Post-Soviet immigration strengthens Kazakhstan’s Jewish community

[Isabella]

Rabbi Cohen stressed that Kazakhstan’s Jewish community maintains a mutually open and, respectful relationship with the Kazakh government. The government protects, to varying degrees, what authorities deem “traditional” religions, including Sunni Hanafi Islam, Russian Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Judaism. But the level of tolerance that Kazakhstani authorities show toward the Jewish community does not extend to all faiths in the country, said Felix Corley, the editor of Forum 18, a news service specializing in coverage of religious freedom.

Corley cited Jehovah’s Witnesses as being among those who do not enjoy classification as being members of a “traditional” religion, and who regularly have experienced troubles with authorities. The group, along with other denominations known to proselytize and seek converts, has been subjected to intensified scrutiny and harassment since the adoption of religious legislation in 2011. According to Jarrod Lopes, a spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses world headquarters, there have been 20 incidents in which 37 Witnesses were detained over the past year in Kazakhstan.

Corley explained that Jews are particularly tolerated by Kazakhstani leaders. “While in law, they have no greater rights than anyone else … in practice, they’re generally exempt from state harassment,” Corley said.

https://eurasianet.org/post-soviet-immigration-strengthens-kazakhstans-jewish-community