Uzbek authorities have closed at least 10 restaurants that don't serve alcohol and advertise themselves as having "halal food." The restaurant owners say that security officials told them if they agree to sell alcoholic drinks, their businesses will reopen.
Uzbekistan Turning Down The Volume On Islam globalsecurity.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from globalsecurity.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
President Shavkat Mirziyoev won praise from devout Muslims for lifting draconian restrictions on the faith held over from predecessor Islam Karimov. But from a quieter call to prayer to calls to shun the niqab and a crackdown on Islamic websites, policy is now going back in the other direction.