Islamic Education in Central Asia: Evidence from Kazakhstan

Restriction on Religious Muslim Clothes in Kazakhstan

“…The penetration of religion was the first stage which occurred in the late 19 th century in Kazakhstan. In the article Islamic education in Central Asia: evidence from Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan embraced Islam significantly later than other Central Asian countries (Achilov, 2012).…”

“…The main reason for this was the nomadic lifestyle of Kazakhs. Kazakh people were not settled in a particular place, and Islam did not spread in a mosque-spread manner, according to the author (Achilov, 2012). Another crucial opinion of many researchers is that there were other religious trends that ancient Kazakhs followed.…”

Nation‐Building in Central Asia: Institutions, Politics, and Culture

“…64 Today, while some thread of Islamic radicalism remains, it is often exaggerated by ruling elites for political purposes. 65 Domestically, the Central Asian states have resorted to a combination of co-option and repression to neutralize potential threats by Islamist activists. All five republics follow a somewhat modified version of Soviet policy toward Islam.…”

“…66 Government regulation of religion tends to be significantly higher across Central Asia than the • VoluMe 110 • WinTer 2020 world average. 67 In Kazakhstan, all religious associations need to register with the state in order to operate, with nonregistered associations considered illegal. 68 In its softer approach to Islam, the state has sought to co-opt it into its larger nation-state projects-described alternatively as Islam's nationalization, de-privatization, or etatizationwhile at the same time continuing to caricaturize the Wahhabi threat as a central element of this strategy.…”

“…70 Throughout the region, the state's preference has been to shape Islam as a cultural foundation and as an apolitical aspect of heritage that represents national identity. 71 In Uzbekistan, President Karimov and other state functionaries deployed an officially sanctioned lexicon when referring to Islam's role in civic and social identity, frequently referring to a politically sanitized notion of musulmanchilik (Muslimness) when discussing spirituality. Their goal was to de-emphasize the external connections of Uzbek Islam with the remainder of the Muslim world.…”