Kazakh Senate passes religion law, ignores criticism
By RAUSHAN NURSHAYEVA | REUTERS
Published: Sep 29, 2011 16:31 Updated: Sep 29, 2011 16:31
ASTANA: Kazakhstans Senate approved on Thursday tougher laws on religious activity in the Central Asian state, ignoring Western criticism of its response to what it calls the growing threat of extremism.
The new law, which will ban prayer rooms in state institutions, will have to be signed into law by President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Kazakhstans veteran leader proposed tough new laws to his compliant legislature a month ago.
Kazakhstan, where 70 percent of the 16.5-million population is Muslim, has only recently witnessed outbursts of militant Islam experienced by other former Soviet states in the vast region bordering Afghanistan.
Last months detention of a group of religious extremists planning acts of terror unsettled many in Kazakhstan, an oil-rich country ruled by Nazarbayev for more than two decades.
Kazakhstan also last month temporarily blocked access to a number of foreign Internet sites after a court ruled they were propagating terrorism and inciting religious hatred. A suicide bomber blew himself up in the city of Aktobe in May.
The new law, which has stirred debate in officially secular Kazakhstan, stresses the historic role of the Hanafi school of Islam and of the Christian Orthodox faith in the cultural and spiritual development of the Kazakh nation.
The vast majority of Kazakhstans Muslims are followers of the Hanafi school of law, considered to be the oldest and most liberal within the Sunni Muslim tradition.
The law also requires the review of all religious literature and the mandatory annual registration of all foreign missionaries, who can be expelled if deemed to pose a threat to the constitutional order and public peace.
Authorities say they want to stop the spread of extremism into Kazakhstan, the most prosperous of Central Asias nations, from the overpopulated and impoverished Ferghana Valley shared by ex-Soviet neighbors Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
But US-based watchdog Freedom House had called for the Senate to reject the new law, describing it as repressive.
These provisions are very troubling, as they grossly curb Kazakhstani citizens right to freely practice and express their faith, Susan Corke, Freedom Houses senior program manager for Eurasia, said in a statement issued on Sept. 22.
A day earlier, Kazakhstans lower house of parliament had voted in favor of the bill.
This latest piece of legislation signals the continuing deterioration in the countrys human rights and religious freedom situation, Corke said.
Kairat Lama Sharif, head of the governments Religions Agency, said many other countries had also taken steps to curb the spread of extremist ideology.
Asked to respond to the Freedom House statement, he said: Many Western countries are making their own laws. Three states have already introduced laws to ban the hijab in their countries.
Kazakhstan has no official restrictions on wearing the hijab or other forms of religious dress.
© 2010 Arab News
By RAUSHAN NURSHAYEVA | REUTERS
Published: Sep 29, 2011 16:31 Updated: Sep 29, 2011 16:31
ASTANA: Kazakhstans Senate approved on Thursday tougher laws on religious activity in the Central Asian state, ignoring Western criticism of its response to what it calls the growing threat of extremism.
The new law, which will ban prayer rooms in state institutions, will have to be signed into law by President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Kazakhstans veteran leader proposed tough new laws to his compliant legislature a month ago.
Kazakhstan, where 70 percent of the 16.5-million population is Muslim, has only recently witnessed outbursts of militant Islam experienced by other former Soviet states in the vast region bordering Afghanistan.
Last months detention of a group of religious extremists planning acts of terror unsettled many in Kazakhstan, an oil-rich country ruled by Nazarbayev for more than two decades.
Kazakhstan also last month temporarily blocked access to a number of foreign Internet sites after a court ruled they were propagating terrorism and inciting religious hatred. A suicide bomber blew himself up in the city of Aktobe in May.
The new law, which has stirred debate in officially secular Kazakhstan, stresses the historic role of the Hanafi school of Islam and of the Christian Orthodox faith in the cultural and spiritual development of the Kazakh nation.
The vast majority of Kazakhstans Muslims are followers of the Hanafi school of law, considered to be the oldest and most liberal within the Sunni Muslim tradition.
The law also requires the review of all religious literature and the mandatory annual registration of all foreign missionaries, who can be expelled if deemed to pose a threat to the constitutional order and public peace.
Authorities say they want to stop the spread of extremism into Kazakhstan, the most prosperous of Central Asias nations, from the overpopulated and impoverished Ferghana Valley shared by ex-Soviet neighbors Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
But US-based watchdog Freedom House had called for the Senate to reject the new law, describing it as repressive.
These provisions are very troubling, as they grossly curb Kazakhstani citizens right to freely practice and express their faith, Susan Corke, Freedom Houses senior program manager for Eurasia, said in a statement issued on Sept. 22.
A day earlier, Kazakhstans lower house of parliament had voted in favor of the bill.
This latest piece of legislation signals the continuing deterioration in the countrys human rights and religious freedom situation, Corke said.
Kairat Lama Sharif, head of the governments Religions Agency, said many other countries had also taken steps to curb the spread of extremist ideology.
Asked to respond to the Freedom House statement, he said: Many Western countries are making their own laws. Three states have already introduced laws to ban the hijab in their countries.
Kazakhstan has no official restrictions on wearing the hijab or other forms of religious dress.
© 2010 Arab News