Officials are cunning in the way they obstruct registration. They never give their refusals on paper. Anyway, local officials don't decide anything - they just get their orders from above. They are afraid to take any steps without such direction from on high, for fear of losing their comfortable seats. Any official who approved a religious community's registration application would be sacked.
The government's Gengeshi (Council) for Religious Affairs in Ashgabad is not interested in the problems religious communities face. Its officials can't decide anything anyway - they need to seek advice from on high. The aim is a system of control. Everything is still as it was in the Soviet period.
Many activities are banned for us. We can't spread our faith, meet in public buildings like cinemas, show films, work in hospitals or children's homes, distribute humanitarian aid or invite fellow-believers from abroad.
I know people from neighbouring countries who wanted to visit us who have been refused visas five times. They are our brothers and sisters. We pray together. This is - or should be - a normal part of our religious life. We suffer because of this - it leaves us without teaching, encouragement, friendship and exchanges of information.
Religious literature is especially difficult. We can't print such literature at all - how can we when the state runs all printing houses and you need official permission for anything that is printed? Nor can we import it into the country - if you have more than one religious book when you come back through customs they will be confiscated. I have had my personal Bible confiscated from me at customs. It would be excellent if we could print our own literature.
But I come back to places of worship. It is our desire to have a freely-open place of worship in every place where we have a community. This is vital - but at present impossible. Without freedom to meet for worship it is impossible to claim that we have freedom of religion or belief.
This commentary was written for Forum 18 News Service. It appears in Christian Today with the kind permission of Forum 18 News Service ( www.forum18.org ).
