Islam Karimov has appealed to the government and public and religious organizations to launch a campaign against excessive expenditures on weddings, wakes, and celebrations of births and circumcisions, \"Moskovskie novosti,\" No. 12, reported. He had criticized such expenditures last December as discrediting national traditions. According to the report, Mufti of Uzbekistan Abdurashid kori Bakhromov has issued a fatwa on the topic, condemning the practice of turning family events into lavish celebrations and calling on the faithful to spend more on orphanages, homes for the elderly, education, and charity. A campaign against excessive expenditures on family events launched in Uzbekistan in the late Soviet era had little lasting effect because of the tradition that as many people as possible be invited to such celebrations, and the greater the expenditure, the greater the prestige. The article notes that in appealing for the well-to-do to spend more money on social projects and less on showing off in the community, Uzbekistan\'s secular government is promoting Muslim virtues. (RFE/RL)