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Religion and the Secular State in Kazakhstan

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Religion and the Secular State in Kazakhstan Religion and the Secular State in Kazakhstan Svante E. Cornell S. Frederick Starr Julian Tucker SILK ROAD PAPER April 2018 Religion and the Secular State in Kazakhstan Svante E. Cornell S. Frederick Starr Julian Tucker © Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program – A Joint Transatlantic Research and Policy Center American Foreign Policy Council, 509 C St NE, Washington D.C. Institute for Security and Development Policy, V. Finnbodavägen 2, Stockholm-Nacka, Sweden www.silkroadstudies.org “Religion and the Secular State in Kazakhstan” is a Silk Road Paper published by the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program, Joint Center. The Silk Road Papers Series is the Occasional Paper series of the Joint Center, and addresses topical and timely subjects. The Joint Center is a transatlantic independent and non-profit research and policy center. It has offices in Washington and Stockholm and is affiliated with the American Foreign Policy Council and the Institute for Security and Development Policy. It is the first institution of its kind in Europe and North America, and is firmly established as a leading research and policy center, serving a large and diverse community of analysts, scholars, policy-watchers, business leaders, and journalists. The Joint Center is at the forefront of research on issues of conflict, security, and development in the region. Through its applied research, publications, research cooperation, public lectures, and seminars, it functions as a focal point for academic, policy, and public discussion regarding the region. Research for this publication was made possible through the core funding of the Joint Center’s institutional sponsors, as well as project support from the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Sweden. The opinions and conclusions expressed in this study are those of the authors only, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Joint Center or its sponsors. © Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program, 2017 ISBN: 978-91-88551-08-5 Printed in Lithuania Distributed in North America by: Central Asia-Caucasus Institute American Foreign Policy Council 509 C St NE, Washington DC 20002 E-mail: [email protected] Distributed in Europe by: The Silk Road Studies Program Institute for Security and Development Policy Västra Finnbodavägen 2, SE-13130 Stockholm-Nacka E-mail: [email protected] Editorial correspondence should be addressed to the European offices of the Joint Center (preferably by e-mail.) Contents Preface ..................................................................................................................... 5 Executive Summary .............................................................................................. 7 Models of Secularism ........................................................................................ 12 The Development of Religion and Statehood in Kazakhstan ................... 22 Islamization ................................................................................................................ 22 Russian Colonization and the Rise of Kazakh Nationalism ............................. 26 The Soviet Era ............................................................................................................ 35 Religion in Kazakhstani Society and the International Context ............... 42 Islam in Contemporary Kazakhstan ...................................................................... 43 Revival of Christianity ............................................................................................. 47 External Religious Impulses ................................................................................... 48 Extremist and Terrorist Groups in Kazakhstan ................................................... 54 Secularism in Kazakhstan: Policies, Laws and Institutions ....................... 61 What is Kazakhstani Secularism? .......................................................................... 61 Government Policy ................................................................................................... 64 Constitution and Laws ............................................................................................. 66 State Institutions ....................................................................................................... 75 The Ministry of Religious Affairs .............................................................................. 75 The Muftiate ............................................................................................................ 77 The National Security Committee ............................................................................ 81 The Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions .................................. 84 Education ................................................................................................................. 85 Secularism in Evolution ........................................................................................... 87 Implications and Conclusions ......................................................................... 89 Author Bios .......................................................................................................... 96 Preface This Silk Road Paper is part of the ongoing research effort on secular governance, religion and politics at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program Joint Center. We issue this paper as a contribution to the meager research that exists on secular governance in Central Asia and the Caucasus. While there is considerable opinion expressed by Western governments and NGOs on policies toward religion in Central Asia and the Caucasus, there is little analysis of what those policies actually are, what their intellectual antecedents may be, and what they intend to achieve. Indeed, until the publication in 2016 in this series of Azerbaijan’s Formula: Secular Governance and Civic Nationhood, there had been no case study of what secular governance actually means in this regional context – let alone a comparative study of the similarities and differences among the six Muslim-majority states of the region, who constitute nearly half of the secular states of the Muslim world. The study of Kazakhstan is particularly timely given that country’s increased international profile, including its closer cooperation with European institutions and its role as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for 2017-18. As this study will show, the model of secular governance of Kazakhstan, and more broadly of Central Asia and Azerbaijan, remains a work in progress. Yet in a situation where the increasing intermixing of religion and politics has had disastrous consequences in much of the Muslim world, these countries offer a radically different model that not only deserves further study, but that may prove relevant for other Muslim-majority states to examine. 6 Svante E. Cornell, S. Frederick Starr and Julian Tucker This study follows the publication in this series of Azerbaijan’s Formula: Secular Governance and Civic Nationhood, released in November 2016. It will be followed, later in 2018, by a study of secular governance in Uzbekistan. Building on these and other case studies, the Joint Center aims eventually to produce a comparative study of secular governance in the region as a whole. The authors of this study would like to express their gratitude to Braunny Ramirez and Jack Verser for their valuable research assistance to this project. Svante E. Cornell Director, CACI & SRSP Joint Center Executive Summary At independence, Kazakhstan shared with the successor states to the Soviet Union the challenge of replacing Soviet atheism with new state approaches to religion. Like the rest of Central Asia and Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan adopted a secular form of government. This makes the region stand out in the Muslim world, and is a source of pride for regional governments. Secular government should be a point of agreement between the region’s states and Europe and the United States. But instead, it has become a source of controversy, as Western states and organizations frequently criticize state policies in the religious sphere. The term “secularism” is a broad brush, which includes a wide variety of approaches, including the American, French and Turkish models. When Americans speak of secularism, however, they almost exclusively take the U.S. model as a reference point. This study instead uses a continuum defining five distinct models of interaction between the state and religion. On one end is “Fusion”, a merger of political and spiritual realms. The next step is “Dominant Religion”, in which religious minorities are tolerated, but the state endorses one particular religion. In the middle of the continuum is the “State Neutrality” model exemplified by the United States; it is followed by what we call the “Skeptical/Insulating” model, as in France, which seeks to regulate and control religious influence on the state and society. Finally, the last model is the “Hostile” model, to which Soviet atheism can be counted. Kazakhstan shares many commonalities with its neighbors, but also important distinctions. It is considerably more diverse in ethnic and confessional terms. Also, Kazakhstan’s Muslims were largely nomadic, and 8 Svante E. Cornell, S. Frederick Starr and Julian Tucker historically embraced a form of Islam with stronger mystical and syncretistic aspects. Until independence, Kazakhs never
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