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Shamshadin Kerim,
D.Sc. (Philol.) professor, Pro-rector
of Egyptian Nur-Mubarak University
of Islamic Culture
Aliy Almukhametov,
Cand. Cs (Phil.) assist. prof.,
Chief of Education Department
of Nur-Mubarak University
ISLAM IN CONTEMPORARY KAZAKHSTAN
The states of the former USSR, including Kazakhstan, enduring the spiritual crisis and the devaluation of settled values, confronted the situation, when democratic reforms in social life engendered essential changes in self-consciousness both of individuals and of the nation as a whole in their aspirations for perceiving their place in history and changed society. Under these conditions, the concept of spirit acquires real sense, and the feeling of the indissoluble connection with it penetrates more and more the public consciousness. The interest in spiritual traditions grew rapidly, and there appeared an urgent need in theoretical perception of historic destinies of spiritual culture and of perspectives of its development.
The problems of spiritual search, being quite distinctive in each epoch, traditionally keep special urgency both for social-philosophical theories and for practice of cultural renovation of society. The complex of contradictory tasks generated by contemporary life and formulation of these tasks are caused by the specific conditions of social practice.
The rise of national consciousness, interest in culture's history and greater concern about the present and future society represent the special feature of spiritual search for the period between the second and the third millennium. The rigid time limits fixed and given by history for radical changes, for innovations in all spheres of society's life 42
aggravate tension of the search for their genuine human and cultural foundations.
Therefore the urgent task is a scientific analysis of spiritual phenomena, such as religion with its many century history, former spiritual dominant in society for the Middle Ages, but forced out to the periphery of social life under conditions of the 70-years domination of Communist ideology in the USSR.
Religion is one of the ancient forms of spirituality, a social-cultural phenomenon traditionally claiming for monopoly of the whole spiritual life of the individual and of the society as a whole. The new state, Kazakhstan after obtainment of its sovereignty proclaimed itself as a secular state and started formation of civil society. As far back as in 1992, the post-Soviet Kazakhstan adopted the law on freedom of religion, which became the legal basis of state-confessional relations.
Democratization of social life engendered the problems, which had not existed beforehand: the religious associations were given the right of legal entity letting them carry out beneficial and educational activities on the whole territory of Kazakhstan. The term "religious renaissance" started to be used more often in scientific and publicist literature. But what should be understood as a renaissance: renaissance of religious traditions or simply return of the religious property, consolidation of the material basis of religious organizations? From the point of view of commonplace consciousness the latter is considered as a kind of "religious boom" in society. Naturally, under conditions of the pluralistic world outlook, poly-ethnicity and poly-confessional characteristic of society in Kazakhstan, the new secular state turned out to be in rather complicated position.
The religious situation changed greatly after proclamation of independence by the country. The demand for religious knowledge increased. A great number of young people left the country abroad to
get religious knowledge. The people, having got religious education in various countries and having come back to the Motherland, become the cause of many problems. At the present time, the religious question is the most urgent one for ensuring unity and security of our country. The need of arranging education in Kazakhstan of its own cadres and experts in religion has become an acute problem. The education of highly qualified specialist in Islam in the country has also a political significance for Kazakhstan. Therefore, in order to free the youth from the need to leave abroad it is necessary to ensure for them a chance to get religious education in national education institutions. This problem may be solved by giving the youth grants for free education in order to liquidate the situation, when young people have to look for free education abroad.
At present, the freedom of religion lets people get back their traditional Islamic values. Before declaration of independence, there were 68 mosques in Kazakhstan, while at present there are 2500 mosques, and many of them are not subject to comparison with the former ones in terms of space and architecture. All of them are located in the most beautiful places of the country. Big cities and regional centers of the republic, such as Astana, Almaty, Pavlodar, Aktobe, Oral, Djambul, Karaganda and others, are marked by existence of new built big mosques, the chef-d'oeuvre of architectural creative work, and the mosques located in the post-Soviet space would hardly be compared with them. Before the time of independence, the Muslim clergy of Kazakhstan was separated from the Uzbek clergy as a centralized religious association, which further became a big organization with its own role and aim as well as the statute for its activities. Today, the Spiritual Department of Muslims of Kazakhstan has achieved great success in its activities. In Soviet time, Islam was ousted to auls, where elders and aksakals supported it incognito, while
at present the situation is quite different. The mosques in big cities are overcrowded by parishioners, and most of them are young people. And what is more, the number of existing mosques is not sufficient for the ever growing number of parishioners. In Almaty, 32 functioning mosques do not have enough space for the growing number of parishioners. The role of imams has grown in society, since it is not limited to execution of religious rites, and they make reports to scientific conferences, cooperate with the press, and make successful contribution to scientific activities. Some new demands are formulated for the clergy. The youth of Kazakhstan has got a chance to receive religious education abroad. As a result, the need emerged to arrange training of religious cadres in the country itself. For instance, since 1991 the Islamic Institute of Raising Qualification of Imams at the Spiritual Department of Muslims of Kazakhstan started its activities; and since 2001 as a result of the inter-government agreement between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Arabian Republic of Egypt, according to this agreement, the Egyptian Nur-Mubarak University of Islamic Culture started its education work. Apart from other activities, eight medreces function in various regions of the country, and each of them provides for average special religious education, while education institutions are engaged in raising qualification of imams.
