Suhrob is a follower of the Tablighi Jamoat movement from a village near Vanj in Tajikistan, a mountainous state of some eight million people in Central Asia. Like many pious Muslims from Tajikistan, Suhrob moved to Russia to escape persecution from the authorities back home. He set up a shop selling perfume at a bazaar in the Moscow region, and dedicated much of his time to proselytising among the central Asian migrant community and setting up a prayer group with around 20 followers.
In June 2015, some Tajik-speaking men visited Suhrob’s perfume stall. They told him to cease his activities or else his family back in Tajikistan would suffer the consequences. The next day, Russian police visited Suhrob to check his documents. A week later he received a call from his parents: they had been visited by the village rais (chief), who told them that their son was spreading “extremist” views.
“Tajikistan may be 4,000 kilometers away. But I can still feel its reach!”
