Government Sends Religious Affairs Office to South

Kyrgyzstan’s State Agency for Religious Affairs is moving to the southern city of Osh in a bid to confront Islamic extremists on their own ground. NBCentralAsia analysts warn that until the government develops a clear, unified policy, simply placing the agency in close geographical proximity to the areas of tension will yield little in the way of results.



The agency’s head office will now be in Osh – informally the southern capital – in a move dictated by a recent upsurge in extremist activity in this part of Kyrgyzstan.



Over the past few months, the situation in the south has grown increasingly tense, with various Islamic groups mounting ever more violent protests against the state.



Recent armed attacks on soldiers and police, attributed to the formerly peaceful Hizb-ut-Tahrir movement, have alarmed the government, which has decided to alter its approach to dealing with the problem. In addition to using force to repel extremist attacks, the authorities will now also engage in preventive measures to provide an “ideological antidote” to extremism. This will include introducing religious studies into the school curriculum.



The state agency for religious affairs will concentrate its activities in the south, traditionally seen as the epicentre of religious turbulence.



Analysts blame the rapid expansion of new religious groups on the passive approach of government bodies responsible for religious affairs, but also on dissent among leading members of the Muslim community. Analysts suggest that religious communities should be encouraged to direct their energies in more positive directions.



According to analysts, the formal separation of church and state in Kyrgyzstan has resulted in weak state regulation of the activities of religious communities. Officials admit that while the state accepts the traditional dominance of the Sunni Muslim majority and Orthodox Christian minority, and has developed some forms of coordination with the clergy of these two main religions, it has no clear policies on religious matters in general.



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)