Kazakhstan may financially support traditional religions

According to Sultan Dyusembinov, a deputy of the Senate, religious extremists played an active part in the January events in Kazakhstan. The senator noted that these people wanted to seize power in the country. They want to create a caliphate, they want to live in a caliphate and they have no respect for the constitution.

Over 2018-2022 Kazakhstan allocated about $631 million to stop religious extremism and terrorism from spreading, but only 4% of this money was spent on preventing this idea from becoming popular.

To fight this tendency, Dyusembinov has suggested Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov make a point of ramping up the government’s efforts in this sphere and focus on the prevention of extremism. The support of traditional religions might be part of this endeavor, the senator believes.