Kazakhstan's top Muslim cleric denounced a tough new law on religious activity and warned that the restrictions it imposed on pious Muslims could provoke extremism. Article 7 of the bill, passed by the Senate on Thursday and already approved by the lower house, bans prayer rooms in all state institutions. Both the U.S.-based human rights body Freedom House and the 56-member Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe have criticised the legislation, which has yet to be signed into law by President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
| And I'm sure that if Rick Santorum had called for Bible study rooms in state institutions, these two groups would have taken the very same position. |
"Who can guarantee that, choosing between work for the state and worshipping Allah, such people will not join various political forces or extremist groups? Aren't we creating a threat to national security and the calm of the nation with our own hands? This is not the way to fight extremism and terror."
Derbisali said he believed that banishing prayer rooms from state institutions, secondary schools and universities would cause tension in Kazakh society.
"Taking into account the fact that 72 percent of the population are followers of Islam, it is necessary to allow them to keep prayer rooms without interfering with work or studies," said Derbisali.