THE DIMENSIONS OF ISLAM IN CONTEMPORARY KAZAKHSTAN (original) (raw)

Islam in the Context of Political Processes in Modern Kazakhstan

World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, International Journal of Social, Behavioral, Educational, Economic, Business and Industrial Engineering, 2012

Religion revival including Islam in Kazakhstan represents reaction, first of all on internal social and political change, events after disintegration of the USSR. Process of revival of Kazakhstan Islam was accompanied as positive, so by negative tendencies. Old mosques were restored, were under construction new, Islamic schools and high schools were created, was widely studied religious the dogmatic person, the corresponding literature was published, expanded contacts with foreign Muslim brothers in the faith, the centers of the Arab-Muslim culture extended. At the same time in Kazakhstan, there are religious-political parties and movements, pursuing radical goals down to change the spiritual and cultural identity of Muslims of Kazakhstan by the forcible introduction of non-traditional religious and political, ethnic and cultural values.

Islam, national identity and politics in contemporary Kazakhstan

Asian Ethnicity, 2013

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Islamic Consolidation in Kazakhstan: Success Story and Challenges of the Future

SHAHIH: Journal of Islamicate Multidisciplinary, 2018

This article attempts to explain the process of Islamic consolidation in Kazakhstan, a young Muslim-majority state in Central Asia, which became independent following the demise of the Soviet Union. This paper begins with a view that the demise of communism had opened a door for Islamin identity to reemerge. Unlike its turbulent regional neighbors, the reintroduction of Islam in Kazakhstan has virtually been quite stable. Therefore, it is interesting to examine why such occurence happen, making its success an interesting case to discuss. Using the consolidation and securitisation concept, this paper examines how the rise of Islam is facilitated after the demise of the Soviet Union. There are three findings observed by this paper regarding Islamic consolidation in Kazakhstan: first, as a background, Kazakhstan benefits from the assimilation of Islam with the local traditions; second, the paper finds that a bi-faceted stance toward Islam is another contributing factor; third, research shows that the state has been responsive enough by securitising Islamic radicalism as its agenda. Those findings are relevant in order to portray the current condition in Kazakhstan amidst the threat of Islamic radicalism. This paper concludes with giving some reflections on the future of Islam and the political stability in Kazakhstan. Abstrak Artikel ini berupaya menjelaskan proses konsolidasi Islam di Kazakhstan, sebuah negara mayoritas Islam di Asia Tengah yang berdiri menyusul runtuhnya Uni Soviet. Makalah ini ebrangkat dari pandangan bahwa runtuhnya komunisme telah memberi jalan pada identitas Islam untuk muncul kembali. Namun demikian, berbeda dari negara-negara sekitarnya, kembalinya identitas Islam di Kazakhstan terlihat lebih stabil. Sehingga, menarik bagi kita untuk mengamati mengapa hal tersebut terjadi. Menggunakan konsep konsolidasi dan sekuritisasi, makalah ini mencoba melihat bagaimana Islam difasilitasi kembali setelah runtuhnya Uni Soviet. Ada tiga temuan makalah ini mengenai konsolidasi Islam di Kazakhstan: pertama, sebagai latar belakang, Kazakhstan diuntungkan oleh terasimilasinya nilai-nilai lokal dan Islam; kedua, sikap negara terhadap Islam yang memiliki dua wajah juga merupakan faktor penunjang lain; ketiga, penelitian menemukan bahwa negara telah cukup responsif dengan melakukan sekuritisasi terhadap isu Islam radikal. Temuan-temuan tersebut penting sebagai potret awal melihat kondisi Kazakhstan di tengah ancaman radikalisme Islam kontemporer. Menutup makalah ini, penulis menyajikan refleksi terhadap masa depan Islam dan stabilitas politik di Kazakhstan.