The subjects of sermons in mosques are systematized and characterized by certain succession. The uniform of imams was adopted. The present chairman of the Spiritual Department of Muslims of Kazakhstan supreme mufti Absattar Derbisali, having continued the cause assumed and begun by the first leader of the SDMK Ratbek Nysanbauly, completed the first stage of development of the first spiritual center of Muslims in the country.
The religious literature was published of many copies. A wide scale of religious texts were translated into the Russian and the Kazakh
languages and published for extended circulation, including translation of the senses of Koran, hadises of the Profit, provisions of shariat etc. For this sake, there were established some specialized editing centers and highly qualified experts, canonic editors, professional translators were engaged in work over there. The publishing houses engaged in publication of magazines and newspapers publicizing religious, scientific and social themes, such as newspaper "IslamErkenieti", magazines "Shapagat Nuri" and "Musylman" etc. The first TV channel of Islamic broadcasting "Asyl Arna" started its work. A lot of Islamic sites exist in Internet. On the initiative of the government, the Foundation for Support of Islamic Education and Science was established for publication and free dissemination of religious literature, for rendering financial assistance to Islamic students by payment for education and provision of scholarships.
The foundation "Zeket" started its work at the Spiritual Department of Muslims of Kazakhstan with the following objectives: collection of zakyat provided by Muslims of Kazakhstan and its rational distribution according to Holy Koran, sacred Sunna of the Profit and provisions of shariat. The foundation pursues also the following objectives: payment of monthly salary to workers of mosques in auls, where they lack ability for self-sustaining; providing scholarships for the students of religious education institutions of Kazakhstan; construction of housing for religious education institutions and providing of the needed technical basis for them; construction for students of modern houses meeting the contemporary requirements for religious medreces of Kazakhstan; working out and publishing of the needed religious literature as well as its dissemination; giving financial support to the spread of Islam at the adequate level; rendering financial assistance to the socially vulnerable strata of the population; giving financial support to the other officials of the SDMK.
The main principles of the foundation are as follows: correspondence to shariat (according to mazhab of Aby Hanif); transparence to the population; official status.
Regretfully, the gaps in the law "On Freedom of Religion" created a chance for dissemination of different trends, which attracted to their sides many representatives of traditional Islam and Orthodoxy having a pernicious effect on unity of the nation and stability of the state. Thus, hotbeds of extremist trends of Hizb ut-Tahrir as well as Sufi trend of Ismatulla were registered in the country.
Following proclamation of independence, the passage of society from atheistic views to rebirth of the spiritual and cultural wealth resulted in global changes in consciousness of people. The ideological struggle was going on for the sake of rebirth of Islamic values. The university dedicated to Ahmet Yasui, a known preacher of Sufism in Middle Asia was founded in the city of Turkestan. The underground mosque Beket Ata in Mangystau was restored. Some conferences were held in Kyzulorda for discussion of life and activities of known Islamic preacher Maral Ishan. In the Pavlodar region, the works were arranged to restore the mausoleum of Mashhur Zhuzip Kupeev (the central mosque of the region was named after him). Many works of this enlightener were published. The annual scientific conferences are dedicated to his creative life.
The scientists engaged in research of religion in time of the Middle Ages on the territory of Kazakhstan have become subject to increasing attention of contemporary scientists. Some significant facts of life of scientists of that time, such as Hisam ad-din as-Syganaki, Kauam ad-din al-Itkani al-Farabi, Hibatullah at-Turkistani have been discovered. A lot of scientific articles were published, and the mass propaganda of life and activities of great historic figures was started. For instance, a mosque was named after Syganaki in Zhanakorganof
Kyzylordin region, while one of the villages in the South-Kazakhstan region was named in honor of scientist Hibatullah at-Turkistani.
