A lamb sacrificed in memory of those who died during the January events lies in front of President Tokayev wearing a business suit. Imam sits near the president, and officials sit behind them. This photo is probably the most accurate portrayal of what happens to secularism in Kazakhstan. The authorities demonstrate their piousness, at the same time speaking continuously about the secularism of the state and maintaining strict control over the religious sphere. Does the situation need to be changed?
“Secularism is the equidistance from all flows and directions of religion. This is the most essential principle, when the state stays away from religion, while keeping to the policy of equality of all religions. But we have slanting towards one religion, Islam. We should not slant towards secularism, too. Secularism must not be the ideology, while we turn it into the ideology, just like atheism, when only one thing is right,” said religious scholar Asylbek Izbairov.
During the discussion at PaperLab held this August in Astana, religious scholar Asyltai Tasbolat said that the traditional model of secularism was in Kazakhstan in the nineties. The current model differs from that model by the excessive intervention of the state.
This is witnessed by “foreign” observers. Pew Research Center, a Washington-based think-tank, refers Kazakhstan to a group of countries restricting religious freedom. According to the 2022 report, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended to the Department of State to put Kazakhstan on the special watch list for serious violations of the religious freedom.
However, officials of Kazakhstan see no serious concerns. Zhapal Doliyev, head of the office for coordination of prevention of religious extremism in cyberspace of the Ministry of Information and Public Development, admitted that orientations of the religious policy in Kazakhstan may change, yet the authorities do not plan to deviate from the existing principles of secularism.
“Our purpose is to ensure religious harmony. I don’t agree when they say that Kazakhstan adheres to the Soviet model of secularism. Here all religious associations or religious organisations may function, if their activities comply with law,” said Doliyev during the discussion at the PaperLab on August 11.
According to Asylbek Izbairov, the excessive control over the religious sphere not only contradicts the idea of secularism, but seriously discriminates the religious people.
“According to the preamble to the law “On religious activity and religious organisations,” we recognise the historical role of the Khanafite trend of Islam. However, we should not have such a slant,” Izbairov said.
Asyltai Tasbolat also fears that “if the state policy separates Islam into right and wrong, it will hinder the integration and dialogue between various religious groups.”
Zhaslan Aitmaganbetov, lawyer, head of Eurasian Human Rights Organisation (EHRO), also said that the division of Muslims into traditional and untraditional, which is common in Kazakhstan, is wrong and contributes to the division of the society.
“We cannot use the word untraditional here. If you are untraditional, it means you are abnormal, right? The approach of the muftiyat in Kazakhstan leads to discord. Many people start treating any person wearing hijab negatively. Conflicts emerge in families where a parent, when hearing that there are some wrong Muslims in hijabs starts beating their daughter, forcing her to take off the hijab, and to attend mosque, etc,” Aitmaganbetov said.
According to Asylbek Izbairov, the Islam is a priori traditional.
“They say that a person prays differently [and that it is wrong – Editor]. But there are four mazhabs in Islam [directions – Editor]. We should not instil the Khanafit direction by force,” Izbairov said and cited an example when a believer was fined in Kazakhstan for saying ‘amen’ aloud, instead of silently, in the mosque. Recall that in 2016 “Code of conduct in the mosques of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan” were adopted in 2016 and they forbid to say the word “amen” aloud during prayers.
Political analyst Gulnara Mukhatayeva sees the demonization of the image of believers in Kazakhstan media.
“I analyse the websites of Offices for Religious Affairs in the regions, where they publish content that a representative of a religious, say, breached the law by transporting the weapons. So, there’s nothing positive about it, only negative image. This is how the hostile image of the so-called untraditional believer is shaped,” the political analyst said.
According to Izbairov, no one should care about how a person believes,
“This is his/her business, his/her relations with the Allah. The most important thing is to observe the law.”
Hijabs have become the “line of separation” of the Kazakhstan society. This year, the Eurasian human rights organisation gathered information on 70 facts of denied access to school to schoolgirls with their heads covered with headscarves, and submitted it to the government. Public activists stand for stopping discrimination against girls who want to wear headscarves and hijabs to schools.
The ministry of education responded on behalf of the authorities: the agency officially assured the parents that denied access was inappropriate. However, there is no official permit to wear headscarves to schools. The authorities reserve the right to fine parents, whose children violate the school uniform requirements (Art. 409 part 2 Administrative Code).
“Headscarves must not be banned. Do you know that many women have left for Syria only because they had been banned from wearing headscarves, and they are now at war? There is nothing dangerous about girls wearing hijabs, I believe. We should have a constructive dialogue with the believers,” Gulnara Mukhatayeva said.
According to her, the believers should not be discriminated against or treated as potential terrorists. “We should co-exist just like in Europe or Turkey, there’s nothing dangerous about it,” Mukhatayeva said.
According to political analyst Farkhad Kasenov, weakened state control over the religious sphere is acceptable, but first there’s the need to admit the problem of deterioration of quality of education, especially in rural areas, where young people mostly tend to find answers to complex questions in religion. He emphasised that residents encourage construction of mosques despite the absence or shortage of schools.
“We have a strong Islamisation process now in rural areas, and this is vulgar Islamisation. These people are drinkers, smokers, brawlers, can swear, but they sometimes attend Friday prayers, and fast, etc.,” Kasenov said. “At the same time, they are aggressive to those who don’t share their opinions. They dislike atheists the most, and for them Christians are even closer than atheists.”
According to the political analyst, this behaviour is, in fact, the heritage of the Soviet society: the mandatory search for an enemy, instead of searching for consensus or interaction.
“In such a society, if the state stops controlling these issues or stops its attempts to do this, we will have negative impact. It can lead to explosive, unexpected consequences,” Kasenov said.
He refers to some experts who said that the next revolution would be in Kazakhstan and it would be Islamic, not orange.
“Many factors contribute to this: decline in the level of education and standard of life. The poorer the people, the more often they try to find simple answers to complex questions,” Farkhad Kasenov said.
Political analyst Gulnara Mukhatayeva also said about radicalisation in the society and high protest level amid growing social and economic problems in the country.
“People don’t become terrorists overnight. They first get radical based on social reasons: isolation (for example, when they were not employed), psychological, domestic, family issues. Then, they go to religion to get support there, and there they are affected by the destructive movement, which is presented as Islam to them. That’s where further radicalisation continues,” Mukhatayeva said.
According to her, it is important to create the basis for the dialogue of members of the society and not to admit isolation of particular groups on the grounds of religion or other signs.
Religious scholar Asylbek Izbairov reckons that for national security purposes the state must regulate legal relations in the religious sphere by laws “On religious activity,” “On countering religious extremism,” “On missionary work.”
“However, it should be done without any discrimination, which can motivate, say, terrorists, who can think that our state is anti-Islamic,” Izbairov said.
On November 8, the president of Kazakhstan Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev at the meeting with the residents of Atyrau region said that he would not turn a blind eye to religious separatism.
“Kazakhstan is a secular state. Our constitution guarantees the freedom of religion. However, being a secular and tolerant country does not mean ignoring various radical movements and religious separatism. We will never put the country’s security and integrity under threat,” Tokayev said.