Kazakhstan passes restrictive religion law
ALMATY, Kazakhstan — Kazakhstan's president has approved a bill
tightening registration rules for faith groups that has been
described by critics as a blow to freedom of belief in the
ex-Soviet nation.
Supporters of the bill signed into law Thursday by Nursultan Nazarbayev say it will help combat religious extremism, an issue that has come to the fore after a series of Islamist-linked attacks in the west of the country over the summer.
The law will require existing religious organizations in the mainly Muslim nation to dissolve and register again through a procedure that is virtually guaranteed to exclude smaller groups, including minority Christian communities. It will also impose a ban on prayer in the workplace.
Passage of the bill marks a reversal of Nazarbayev's earlier attempts to cast Kazakhstan as a land of religious tolerance.
Supporters of the bill signed into law Thursday by Nursultan Nazarbayev say it will help combat religious extremism, an issue that has come to the fore after a series of Islamist-linked attacks in the west of the country over the summer.
The law will require existing religious organizations in the mainly Muslim nation to dissolve and register again through a procedure that is virtually guaranteed to exclude smaller groups, including minority Christian communities. It will also impose a ban on prayer in the workplace.
Passage of the bill marks a reversal of Nazarbayev's earlier attempts to cast Kazakhstan as a land of religious tolerance.
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