The head of religious affairs in Karakalpakstan, Nurulla Zhamolov, has banned the Bible, a hymnal, a Bible encyclopedia, a Bible dictionary and a children's Bible. In 2009, there are at least three examples of police and intelligence services raiding the homes of Christians and confiscating Bibles, films and Christian literature.
Among other things, Mel Gibson's movie The Passion of the Christ is banned in the country. Eleonora Zhumaniyazova, a Protestant Christian, experienced this while celebrating her birthday with her friends. On her birthday, her home was raided by police who confiscated six DVDs, including The Passion of the Christ. The Committee for Religious Affairs conducted a so-called expert analysis of the DVDs and concluded that Mel Gibson's film was covered by the ban. Eleonora Zhumaniyazova was fined in absentia approximately 514 Danish crowns, equivalent to five times the minimum wage in the Republic, for violating the "procedure for teaching religious doctrine".
Another example is Polat Smetullaev, who had his Bible confiscated. When he complained about the search by the police and intelligence services, which was carried out without a warrant, the public prosecutor, S. Ibrahimov, stated that the reason for the search was his mother Aksulu, who "gathered women in her home and gave them religious instruction every Tuesday and Friday". The prosecutor noted that when the officers arrived at her home, they found, among other things, the Bible displayed on the carpet with women sitting in a circle around it. The Bible was subsequently confiscated to be subjected to an "expert analysis".
The conclusion was that the Bible was covered by the ban, and the prosecutor's office warned Smetullaev's mother Aksulu that if she continued her religious teaching without "special religious training" and without the approval of a "registered centralized religious organization", she would be fined administratively and, if she violated again, criminal proceedings would be initiated against her. Between the search and the letter with Public Prosecutor Ibrahimove's decision, Smetullaev's father and Aksulu's husband died and the family experienced serious problems in their attempts to have him buried.
Danish European Mission is currently supporting a translation of the Bible so that the people of Karakalpakstan can read about God's promises in the midst of their trials in a language they understand.
- Pray for the Christians in Karakalpakstan based on Psalm 23 in the Bible. The promises in this psalm also apply to the Christians in Karakalpakstan, and they will find strength and comfort in the midst of persecution as we remember them in prayer
- Pray for protection for Christians smuggling the Bible, Christian literature and movies into the area
- Pray that God will soften the hearts of the Karakalpak people to receive the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ
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