Chairman Of the Committee on religious Affairs of the Ministry of information and public development of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerzhan Nukezhanov in an interview with Litera spoke about the measures of systematic state policy in the religious sphere, how the rehabilitation of Kazakhstanis returned in the framework of the sensational operation "Zhusan", the need for religious expertise and much more.
What is secularism
– - the Fundamental principle of state policy in the religious sphere is the principle of secularism. However, we see that not all citizens of our country correctly interpret this term, often confusing it with atheism and anti-religion. What is the Committee doing to explain this principle to the public?
- The principle of secularism is enshrined in the Constitution of our country and implies non-interference of the state in internal Affairs and canonical issues of religious activity, respect for equal treatment of all religious organizations, and ensuring their equal rights. In turn, religious associations do not assume the functions and tasks of the state. The state creates all the necessary conditions for citizens to meet their religious needs.
The secular state assumes that social relations, including education, health care, and family and marriage institutions, are governed exclusively by secular legislation, and not by religious norms.
As you can see, the principle of secularism does not imply the denial of religion as such, and does not violate the rights of citizens. On the contrary, it is necessary to ensure that no one in Kazakhstan is deprived of their rights, regardless of their religious affiliation. Every citizen has the right to be a Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, atheist or agnostic. Secularism is a prerequisite for a person's freedom of choice.
Explaining and promoting the principle of secularism among the population is one of the Committee's priority tasks. This is primarily done through religious awareness groups operating in each region of the country. As mentioned earlier, within the framework of the activities of these groups, experts in the field of religion meet and talk with target categories of citizens, conduct lectures live on social networks. In addition, our specialists publish informational materials, videos, and infographics that explain what secularism is and why it is needed. The concept of secularism is also explained to schoolchildren and students in the educational programs of educational institutions.
– During the discussion of religion in social networks, we sometimes see signs of inciting inter-religious discord in publications, as well as insults to the feelings of believers. Some citizens show low levels of religious and legal literacy. What do you think this problem is related to?
– The origins of this problem go back, perhaps, to the 90s, when at the dawn of independence, against the background of a difficult economic and social situation, the civil and cultural, including religious, identity of the population was just beginning to take shape. At that time, competent domestic specialists in the field of religion had not yet appeared, and the system of regulating the religious sphere itself had not yet developed after a long atheistic past. In such circumstances, our citizens often formed their views and their understanding of the religious situation under the influence of foreign figures. There were no reliable sources with reliable knowledge, there were no specialists who could direct them in the right direction.
At present, we can say with confidence that the state has created the necessary conditions for educating our citizens in tolerance towards all faiths, religious and legal literacy, and instilling in them respect for the secular principles of the country's development. In this work, we have involved awareness-raising groups on religious issues. These groups include experienced religious scholars, theologians, psychologists, sociologists and historians, and competent speakers. The personnel reserve is constantly replenished with good specialists from secular universities and theological educational institutions.
The qualifications of our specialists are constantly improving, and special courses and trainings are organized for them every year. We also provide assistance to media representatives, conduct seminars and trainings for them to cover religious issues.
At the same time, in the modern globalized world, the religious sphere is a living organism that tends to change. Each new day brings with it new challenges to which we need to adapt. So we can't stand still. We need to fill up our ranks with new personnel, train and retrain them so that they can adequately withstand the challenges of the time.
Before the onset of the epidemic and the introduction of the quarantine regime, lecturers of awareness-raising groups regularly conducted face-to-face preventive measures among various categories of the population.
They explained the importance of the principles of secularism and interfaith harmony, talked about the spiritual and cultural values of Kazakhstan society, taught how to distinguish the signs of a destructive religious ideology and protect themselves and their loved ones from its influence, explained the measures of responsibility for the dissemination of materials of a radical and destructive nature.
With the introduction of the quarantine regime in the country, we were forced to transfer awareness-raising work to an online format, that is, now instead of face-to-face meetings, we develop and post explanatory materials on the Internet and promote them among the population. Unfortunately, our materials do not always reach the target categories of citizens.
Social networks and the Internet are subtle things and require a special approach, as well as the sphere of religion. Surrounded by a million different publics with entertainment content, few will choose to watch a video on anti-extremist topics or read a boring (in comparison) explanatory post about the danger of inciting inter-religious hatred.
On the other hand, those Internet users who are already interested in religious issues and actively consume content on this topic have their own narrow circle of popular bloggers, whom they constantly read. These bloggers have their own established audience that treats their opinions with loyalty and trust. In other words, if a blogger, even out of ignorance, writes something that offends the feelings of believers or calls for inciting inter-religious hatred, his subscribers are likely to agree with him and will not question his position.
In this context I would like to quote the Minister of information and public development A. Balayeva: "Every blogger should be aware of the high level of moral responsibility to their readers and adequately assess the degree of their influence on the audience."
I consider the fact that for almost 30 years of independence there have been no major conflicts on religious grounds in Kazakhstan to be a great achievement, which shows that our work is yielding results.
– Currently, many young people go abroad in search of religious education. Despite the fact that most of them enter theological educational institutions approved by the Ministry, there is a risk that students who return from abroad will become sources of spreading religious ideas that are alien to Kazakhstan's society, including radical and destructive ones. What is the Committee doing to improve the competitiveness of Kazakhstan's religious education?
– One of the important tasks of the state and religious associations is to improve the quality of the national system of spiritual education.
In order to reduce the outflow of young people to study theology abroad, conditions have been created to ensure access to higher education in Kazakhstan. The Ministry of education and science, as well as local Executive bodies, allocate educational grants for domestic students. Training in the field of religion is carried out in the fields of "Islamic Studies", "religious Studies" and "Theology". For the 2020-2021 academic year, 385 state educational grants were allocated for these specialties.
Through Christianity, religious education can be obtained in the Almaty Orthodox theological Seminary and in the Catholic inter-diocesan higher theological Seminary in Karaganda.
Within the country, you can also get postgraduate education in the field of religion at the Nur-Mubarak University of Islamic culture, which trains high-level personnel in master's and doctoral programs.
At the same time, the state respects the freedom of choice of our students and in no way restricts those who wish to receive a foreign theological education. However, we understand that in some foreign educational institutions there is a risk of propaganda of destructive and radical religious ideas that run counter to the foundations of Kazakh society. The worldview that our students will absorb abroad will determine their views as future specialists in the domestic religious sphere. This means the General state of the religious situation in the Republic.
Therefore, we feel a great responsibility to provide the public with the right information regarding religious education to enable them to make an informed choice. The Committee publishes information and explanatory materials on the Internet, mass media, as well as interviews on TV channels to explain the prospects for receiving religious education in Kazakhstan and abroad.
In addition, the Committee created a working group to develop common methods and approaches for improving religious education from representatives of employees of the Ministry of education and science, DUMK and specialized universities. Within the framework of the working group, it is planned to promptly solve current problems in the field of religious education and discuss the prospects for the development of religious education in the country, as well as develop a unified approach to training.
"Zhusan": what happened next
- As comments to publications in social networks show, some people negatively perceived the return of our citizens to the country as part of the special operation "Zhusan", believing that they will be sources of spreading destructive ideology among the civilian population. What measures are being taken by the Committee to rehabilitate and re-socialize these citizens?