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The Art of Managing Religion in a Post-Soviet Soft Authoritarian State

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Book cover Kazakhstan and the Soviet Legacy

Abstract

This chapter examines the religious revival that followed the collapse of Soviet Union, more specifically from the perspective of Islam. It shows that the Kazakhstani authorities have tried to channel a Muslim identity with methods that are very akin to those used by the Communist authorities prior to independence. In particular, the fight against Salafism and other “non-traditional” religious movements has become a major security issue. The act of balancing religious freedom and security imperatives proves difficult on the backdrop of authoritarian governance.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    http://astana-piramida.kz/en/

  2. 2.

    In comparison, in Tajikistan, respectively 40 and 59% of adults younger and older than 40 years old pray daily (Pew 2018: 67).

  3. 3.

    Other countries of the former Soviet Union, including Russia, have similar institutions.

  4. 4.

    http://www.muftyat.kz/ru/kmdb.

  5. 5.

    This is a traditional white high-top hat worn with a white shawl that covers the hair and neck.

  6. 6.

    This is an Arabic word that refers to the private parts of a women’s body that must be hidden.

  7. 7.

    The age of puberty comes earlier than the age of majority, which is 19 in Kazakhstan. It is not clear if SDMK’s mistake is intentional or a sign of its misapprehension of women’s reality.

  8. 8.

    http://online.zakon.kz/Document/?doc_id=31067690#pos=3;-274.

  9. 9.

    Kazakhstan is ranked 157th (out of 180) in the 2017 World Press Freedom Index.

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  1. Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan

    Hélène Thibault

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  1. Hélène Thibault
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Correspondence to Hélène Thibault .

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  1. Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan

    Jean-François Caron

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Thibault, H. (2019). The Art of Managing Religion in a Post-Soviet Soft Authoritarian State. In: Caron, JF. (eds) Kazakhstan and the Soviet Legacy. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6693-2_8

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