdimuhamedow became president in 2022, succeeding his father Gurbanguly. Following the 2023 constitutional reform, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow was granted the formal title of “National Leader of the Turkmen people” and appointed as head of the People’s Council (Halk Maslahaty), the highest governing body in the country. This effectively placed him in a position to oversee—and potentially veto—his son’s decisions.[14] The arrangement constitutes an asymmetrical diarchy, with Gurbanguly wielding significant power behind the scenes, while the head of state operates within limits defined by his father.[15]
In 2023 the Commission for Religious Affairs rejected the registration application of an independent Protestant Church in the city of Türkmenabat, which had previously been raided by police. The church had fulfilled the requirement of securing support from 50 adult citizens.[16] Following the rejection, about 20 Church members were threatened with prosecution and fines.
In Spring 2023, the Ministry of State Security (MSS) repeatedly summoned a 60-year-old Muslim man in the town of Mary for offering prayers without state approval, instructing him to cease his religious activities.[17]
During the reporting period, government officials repeatedly warned and threatened Jehovah’s Witnesses not to gather for worship or share their faith. The group’s registration requests have been repeatedly denied.[18]
In March 2023, police and MSS officials in the cities of Türkmenbaşy and Balkanabat intensified their scrutiny of religious practices, targeting Muslim women who attended mosques, wore hijab, or prayed using tasbih (Islamic prayer beads). Officials also searched women’s phones for links to so-called “radical” religious groups.[19]
In April 2023, Yakutjan Babajanowa, a 73-year-old Muslim woman planning to undertake the umrah pilgrimage to Makkah, was prevented from leaving the country, despite completing all required formalities.[20] Her daughter Hamida, who lives in exile in Turkey, reported the case to the Turkmenistan Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (THF). She believed the travel ban was linked to her criticism of the regime.[21] Hamida recounted that her mother had saved for the trip for years—[22] — an amount equivalent to ten average monthly salaries. In August 2023, after five months, Yakutjan was finally permitted to travel.[23] According to human rights organisation Forum 18, such restrictions are common in Turkmenistan.[24] Every year, the authorities cap the number of permitted pilgrims despite high demand. Out of 19,000 applicants in 2023, only 2,312 were officially approved. Pilgrims face invasive background checks, corruption, and political favouritism during the authorisation process.[25] Customs officials monitor travellers and confiscate religious items upon return, after conducting thorough inspection of returning pilgrims’ luggage. Scandals have revealed bribery and arbitrary decisions about who may undertake pilgrimage, including among high-profile religious figures.[26]
In July 2023, Turkmenistan’s Chief Mufti Yalkap Hojagulyyew angered Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow after the latter discovered that the mufti’s wife had been included in the Hajj pilgrimage list without his personal approval. Fearing repercussions, she chose not to travel.[27] The incident illustrates the extent of authoritarian oversight in Turkmenistan, where even high-ranking religious officials face strict and arbitrary controls.
The independent media and human rights outlet Turkmen.news reported that in April 2023, in the town of Shatlyk, Mary Province, the government intended to replace the chief imam with someone more aligned with the regime’s interests.[28] That same month, following the death of Ogulabad Berdimuhamedowa, mother of former president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow and grandmother of the current president, mosques were ordered to recite memorial prayers, and all wedding celebrations were cancelled.[29] Citizens were compelled to grieve, music was banned, and ordinary Turkmen were required to pray at home for the repose of the president’s grandmother.[30]
In August 2023, police in the city of Türkmenbaşy conducted raids on the homes of devout Muslims, seizing religious literature.[31] That same month, the Ministry of State Security (MSS) detained an elderly imam in the town of Gumdag for teaching Islam to children without state approval.[32]
Also in August, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD) called on Turkmenistan to remove barriers to the registration of religious organisations and to the practice of religion without state approval, reminding Turkmen authorities that these restrictions violate international law.[33]
In its 2024 Annual Report, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) mentioned that, in the previous year, Muslim prisoners of conscience continued to be detained on dubious charges for participating in peaceful religious activities.[34] USCIRF documented at least nine such cases, though the actual number is likely higher, with some individuals serving sentences ranging from 12 to 15 years. While Turkmen officials have provided updates on the status and whereabouts of these prisoners, concerns remain regarding their treatment due to the notoriously harsh conditions in Turkmen prisons.
Turkmen citizens living abroad have also been targeted. One of the most notorious recent case concerns Ashyrbay Bekiew, who was deported from Russia to Turkmenistan despite a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) prohibiting his extradition. Bekiew, who had been legally residing in Russia since 2009, was accused by Turkmen authorities in 2015 of promoting “Islamic extremism” and was placed on a wanted list for spreading “Wahhabi” ideas to Turkmen students in Russia.[35] Human rights organisations maintain that the charges are baseless. In May 2023, Russian authorities detained Bekiew over expired immigration documents and deported him in August. By October 2023, he had reportedly been sentenced to 23 years in prison.[36] His family, particularly his brother Tachmyrat, have also reportedly faced persecution for their religious activities.[37]
In 2024, religious freedom in Turkmenistan remained severely restricted. The Christian NGO Open Doors reported that the authorities regularly interrogated Christians and pressured them to disclose information about their activities.[38] At least 500 Christians reported experiencing physical or psychological abuse, often at the hands of their own families in cases involving converts from Islam. Victims endured beatings, forced isolation, and harassment, often aggravated by local imams who preached against them.
In April 2024, security services intensified surveillance of young people visiting mosques, detaining and questioning young men praying, particularly following the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack in Moscow.[39] Shops selling religious clothing and items were also raided.[40] The government warned state employees who had participated in the Hajj not to display religious observance at work, and reaffirmed its ban on beards and white headscarves.[41]
In May 2024, as part of a crackdown on religious minorities, authorities in the regions of Lebap and Daşoguz pressured ethnic Turkmen, Tatars, Uzbeks and Tajiks who profess the Christian Orthodox faith to convert to Islam.[42] In addition, some pig farms were destroyed, and pork sausage factories closed in a campaign against so-called “forbidden meat” .[43]
In July 2024, Protestant Pastor Rahymjan Borjakov was publicly threatened with imprisonment by a mosque official.[44] Shortly afterwards, the Ministry of State Security (MSS) visited his family, gathered information about his relatives, and subjected them to threatening phone calls. Pastor Borjakov temporarily left the country due to fabricated accusations. One Christian-owned business was also shut down for similar reasons.[45]
The Israeli embassy in the capital, Ashgabat, reported no incidents of antisemitism.[46]
Despite the repressive conditions, a Catholic leader observed a growing “religious curiosity” among Turkmen. He attributed this shift to a broader interest in religion—and in some cases, Christianity—while for others, it reflected a desire to reconnect with their ancestral religious roots. In this context, religious leaders stated that, while they refrain from proselytising, they welcome seekers with open doors.[47]
Prospects for freedom of religion
Turkmenistan is governed by one of the most totalitarian regimes in the world, affecting nearly every aspect of daily life. Despite some constitutional and legal guarantees, in practice these provisions are used to consolidate state authority rather than protect religious freedom. The legal framework underpinning this repression is broad and continually expanding. The regime enforces a systematic policy of total societal control, prohibiting any collective exercise of freedom of religion or belief without state approval. All religious and belief groups are subject to mandatory registration and face strict limitations on their activities.[48]
While the authorities continue to supress any expressions of Islamic religiosity deemed excessive, permitting it only within boundaries they can manage, Islam is also instrumentalised to reinforce state dominance and target minority faiths—particularly Muslim converts. This intensifying repression suggests that no meaningful changes are likely to occur in the foreseeable future.
Turkmenistan