Kazakstan Seeks Role as Inter-Faith Centre
Kazakstan Seeks Role as Inter-Faith Centre
The Kazak government is hosting a meeting of world religious leaders in a bid to show off policies which it argues have created inter-faith harmony and tolerance. Observers interviewed by NBCentralAsia suggest the move is primarily a public relations exercise for domestic consumption.
Astana’s new Palace of Peace and Harmony opens its doors to delegates from more than 30 countries on September 12-14, during the Second Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
The theme - Religion and International Security – might be a relevant one, but NBCentralAsia analysts suggest the gathering is mostly about symbolism.
According to these analysts, the Kazak government’s main motive for inviting all these religious leaders is to showcase its own policies on religion. Since independence in 1991, Kazakstan’s government has emphasised the “Eurasian” nature of its political direction, as befitting a country at a crossroads of culture and faith.
Kazakstan can score points by demonstrating a track-record of constructive dialogue and tolerance between Muslims and Christians – the country’s principal faith groups – at a time of rising religious conflict elsewhere. But there may also be another reason for hosting this kind of event – NBCentralAsia analysts suggest that the government wants to bridge the gap between the largely Muslim Kazaks and the Christian Orthodox Russians, in a society which some academics describe as ethnically divided.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
Astana’s new Palace of Peace and Harmony opens its doors to delegates from more than 30 countries on September 12-14, during the Second Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
The theme - Religion and International Security – might be a relevant one, but NBCentralAsia analysts suggest the gathering is mostly about symbolism.
According to these analysts, the Kazak government’s main motive for inviting all these religious leaders is to showcase its own policies on religion. Since independence in 1991, Kazakstan’s government has emphasised the “Eurasian” nature of its political direction, as befitting a country at a crossroads of culture and faith.
Kazakstan can score points by demonstrating a track-record of constructive dialogue and tolerance between Muslims and Christians – the country’s principal faith groups – at a time of rising religious conflict elsewhere. But there may also be another reason for hosting this kind of event – NBCentralAsia analysts suggest that the government wants to bridge the gap between the largely Muslim Kazaks and the Christian Orthodox Russians, in a society which some academics describe as ethnically divided.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
