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Religious Freedom: Kazakhstan RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: KAZAKHSTAN by Bakhit Ikranbekov A research study submitted to Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirments for the degree of Master of Arts Baltimore, Maryland May 2020 © 2020 Bakhit Ikranbekov All Rights Reserved Abstract: Religion is becoming increasingly important in everyday life of ordinary Kazakhstanis, and adherence to all canons of religion is an integral part of life. This research paper examines how free is the practice of religion in Kazakhstan through the dominant religion – Islam. First of all, it is important to understand whether the government is doing well in terms of religious and human freedom rights, because if they are not, it can spill out into underground movement with extremist and terrorist movements in the future. Secondly, findings and knowledge are important to Kazakh citizens because if any of the groups of citizens can not freely exercise their rights as people and as citizens of Kazakhstan, which are given to them by the Constitution will be a big question if Kazakhstan is a democratic and legal state, whose highest values are a person, his life, rights, and freedoms. The paper analyzes the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan and other open sources to understand what do government and religious officials do think and say about human and religious rights. In addition, the author collects data by interviewing Muslims in Kazakhstan from different professional spheres. It is helpful to measure, understand, and analyze the previous experience of people in terms of religious rights and freedoms. Finally, Kazakhstan has overall good standing on individual religious freedoms and rights. The Constitution and other Laws secure the rights and freedoms of its citizens. Participants can freely practice the fundamentals of Islam. However, many of the people who practice all attributes of the religion have experience inconvenient situations and closer attention from law enforcement agencies. This is a common issue and some of Kazakhstan’s laws contradict the Constitution and violate religious rights. Moreover, analysis of open sources and interviews prove that Kazakhstan’s leadership perceives popularization of the Islam religion as a threat due to poor understanding of the religion. ii Advisor – Dr. Mark Stout. Reviewer - Adam Wolfson. iii Table of Contents: Abstract.........................................................................................................................ii Introduction..................................................................................................................1 Literature Review.........................................................................................................3 Hypothesis...................................................................................................................14 Methodology...............................................................................................................14 Data..............................................................................................................................15 Discussion....................................................................................................................32 Conclusion...................................................................................................................35 Bibliography...............................................................................................................37 Appendix 1..................................................................................................................40 CV................................................................................................................................43 iv Introduction: Since the independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan from the Soviet Union in 1991 to date, religion affects the lives of Kazakh citizens more and more, and it is necessary for the government to give people the freedom to abide by all canons of their religion. Before its independence in the early 1990s, the Republic of Kazakhstan was a part of the former communist Soviet Union, where religions were prohibited and people had faith in the communist regime. Thus, since many people have scare or no knowledge about religions they might be susceptible to following different religious sects and streams, which has the potential to raise security threats. So, the research question is: how free is the religious practice in Kazakhstan? I will examine it through the major religion in Kazakhstan – Islam. My research intends to: 1) Discern the genuine attitude of the top management of Kazakhstani politicians regarding Muslims and Islamic practices; 2) Determine whether ordinary people can practice all the attributes of Islam; 3) Determine what segments of society are less protected in terms of religious freedom; 4) Finally, to allow an assessment of why this is happening. According to the Article 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, “The Republic of Kazakhstan proclaims itself as a democratic, secular, legal and social state whose highest values are a person, his life, rights, and freedoms.”1 As it is known, religious freedom is one of the parts of democracy. Moreover, according to the Universal Declaration of Human 1 Kazakhstan, Parliament, “Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan”, (Almaty, 1995), Article 1, http://adilet.zan.kz/eng/docs/K950001000_ 1 Rights, “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”2 The Declaration is a fundamental document of human rights, which all nations and countries must follow. Moreover, “Religious freedom is more than the “freedom to worship” at a synagogue, church, or mosque. It means people shouldn’t have to go against their core values and beliefs in order to conform to culture or government. Religious freedom protects people’s right to live, speak, and act according to their beliefs peacefully and publicly. It protects their ability to be themselves at work, in class, and at social activities.”3 Since religion is popularized, the knowledge and findings that I will find are important in two aspects: First of all, it is essential to understand whether the government is doing well in terms of religious and human freedom rights, because if it is not, it has the potential to cause an underground movement with extremist and terrorist ideologies in the future. As an adviser to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Erlan Karin stated that the terrorist group that operated in Kazakhstan reached out to people through online forums and other platforms, accused the Kazakh authorities of persecuting Muslims, having ties with Moscow, and corrupt politics.4 Secondly, findings and knowledge are important to the citizens of Kazakhstan because if any of the groups of citizens cannot freely exercise their religious rights, which are 2 United Nations. 1998. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948-1998. [New York]: [United Nations Dept. of Public Information], article 18. 3 Religious Freedom: What's At Stake If We Lose It, The Heritage Foundation, Access date Apr.21, 2020, https://www.heritage.org/religious-liberty/heritage-explains/religious-freedom-whats-stake-if-we-lose-it. 4 Erlan Karin, Soldiers of Caliphate: Myths and Reality, (Almaty: VMG Group Consultancy, 2014), p.27. 2 given to them by the Constitution, it has the potential to question if Kazakhstan is a democratic and legal state, whose highest values are a person, his life, rights, and freedoms. I use qualitative methods to answer the research question. I will analyze the Republic of Kazakhstan’s legislation and what human rights are guaranteed under the main laws of the Republic, and restrictions of religious freedom. I will also analyze the media sphere and other open sources to understand what do government and religious officials do think and say about the human and religious rights. Finally, to answer the research question, I collected the data by interviewing Muslims in Kazakhstan from different professional spheres to include entrepreneurs, wage earners, civil servants, and imams. This analysis will help the paper to measure, understandm and analyze previous experience of people in terms of religious rights and freedoms. Further, I review literature that is important to my project and reveal gaps and questions related to my project in the chosen works. Then, I will show ethical biases of my project and how I attempt to avoid them. Next, I show my methodology to gather data, how I gathered the data, and analyzed it. I discuss potential problems and gaps in my research and how I address them. Finally, I show how my research is useful for future researchers and for the governments in the chosen region, especially for Kazakhstan. Literature Review: In my view, the question that I chose is not well researched. However, there is much literature that is related to my topic. Lack of human rights and religious freedom can spill out into clandestine movements with extremist ideologies. For the research purposes, the paper will look at literature review sections with subthemes such as religious trends, religious and 3 human rights issues, the balance of the tradition of secularis,m and popularization of religions. There are some works on the religious trends in Kazakhstan,
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