Parliament of Kyrgyzstan adopts draft law on religion in first reading

Deputies of the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan approved in the first reading the draft laws «On Freedom of Religion and Religious Associations» and «On Amendments to Some Legislative Acts in the Religious Sphere».

Information about the documents was presented by the Director of the State Commission on Religious Affairs Azamat Yusupov.

The objective of the draft laws is to ensure the consistency of state policy in the religious sphere and improve the legislative framework.

The draft law «On Freedom of Religion and Religious Associations» proposes to regulate the process of obtaining foreign religious education. In order to prevent and avoid the influence of destructive religious education abroad, as well as to collect statistics, persons wishing to receive foreign religious education have to coordinate their departure with the State Committee on Religious Affairs and the central governing body of the religious organization.

The draft law is aimed at legal regulation of the registration of religious facilities, registration (re-registration) of religious charitable foundations and the introduction of the concept of central governing bodies of religious organizations.

It is proposed to prohibit door-to-door (apartment-to-apartment) visits for the purpose of spreading or imposing religion.