Kazakhstan’s OIC Presidency Will Boost Muslim Nations’ International Profile, Expand Economic Cooperation
An interview with Absattar Hajji Derbisali, Supreme Mufti of Kazakhstan
What has been done for the advancement of the Islamic faith since Kazakhstan gained independence?
Independence brought Kazakhs a great chance to revitalise their ancestors’ faith and openly express their religious beliefs. Under the communist government, only 68 mosques were open across Kazakhstan, and most of them lacked domes or prayer-towers. After the Soviet Union’s collapse, religious activity increased significantly, and today the number of mosques has risen to 2,200. Many were built with financial backing from Kazakh citizens and entrepreneurs, and from our Turkish and Arabic brothers in the faith.
After winning the freedom to worship, we faced the challenge of reviving Islamic consciousness among our people and interpreting the faith properly. The Kazakh government gave us great support in building more mosques and madrassas (Islamic religious schools) in different regions of the country, where people could obtain religious education.
Under the initiative of Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev, in 2001 the Nur-Mubarak University of Islamic Culture opened its doors for those interested in Islamic studies. Jointly established in Almaty by the Kazakh government and the prestigious Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, this university has a faculty of imams and academics.
The increasing number of mosques in Kazakhstan required more licensed teachers and competent scholars to preach Islam. So a new Islamic Institute was built in Almaty. Since 2002, 763 students have graduated from it.. National independence has also provided our Muslims with better opportunities to study in the leading Islamic colleges and universities worldwide.
Nowadays, the role of mass media in popularising Islam is becoming significant as Kazakhstan has experienced a rising demand for reliable sources of religious information. The Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Kazakhstan prints and distributes a variety of literature on Islam, including Islam zhane Orkeniet (Islam and Civilization), Iman (Faith) and other publications.
We could hardly imagine in Soviet times that we would enjoy an official day off on Eid Al-Adha as well as freely and openly perform the hajj (The pilgrimage to Mecca). These two changes are some of independence’s sweetest fruits for Kazakh Muslims.
This year, Kazakhstan will take up the presidency in the Organization of Islamic Conference. What opportunities will this provide to Kazakhstan?
To the best of my knowledge, when deciding on Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the OIC, the other Muslim countries in the organization approved it whole-heartedly. This is because the country’s population mainly professes Islam and the OIC presidency may deepen its versatile cooperation with the Islamic world. Leading the OIC will enhance respect for Kazakhstan throughout the Muslim world and the international community in general. It will also help our government’s efforts to expand the dialogue between the Islamic world and Western countries.
Kazakhstan’s tenure as the OIC chair in 2011 offers both political and socio-economic dividends. In its work in the OIC, Kazakhstan focuses on the economic dimension. It seeks to increase cooperation with Muslim countries and OIC economic institutions, including the Islamic Development Bank of (IDB), which ensures the inflow of investments for economic and industrial programmes in Kazakhstan. One of them is the joint development of space exploration. In 2009, during the visit of a Kazakh delegation to Saudi Arabia, the Saudi side expressed its interest in jointly developing a project to assemble satellites.
Since coming to Kazakhstan, the Islamic Development Bank has participated in a number of important projects here, such as the construction of sections of the Western Europe - Western China international road corridor, the equipping of the Syzganov Surgical Institute in Almaty, and assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises through IDB loans to local commercial banks.
Kazakhstan’s presidency in OIC is expected to strengthen the mechanisms of Islamic finance and offer an opportunity to open more Islamic banks in our country. One of them is Al-Hilal of the United Arab Emirates, launched in March 2010. Using this opportunity, Kazakhstan intends to develop Islamic banking as it is one of the fastest growing sectors of the financial market and meets all the requirements of Shariah (Islamic religious law).
The development of cooperation with the OIC in educational, cultural, humanitarian fields is also important. With the aim of raising spirituality, and under the initiative of President Nazarbayev, the National Fund to Support Islamic Culture and Education was established in 2010. One of its main functions is to fund educational and social programmes, including publication of Islamic literature and launching libraries for Muslim worshippers.
Close interaction with Muslim community is advancing Islam by publishing more religious literature, launching Islamic broadcasting channels and building new mosques across the country.
Qatar, another OIC member nation, has funded the construction of the Nur-Astana Mosque in Astana. Other OIC member states including Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have financially contributed to building new mosques in Kazakhstan.
In its turn, what can Kazakhstan offer the OIC while chairing this organization?
Kazakhstan is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious state. It therefore attaches special importance to the preservation of peace and unity in the country. This policy has many reasons and it may be expressed through the Kazakh proverb which says “Unity lives along with progress”. Therefore, I believe the issue of tolerance must be given due attention during the country’s chairmanship. Facilitating meaningful dialogue between civilizations and religions may raise the OIC’s efficiency.
When chairing the OSCE (the 56-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) last year, Kazakhstan worked to raise international awareness of the Afghan issue and our diplomats will probably continue doing so in their efforts to resolve the issue. By offering Afghan students the opportunity to receive a professional and technical training in Kazakh universities under our special aid programme, our country sets a good example for the global Muslim community in rebuilding Afghanistan.
Another challenge the OIC countries face is Islamophobia. In recent years, intolerance and discrimination against Muslims has expanded and now threatens the security and stability of many countries. In this respect, it is time to show that Islamic religion has nothing to do with extremism or terrorism. In addressing this issue Kazakhstan will endeavour to unite the efforts of the OIC and the OSCE as both organizations struggle to bolster international peace and security. Considering its chairmanship in the OSCE in 2010, Kazakhstan may become a bridge for further development of their effective interaction.
Among the OIC countries there is a big gap in development, for example Guinea’s income per capita constitutes US$ 600 in comparison with Kuwait’s US$ 58,000. In this respect, joint programmes to tackle poverty also require more attention, as well as those seeking to eradicate illiteracy and to advance scientific research. These are the areas where Muslims should work harder to achieve success.
Overall, I believe Kazakhstan’s presidency of OIC will help upgrade the Muslim nations’ international profile, expand economic cooperation between them, and fight terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking.
