Kyrgyzstan: Religious Freedom under Siege in Bishkek

Officials in Kyrgyzstan appear intent on establishing tight control over expressions of faith. The country's parliament is widely expected to give final approval soon to legislation that would severely restrict the rights of religious groups.

The government is touting the bill on religion as an anti-terrorism measure, saying that the new statutes would make it easier for law-enforcement authorities to contain Islamic radicals. In addition, officials say that the pending legislation is needed to help thwart what some portray as a second social scourge - evangelical Christians.

"We are afraid of religious extremism. Those who try to influence people on the level of psychology are trying to take destructive actions," said Kanatbek Murzahalilov, the deputy director of the State Agency on Religious Affairs (SARA).

Critics find fault both with the intent of the legislation and the manner in which the Kyrgyz government is pursuing change. One of their biggest complaints is that the legislation is shrouded in secrecy. According to Forum 18, an Oslo-based religious rights watchdog organization, Kyrgyz officials have refused to make public the text of the amendments. The legislation secured parliamentary approval during a first reading October 9, and it is now scheduled for a second and final legislative vote on October 31.

One MP, Zainidin Kurmanov, revealed to Forum 18 that the latest version of the draft law contains a ban on activity by unregistered religious groups, as well as a prohibition on the free distribution of religious literature. It also criminalizes "proselytism" and requires that a religious organization have at least 200 adult members who are citizens of the Kyrgyz republic in order to qualify for official registration.

"It appears the draft law is targeting communities that members of parliament don't like," said Felix Coley, Forum 18's editor told EurasiaNet. "It seems some politicians are unhappy with Kyrgyz changing faith, especially Muslims to Christianity."

Corley suggested that, from the viewpoint of religious persecution, implementation of the amendments would place Kyrgyzstan on a slippery slope. "If the government starts targeting one community, pretty soon all communities [could be] affected," he cautioned.

Asked if the law targeted Christian or Muslim groups, Murzahalilov, the SARA officials, insisted that organizations that encouraged people to change their faith "damage[d] society."

"Religion is a very delicate thing and the fact that they [proselytizers] are insistently trying to spread their faith is a violation of basic human rights," Murzahalilov said.

Murzahalilov characterized existing legislation as "too liberal," adding that it didn't "meet the requirements of reality." Specifically, the current legal framework didn't account for the presence of evangelical Christians in Kyrgyzstan. "The Kyrgyz people are very tolerant and have been this way for centuries, but this obsessive work of Christian and, sometimes, Islamic groups ... could lead to unpleasant consequences," the SARA official stated

Prominent clerics among Kyrgyzstan's established faiths - Sunni Islam and Russian Orthodox Christianity - share the official view of the country's spiritual landscape. Father Igor Dronov, Secretary of the Russian Orthodox Diocese in Kyrgyzstan, is a staunch critic of the proselytizing efforts by "non-traditional" religious groups. Describing some groups as "dangerous" and "totalitarian," he endorsed the pending legislation as necessary. "Those sects are very harmful and bring a lot of damage to the society as a whole," he said.

Imam Haji Shakir Mamatov, the spiritual leader of Bishkek's largest mosque, also favors the amendments. He likened Islamic radical groups that are active in Kyrgyzstan, especially Hizb-ut-Tahrir, and evangelical Christian organizations to political parties. Not changing the status quo would quickly stoke social strife, he argued, adding that he was particularly wary of evangelicals.

"If one is converted [to Christianity] and others in the family are Muslims, it [provokes] fighting in the family, the community and society," Mamatov said.

The US State Department's 2008 installment of its International Religious Freedom Report, released in September, noted that while "most religious groups operated with little interference from the [Kyrgyz] government or each other, there were several reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice. The report went on to document instances of tension "between Muslims and former Muslims who had converted to other religious groups." For example, the report cited an incident in May in which a Christian convert was prevented from burying his 14-year-old son in a local cemetery in the central part of the country. He was told he would have to renounce Christianity before being allowed to inter his son in the predominantly Muslim burial ground. Inter-faith tension was especially high in rural areas, the report added.

Not surprisingly, representatives of evangelical groups are outspoken in their criticism of the legislation. "It [will be] the same as it was during the Soviet Union," Sergey Lysov - director of the Kyrgyzstan branch of Bible League, an international non-profit organization - said in reference to the amendments. "Churches that have less than 200 parishioners cannot re-register; therefore many churches will not be able to exist legally."

Lysov went on to defend the right of evangelical groups to operate openly and actively in Kyrgyzstan. "People think if someone was born Kyrgyz then he or she automatically becomes Muslim," he said. "They don't give him the freedom of choice. Kyrgyz people come to Christianity themselves; nobody makes them change their faith."

Representatives of other evangelical organizations indicated that the amendments would not deter them from their missions. Two members of one Christian group, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they felt compelled to keep proselytizing. "We respect the authority of government because the Bible tells us to do what the government says," one of them said. "We will listen and obey, but they cannot shut our mouths. We will continue to share our beliefs."