In Kazakhstan, the work is carried out to prevent dissemination of non-traditional Islamic trends, as well as to consolidate influence of traditions of Abu Hanif mazhab adopted in the country. The Spiritual Department of Muslims of Kazakhstan held in 2009 in Almaty a scientific-practical conference dedicated to Abu Hanif. A new Abu Hanif medrece was built in Astana. The Abu Hanif scientific research center functions at Nur-Mubarak University. This center is occupied with study and propagation of works written by scholars of Orient, experts in Islam. The Kazakh people display a raising interest in Islam. More and more people strive for fulfilling their religious duty.
At the present stage, one of the urgent tasks is popularization of the works of Hanafit theologians, and this fact may cause a pride of the Kazakhs in rich historic heritage of their ancestors and may educate Kazakh patriotism. Just in this context the scientists of the authors' university carry out their work and achieved success in finding out the maximum synthesis of founding Islamic values and peculiarities of local traditions. By the present time, the collective of authors under the guidance of professor Sh. Kerim on the basis of traditional Hanafit material worked out the educational methodical basis and the curricula for training national theologians in the religious education institutions of Kazakhstan.
For the first time in history of sovereign Kazakhstan they prepared the state standard for special subject "Islamic research". Since June 2011 this subject was officially fixed in the classification of professions at the level of higher education and post graduation in the Republic of Kazakhstan. At present, the state standards for special subject "Islamic research" are under preparation for programs for a master's degree and a doctor's degree.
The accomplishment of the mentioned tasks will let at the ideological level prevent and neutralize the reasons, which engender displays of religious radicalism.
Kazakhstan has been deeply rooted and possesses ancient traditions in terms of religious tolerance and inter-confessional consent. Since old times Kazakhstan was at the crossroads of various cultures and religions. It is common knowledge, that for many centuries the territory of contemporary Kazakhstan was marked by existence of religious beliefs, such as Tengrian, Zoroastrian and Manichaean teachings, Buddhism, Christianity and, certainly, Islam, which quite peacefully coexisted and were a perfect example of tolerance and inter-confessional consent. This ancient tradition has its reflection also in contemporary ethno-confessional policy of Kazakhstan. Tolerance, mutual understanding and mutual respect, inter-ethnic consent and religious endurance are the founding principles of inter-confessional relations within Kazakhstan. It means that the principle of tolerance comes forward as the fundamental principle in the reciprocal relations of the state both with various, including new religious, entities and in the inter-confessional relations. But in no case it gives occasion to interpret tolerance as allowance to take arbitrary actions. In his time, one of the French presidents on this occasion mentioned that the principle of tolerance should have its threshold of applicability, and otherwise it makes no sense at all. Actually, this sense should be applied to religious entities characterized by positive and constructive activities and in no case in relation to the associations, which are marked by destructive activities and present a threat both to national security of the state and to physical and psychic health of the people.
It is necessary to perfect the legislative basis of reciprocal relations of the state with various, including new religious, entities, primarily with the aim of security of society as a whole and of each
individual. The Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan has fixed by means of the legislation the principles of freedom of consciousness and freedom of religion, the equal right of citizens with various confessional belonging for creation of their religious associations, for separation of the state from religion. A number of other legal norms for regulation of social functioning of religion and religious associations have been elaborated. Despite the fact that in contemporary Kazakhstan to some extent the normative-legal basis of functioning of some or other religious associations has been worked out, the status of religion, their genuine position and the role in society, i.e. the status, the sphere and limits of religious influence have not been determined up to the present time. In this respect, it is necessary, to the mind of the authors, to work jointly with the new created Agency for Religious Affairs, the Spiritual Department of Muslims of Kazakhstan, with other state organs.
In conclusion, it would be advisable to stress that for the XXI century Islamic religion in Kazakhstan will play a growing role in consolidation of society and strengthening of inter-cultural and inter-civilization dialogue, which acquires greater significance in the contemporary world.
"Islam v SNG", M. - N. Novgorod, 2011, N 4(5), pp 46-49.
G. Shulga,
Political analyst
CULTUROLOGY ASPECT IN FORMATION OF UNITED EURASIAN SPACE: VIEW FROM TAJIKISTAN
The culturology-civilizational factor is not less important than economic and political interests of the state in creation of integration
