Government plans to tighten legislation on religion are unlikely to restrict most religious organisations and will help prevent extremist activity, say NBCentralAsia experts.
On July 12, Toigonbek Kalmatov, director of the State Agency for Religious Affairs, announced that his agency is drafting five laws that tighten restrictions on religious activity.
Kalmatov told NBCentralAsia that the changes are aimed at preventing radical groups that act unlawfully and organisations which are banned in other countries from operating in Kyrgyzstan.
His agency will be given the authority to thwart unlawful organisations, halt their activity and expel religious extremists from the country.
Over 2000 religious organisations are currently registered in Kyrgyzstan. Most are Islamic but there are also 360 Christian groups, one Hindu, one Buddist and 14 new religious organisations.Kalmatov explains that there are around 400 unregistered groups whose charters are not in keeping with Kyrgyz law. The state will not bar them from registering, provided they change their manifesto.
Some accredited organisations are more radical in their activity than their charter suggests and the agency will take action against them, as well as underground groups.
Prominent Islamic figure and director of Dil Murogu Centre for Morality, Ethics and Culture Ozubek Chotonov does not believe that the changes will adversely effect religious groups that operate legally.
Under current legislation, some organisations “are not subject to controls at all”, and so “the activity of destructive sects [should be] curbed” along with political religious organisations, he says.
Ikbol Mirsaitov, a leading expert with the International Institute for Strategic Studies, which is affiliated with the president, agrees that the rules should be tightened.
“The growth of radical religious organisations, the lack of control over them and their failure to abide by the law gives the state agency grounds for reviewing Kyrgyz legislation towards [them],” said Mirsaitov.
Nevertheless, a debate has been sparked in Kyrgyzstan about whether the agency should be a controlling force or “a bridge that links” the state with religious groups.
Kalmatov adds that “faith is freedom” and the constitution states that Kyrgyz citizens can join any religious organisation whose actions are lawful. The state does not have the right to interfere in this regard, he says.
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