Darkhan Kaletayev and Serikbay kazhy Oraz discussed pressing issues of the religious sphere

Minister of Religious Affairs and Civil Society of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Darkhan Kaletayev, met with the leadership of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan, headed by the Supreme Mufti, chairman of the SAMK Serikbay kazhy Oraz.

The event was attended by Vice Minister for Religious Affairs and Civil Society of the Republic of Kazakhstan Berik Aryn, Chairman of the Committee for Religious Affairs Erkin Ongarbayev, Naib Mufti of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan Nauryzbay Otpenov, Alau Adilbayev, Bauyrzhan Esmakhan and head of the spiritual administration apparatus Gilymbek Mazhiev.

During the meeting, some aspects of the interaction of the Ministry and the SAMK were discussed, as well as pressing issues of the religious sphere, issues of strengthening interfaith harmony.

Darkhan Kaletayev noted the work of the SAMK on the formation of the Kazakhstani school of Islamic studies and on improving the skills of imams to counter the spread of radical religious ideology.

Serikbay kazhy Oraz, on his part, informed about the measures being implemented to improve the skills of imams, about the implementation of the Concept for the Development of Religious Education of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan until 2020. He said that qualifications of imams are evaluated by a special commission, and in addition, work is underway to increase competence and responsibility of imams in the regions.

In addition, at the meeting it was proposed to develop uniform standards for the construction of mosques, where it is proposed to take into account the population of the area when building a mosque.

It should be noted that 106 mosques are currently being built in the country. These standards should streamline the process of building and opening mosques in a single system.

To date, a package of measures is being implemented aimed at strengthening the social status of imams. The “Uakyp” charity foundation provides scholarship support to 355 imams in the regions, as well as assistance in improving the skills of imams.

Following the meeting, the parties expressed their readiness to continue close cooperation for the implementation of state policy in the religious sphere.