Police in the central Asian state of Tajikistan have forcibly shaved nearly 13,000 men and 'convinced' 1,700 women to remove their headscarves in a bid to eradicate radical Islam in the country.

The crackdown, aimed at reducing 'foreign influences', is the latest in a series of moves by the authoritarian government to tackle extremism.

According to Radio Liberty, a central Asian focused blog, who sourced the official Tajik news agency, police 'brought to order' men whose beards were deemed 'too long and unkempt'.

Shaved: Authorities shaved the beards of 13,00 men in a bid to crack down on radical interpretations of Islam (file photo)

The head of the Khatlon police, Bahrom Sharifzoda, showed the local media a 'before and after' picture of one man that had been shaved.

Police also said they had 'convinced' 1,700 women to remove their headscarves, arrested 89 hijab-wearing prostitutes and closed down 162 shops and stalls selling hijabs.

Last week, the parliament voted to ban Arabic or 'foreign-sounding names' after a rise in babies named Mohammad.

Tajikistan is facing a security threat as thousands of home grown militants aligned Pakistani and Afghan Taliban, have joined forces with the Islamic State on the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border.

Majority Muslim: Tajikistan is a majority Muslim country, it has a secular government

There are also thought to be up to 2,000 jihadis from Tajikistan fighting with ISIS in Syria.

Tajikistan is a majority Muslim country, but has a secular government. In September, the country's only Islamic party was banned from the political system.

The country's president President Emomali Rahmon, has been in power since 1994 and his current term ends in 2020.

He has been promoting secular values in addition to cementing his power.