President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov signed the law on religion and explained why. He published his statement on his social media account.
The head of state noted that adherents of religious norms asked him to reject the law with an objection.
«At the same time, there are citizens with secular views who insisted on signing and enacting the law. Let’s not forget that there are as many of the latter in our country as there are religious ones. Secular people are against strangers coming to apartments and houses, knocking on doors. People want answers to questions who these itinerant preachers are, whether they have certificates issued by the muftiyat, kaziyat or khatybiyat, what organization or movement they promote and whether it contradicts our religion,» he wrote.
Sadyr Japarov emphasized that there is only one controversial point in the law — the issue of house-to-house visits to preach.
«The issue of house-to-house preaching (kydyruu) has not yet been properly regulated. It has not been determined who issues permission for such house-to-house preaching, who can participate in them, what kind of education is required, who has the right to conduct dawah, what leaflets or books are allowed to be distributed, and who will check these materials,» he noted.
There are cases when our citizens leave their families and children without supervision and means of subsistence, leaving for three days, 40 days, or even four months. How is this possible? Is it not possible to first provide your family with at least basic food, and then go and call people to religion?
Sadyr Japarov
«No one is against dawah. We will never suffer from proper dawah. For now, you can conduct it in mosques, at weddings, funerals, markets, or other places where people gather,» he said.
The President noted that the muftiyat and the Ulema Council should establish clear requirements and rules on who can participate in sermons, which body issues certificates, who exercises control, and submit them to the head of state.
«We will consider and support it. There are no problems with this. For example, I will never speak out against religion. I am the son of a man who had been a deeply religious moldo and azhy all his life long. I understand very well what religion is. If I were to think now: «If only not to lose the favor of those who strictly adhere to religion, and what will happen in the future is not important,» then I could simply return this bill with an objection. But I consider this issue not just as a citizen, but as the president of the country,» he wrote.
Sadyr Japarov also added that cases of distribution of radical materials and books that promote incorrect movements have recently become more frequent.
He is confident that if the muftiyat and the Ulema Council develop clear rules, streamline this process and then continue to make house-to-house visits, this will benefit the future of the state.
The head of state emphasized that the people are currently divided into 33 movements. There are radical movements banned by the court in Kyrgyzstan, which, despite this, continue their activities:
- Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami
- Al-Takfir Wal-Hijra
- Yakyn Inkar
- Jabhat al-Nusra (went to Syria)
- Katibat al-Imam al-Bukhari (went to Syria)
- Jannat Oshiqlari (went to Syria)
Last year, the Kyrgyz Republic returned 544 citizens from Syria who went there «for jihad». They are currently undergoing rehabilitation under state supervision, and explanatory work is being carried out with them.
The activities of 14 extremist or terrorist organizations have been banned by the court of the Kyrgyz Republic and terminated in the country. «If their activities have really been terminated, perhaps, there are those among them who act secretly?» Sadyr Japarov asks.
Movements, the activities of which are banned by the court:
- Al-Qaeda
- East Turkestan Islamic Movement
- Kurdish People’s Congress
- East Turkestan Liberation Organization
- Turkestan Islamic Party
- Moon Church
- Jaysh al-Mahdi
- Jund al-Khilafat
- Ansarullah
- Akromiya
- Propaganda materials and activities of Said Buryatsky (A. Tikhomirov)
- ISIS — Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
- Jamaat at-Tawhid wal-Jihad
- Jihad Organization
Movements, the activities of which are not banned by the court:
- Tablighi Jamaat
- Salafiya
- Hizmet (Gülen movement)
- Nurcular
- Sulaymanists
- Ahmadiya
- Quranists (Ahlul Quran)
- Muslim Brotherhood
- Seventh-day Adventists
- Jehovah’s Witnesses
- Protestants
- The Church of Jesus Christ
- Scientologists
- Tengrists.
The President noted that the number of followers of these movements is growing every day. This is due to the fact that unbanned movements are increasingly distributing their books and brochures.
«We have no complaints about citizens who go to dawah with pure intentions. The problem is that some unscrupulous organizations use the house-to-house visits as a cover to secretly lure people into the wrong movements. This is an extremely dangerous trend; it threatens our future. We already see how in countries like Syria, Muslims themselves fight each other, claiming: «My organization is right, and your movement is wrong.» Because of this struggle for influence, the blood of millions of Muslims is shed, because these states have long been divided into radical and fragmented movements, as is the case with us now. When the number of supporters of such groups increases, conflicts and a struggle for influence begin. External forces, which benefit from this, also incite these confrontations. Therefore, the people of Kyrgyzstan have to live within the framework of our only traditional religion. Muftiyat and religious scholars, help bring order to this issue,» he said.
Sadyr Japarov also called for not turning good deeds into a political game and instructed the muftiyat and the Ulema Council to develop rules for house-to-house visits down to the smallest detail and present them to him.