Secularism Lost in Translation

Even though Kyrgyzstan’s new constitution clearly sets out the separation between state and religion, some NBCentralAsia commentators argue that dropping the word “secular” from the wording of the document could prove a damaging mistake.



When constitutional amendments were adopted by parliament on December 30 last year, the word “secular” was omitted from the definition of the state of Kyrgyzstan.



The architects of the changes said the term was left out simply because the Kyrgyz language has no equivalent to the Russian word “svetski”, and and the previous translation of it literally meant “a state without faith”.



However, Gulnara Ibraeva, director of the Agency for Social Technologies, said that despite the translation problems, the definition of Kyrgyzstan as a secular state should be restored to the constitution.



“We never imagined how fast events would develop after the concept of secularism was taken out of the constitution,” she said. “Via the attempt to ban abortions… and to decriminalise polygamy, certain forces are trying to manipulate developments by saying the word ‘secular’ can’t be translated into Kyrgyz.”



Ibraeva says that she and other activists are going to collect the 300,000 signatures required to amend the constitution, so that the word can be restored to its rightful place.



Member of parliament Kanybek Imanaliev also expressed regret at the loss of this key definition in the text of the constitution, and he predicts religion will gain more influence over politics as a result.



Kadyr Malikov, an expert on religion, disagreed with such dire predictions. As thing stand, he pointed out, the constitution explicitly forbids the creation of religious parties, and bans them from taking part in politics.



Myktybek Arstanbek, a well-known journalist, made a similar point, noting that the constitution clearly desrcribes a state that is separated from religion and based on democratic rather than theological principles.



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