Kazakhstan Employs a Multidisciplinary Approach
Dr. Irina Chernykh
Chief research fellow, Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies
Kazakhstan currently has two main strategies for dealing with extremist violence and terrorism: Use of law enforcement to eliminate the enemy physically and preventive measures to make it impossible for terrorist structures to function properly — primarily population outreach measures.
The Kazakh government’s guiding principle is that violence alone, undertaken without additional measures, cannot produce results in the fight against terrorism, and it may lead to even more dangerous outcomes, since it does not eliminate the conditions that produce acts of terrorism. This principle serves as the stepping stone for the country’s transition from the concept of countering terrorism to the more encompassing concept of countering radicalization.
Radicalization in Kazakhstan
Today, the term “radicalization” is widely used. The concept draws its popularity from its descriptive nature in terms of causes of terrorism and the factors that drive acts of terrorism. Starting in 2004, and especially in 2005, after the Madrid and London attacks respectively, the term radicalization took center stage in the analysis of terrorism and counterterrorism policies.
AFP/GETTY IMAGES
In Kazakhstan, the term radicalization came into relatively systematic use in 2011, when the country was shaken by a series of violent acts, most of which were interpreted as terrorism by the public and experts. For example, on July 4, 2011, the television channel Stan.tv showed a video titled Kazakhstan: The Threat of Islamic Radicalization and dedicated to the attack on police forces in Aktobe. On November 22, 2012, First Deputy Prosecutor General Iogan Merkel highlighted religious radicalization in Kazakhstan during the International Conference on Counter-Terrorism. By the mid-2010s, the term radicalization had secured its place in the political, academic and journalistic vocabulary.
Counterterrorism narratives
Counterterrorism narratives in Kazakhstan are constructed on the foundation of pertinent legislation that regulates the country’s counterterrorist activities. The laws in this sphere are quite exhaustive and require only minor tweaks. There is also the State Programme on Combating Religious Extremism and Terrorism for 2013-2017, which establishes a set of measures designed to reduce conditions that promote religious extremism and terrorism, and provides a platform for ongoing improvements in the functioning of state agencies.
Institutions that shape counterterrorism narratives in Kazakhstan can be divided into two groups:
Secular (Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, Agency for Religious Affairs, Anti-Terror Center under the National Security Committee, nongovernmental organizations, Centers for the Study of Religion, secondary and higher education institutions, mass media).
Religious (Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan, local imams).
Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan (APK)
As an advisory body under the president, the APK is among the key structures that shape and promote ideas of spiritual unity; foster and strengthen ties of friendship between nations, ethnicities and confessions; and uphold social stability. In fact, counterterrorism narratives are formed as part of the Concept of Strengthening and Developing Kazakhstani Identity and Unity (2015), which can be boiled down to the following examples:
Kazakh identity and unity are built on the foundation of our shared values based on cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity.
Kazakh identity and unity is a continuous intergenerational process based on the fact that each citizen, regardless of ethnicity, has linked his or her destiny and future with Kazakhstan. Our society is united by a shared past, a shared present and a shared responsibility for the future. We share one nation and one Motherland: Independent Kazakhstan.
Committee for Religious Affairs
The Committee for Religious Affairs under the Ministry of Culture and Sport designs and implements state policies devised to protect freedom of religion and work with religious organizations, develops proposals for improving relevant legislation, conducts appropriate educational outreach measures, analyzes the religious situation in the country and conducts religious evaluations.
Educational outreach groups focused on protecting freedom of religion and preventing radicalization provide channels for disseminating counterterrorism narratives, along with the cultural and educational online resource e-islam.kz and the telephone hotline for issues related to religion. Religious experts also monitor internet resources for extremist content and block offending websites. The committee reports that more than 7,000 websites were analyzed in 2015, and 177 extremist resources were discovered and referred to court.
Examples of counterterrorism narratives produced by the Committee for Religious Affairs can be found in statements from its Chairman Galym Shoikin:
“From the very beginning, our country found the only correct answer: secularism, which allows members of different ethnicities and confessions to live in peace and accord.”
“All religious associations have equal rights and equal responsibilities, and regardless of their faith, are equally accountable for unlawful actions as prescribed by law.”
Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan (SAMK)
Traditional Islam is represented by SAMK. With its roots in the Soviet period, it serves as a national Islamic religious association with branches in every region of the country. The following measures provide channels for disseminating counterterrorism narratives:
Development of the country’s own system of theological education (with 10 madrassas and one university).
An attestation and further professional training system for the country’s imams, which includes clarification of the country’s religion legislation and specific steps to prevent dissemination of extremist ideologies (1,400 imams went through this training in 2015).
National and regional educational outreach groups that work with the country’s religious population.
Publication of religious educational materials (41 titles in 2015) and websites (www.muftyat.kz, www.muslim.kz).
Examples of counterterrorism narratives can be found in the statements of the Supreme Mufti of Kazakhstan Erzhan Kazy Malgazhyuly:
“We cannot say religion is separate from the state, because the state is made up of society, and society is inconceivable without religion. … Religion is separate from politics. That’s what we must clarify. Religion must not be involved in politics. It must not be used
as a means to achieve political goals.”
“Our ancestors … had only one goal: to preserve
the nation.”
Nongovernmental organizations
Several NGOs focused on preventing and counteracting violent extremism and terrorism operate in Kazakhstan. These organizations work with various focus groups:
Convicts serving prison terms for participation in religious extremism and terrorism (Akniet).
Religious Muslims (at the jamaat, mosque and family level; Shapagat, Ansar, Nurly, Bilim).
Youth (Citizens’ Alliance, Association of Centres for the Study of Religion).
Victims of violence, women (Center for Victims of Destructive Religious Movements).
Examples of counterterrorism narratives can be found in the statements of the Director of the Association of Centres for Victims of Destructive Religious Movements, Yulia Denisenko:
“We cannot file each woman in a hijab and each man with a beard under the label ‘potential terrorist.’ It’s not what’s on your head but what’s in your head that’s important.”
Secondary and higher education institutions
These are the central institutions in the effort to prevent radicalization and violent extremism, as well as to promote counterterrorism narratives. To use this tool effectively, the country is undergoing a shift in the concept of religious education, designed to improve the population’s religious literacy. For example, Introduction to Religious Studies, a required secondary school class, has been transformed into Introduction to Secularism and Religious Studies.
Seminars for secondary and higher education students designed to prevent radicalization are held regularly, along with religious education outreach, formation of an academic knowledge base, inoculation against destructive ideologies presented as religion and critical thinking skills. Today, the most pressing challenge in this sphere in Kazakhstan is a shortage of qualified experts in the field of religion. To address this problem, the government has allocated funds for the training of religious studies experts (in 2014-2015, 82 grants were offered for professional education in religious studies, 150 grants for Islamic studies and 15 for theology).
Mass media and social networks
The professional journalism community has developed a code of ethics for media reporting of acts of terrorism and extremism. The general principles outlined in the code are: to support victims of terrorism and the state and law enforcement in fighting terrorism, and to unequivocally denounce the actions of terrorists.
The Bloggers’ Alliance of Kazakhstan tracks cases of dissemination of extremist and terrorist ideologies on social networks, and the results are referred to court to block these destructive internet resources. In addition, a three-part documentary about the situation in Syria was produced based on interviews with former terrorists from Kazakhstan who fought in the Syrian conflict zone and were convicted for their unlawful actions. The documentary was broadcast several times on TV in Kazakhstan, and judging by feedback from viewers and experts, had a serious emotional impact on the country’s population.
Conclusion
Counterterrorism narratives produced in Kazakhstan are primarily designed to change the behavior of radicalized individuals, rather than their mentality. These narratives are more cost-effective and risk alienating radicalized individuals and encouraging them only to imitate “normal” behavior.
On the other hand, no measures can solve the problem of radicalization once and for all. Radicalization, as well as “deradicalization,” is a process unique to each individual, with different factors influencing each specific case.
Therefore, proactive measures designed to change the attitudes and convictions of people in particularly vulnerable and high-risk groups, and consequently prevent radicalization, are more effective in the long run. Some of the areas particularly crucial for a proactive approach to preventing radicalization are:
Regular analysis of the current situation and continuous monitoring of the level of radicalization in the country, as well as work with particularly vulnerable, high-risk groups.
Measures designed to assimilate particularly vulnerable high-risk groups into the larger society.
More active involvement of women’s organizations in the campaign to prevent radicalization and promote deradicalization.