Islam in Post-Soviet Kazakhstan: Experiencing Public Revival of Islam through Institutionalisation

Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, 2019

In the years following independence, Kazakhstan witnessed a reemergence of religious phenomenon, particularly in the form of 'Islamic revival,' generating a kind of post-Soviet 'Islamic extremism' narrative. The discussions, describing Islamic revival as a 'security concern' and 'potential threat' to Kazakhstan's secular objectives have deluged the academic, political, and policy discourse. Nevertheless, the question essential to contextualise the whole debate is whether the nature of 'Islamic revival' does follow the prescriptive conditions as anticipated by the privatisation of religion theory, reducing the stimulus of religion to an individual's 'private matter' or whether it has become a social function, affecting people's inspirations and aspirations both at the individual and collective level. To analyse this question methodologically, the study discusses theoretical formulations that are relevant to understanding the nature and scope of Islamic revival in the post-Soviet Kazakh context. Then, the study examines the practical impact of Islamic revival and makes reference to an institutionalization of Islam through religious, economic and political institutions. The study argues, after independence, despite the secular and authoritarian nature of the government, 'Islamic revival' has become an institutionalised phenomenon and its appearance and social function in the public space has increased rather than decreased.

The Main Reasons for the Revival of Islam in Independent Kazakhstan

International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 2020

In the modern world history, we notice such phenomena as; globalization, digitalization, value pluralism, mass migration, terrorism, post-secularity, etc., which characterize the current nature of human civilization. Recently, among these trends, the phenomenon of the "revival of Islam" has emerged. Therefore, the systematic discussion relating to the phenomenon of Islam in the socio-cultural processes of the society has prevalent in religious studies. This topic has gained considerable attention by Kazakh researchers have also paid attention to this topic. The society of Kazakhstan has closely related to Islam in aspects of culture, history, personality, and morality. Since the collapse of the United Socialist Soviet Republics (USSR), Kazakhstan has gradually been becoming one of the fastest growing countries in Central Asia, focusing on modernization processes. Even though it follows secular nature of constitution, it has not only allowed the reentrance of traditional religious presence, but scholars have also noticed features of religious revival. Purpose of the article analyze the main factors that activated the mass-revival of Islam within the Kazakh society after the country's independence. Leading methods − conceptual analysis, structural analysis, and comparative analysis. Thanks to a systematic generalization of domestic and foreign researchers' views, as well as sociological data, it became possible to form common knowledge about the causes of the revival of Islam in Kazakhstan.

Modern Muslim Movements and Groups in Post-Soviet Kazakhstan: Certain Aspects

Russia and the moslem world, 2015

This article examines the basic trends in Islam at the present stage, such as traditionalism, secularism, liberal Islam, Salafism, modernism, and neo-revivalism, and also how they are represented, or not represented, in Kazakhstan. It also analyzes and compares their approach to the women's problem and certain economic aspects of our time. This work compares similarities and differences between the modern trends of Islam and analyzes the factors influencing Islamic traditions and their development. Apart from traditional Islam, the article attempts to determine and characterize such Islamic trends in Kazakhstan as secularism, modernism and Salafism, analyze their formation, development and prospects, using modern methodology. There are six main trends in Islam at present: traditionalism, secularism, Salafism, liberal Islam, Islamic modernism and "neorevivalism." If we try to characterize, if briefly, these trends 1 we shall single out the following canonic and socio-political characteristics, beginning from traditional Islam (traditionalism): Belief in the need to follow one of the classical Madh'habs and, accordingly, the traditional interpretations of the Koran and Sunna; Islam is ideal and does not require modernization, and the trends of the classical period of Islam are prevalent; Trend to growing piety as opposed to political activity; Trend to obey the existing state power;

Synthesis of Traditional and Islamic Values in Kazakhstan

2015

The Kazakh traditional culture is based on the Turkic world model. Islam, in the form of Sunnism of Hanafite Madh'hab, is present in Kazakhstan. Speaking about the specificity of Islam in Kazakhstan it is necessary to mention its close connection with ancient folk religious faiths. The spiritual essence and fundamental features of the Kazakh culture coincide with the Islamic paradigms. Alongside with that, there is every reason to state about worldview syncretism, the modification of Islam in Kazakh society, based on the synthesis of Nomadism and Sufism. Ethic-ecclesiastical essence of Islam awoke an echo in nomads‟ hearts and souls, and it was accepted by them. „Assimilation‟ of Islam in Kazakh ground was made by adding the elements of pre-Islamic cult practice: cult of ancestors, worship of graves and „holy places‟, etc. The specificity of Islam lies in its capacity for dialogue and mutual understanding. It resulted in the synthesis of Islamic values and values of traditional ...