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R 131336Z FEB 06
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ALMATY 000575 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN (JMUDGE), EUR/PPD (JBASEDOW), DRL/PHD 
(CKUCHTA-HELBLING), INR/R/MR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KPAO KDEM KZ
SUBJ:  KAZAKHSTAN:  REACTION TO CARTOON CONTROVERSY 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY.  Public reaction and comment by Kazakhstanis 
(almost half of whom are Muslim) on the cartoon controversy 
started February 9, after several days of primetime news 
reports of international events.  One local man known for 
eccentric behavior led a small protest against "insulting 
any nation."  A teacher-student advocacy group sent a 
letter to the Danish prime minister, asking the West not to 
abuse freedom of speech and to adopt a code of ethics. 
Opinion makers generally denounced the cartoons and urged 
Western media to not publish images with the potential to 
provoke violence.  A Jewish community leader said the 
violent reaction discredited Islam and he called for 
tolerance on all sides.  Kazakh language press interpreted 
the controversy as a "clash of civilizations," while 
Russian language media speculated on which side benefited, 
and whether the controversy could provoke a strike on the 
"axis of evil" countries.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  Most public reaction in Kazakhstan to the controversy 
began several days after primetime news broadcasts had been 
reporting international reaction to the cartoons.  The 
first statement was issued February 6 by Omirbek Ongar, 
press secretary of the Spiritual Directorate of 
Kazakhstan's Muslims.  He said, "We hold an extremely 
negative view of the publishing of the Prophet Muhammad's 
cartoons. . . We support our Muslim brothers from other 
countries, who have also condemned this."  On February 9 
centrist national broadcaster Channel 31 carried two 
reports on the evening news about how the "international 
crisis of civilizations had reached Kazakhstan."  Asylbek 
Amantay, well known for his public protests, led about 30 
supporters in a demonstration in Almaty.  "As God is great, 
so is his prophet.  We oppose in general insulting any 
nation.  Ninety percent of the prophets are descended from 
the Jews."  (Last May when Amantay led a protest against 
desecration of the Koran, his supporters carried placards 
reading, "Yankees out of the Soviet Union.") 
 
Civil Leaders Denounce Images, Appeal for Calm 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶3.  The Channel 31 report also covered reaction from the 
teacher-student advocacy group Bolashak, which sent a 
letter to the Danish prime minister, asking the West not to 
abuse freedom of speech and to develop an international 
code of ethics.  Chairman Farkhad Kasenov said that he 
believes the West intends to start a "cold war" with the 
East, and is discrediting Islam, which he said is a 
peaceful religion.  Although he said he thought reaction in 
other countries was understandable, his group does not 
advocate "pogroms."  Akhmetzhan Kerimbekov, the imam for 
the Southern Kazakhstan Mosque said, "Allah himself formed 
Mohammed and He Himself protects Him.  We need not worry or 
undertake any kind of protest action.  We must preserve 
tranquility and rely on the will of Allah."  Safar Abdullo, 
a scholar of eastern studies, appealed for "dialogue, 
mutual understanding and respect, otherwise, nothing good 
can come from this." 
 
Kazakh Publications:  "Clash of Civilizations" 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶4.  Some Kazakh language newspapers, most of whose readers 
are Muslim, expressed the issue as a "conflict of 
civilizations" deliberately provoked by the West. 
Progressive Kazakh language Zhas Alash published the 
opinion of a prominent local theologist Murtaza Bulutai 
February 9:  "The West knows perfectly well that depicting 
images of the prophet Mohammed is strictly prohibited and 
that the Muslim community will not tolerate taunts. . . 
Mocking the prophet Mohammed cannot be justified by any 
freedom of speech!  This is a provocation! . . . There are 
groups in the West that regard both Muslims and Muslim 
countries with suspicion.  How long has Turkey been trying 
to join the EU?  For 45 years!  The EU keeps bouncing 
Turkey back. . . because Turkey is a country of Muslims." 
(Note:  Almost half of the country's population of 15 
million are Muslim.) 
 
¶5.  Pro-government Kazakh language Aikyn speculated in 
their February 9 issue on the threat of "another fire in 
the Persian Gulf."  "The world is facing another challenge. 
 
ALMATY 00000575  002 OF 003 
 
 
The perverted pictures of the prophet Mohammed published by 
western media started a conflict between the European and 
Muslim worlds.  Protest actions against the West that 
started in Islamic countries can bring Muslims of European 
countries into the streets.  These protests may spread to 
all the countries that published images of Mohammed.  If 
so, it will be difficult to control the situation." 
 
Jewish Community Leader Calls for Stability and Tolerance 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶6.  Pro-government Ekspress K carried an opinion piece 
emphasizing points in common between Judaism and Islam and 
calling for religious tolerance.  The paper is reputedly 
owned by wealthy entrepreneur Aleksandr Mashkevich, 
president of the Eurasian Jewish Congress, and a close 
friend of President Nazarbayev.  "What is taking place in 
some Islamic countries has nothing to do with true 
religion.  Some heart-broken Muslims have already forgotten 
that as soon as sacrilegious caricatures of the Prophet 
Muhammad appeared, prominent Jewish figures were among the 
first who condemned it.  For example, the president of the 
largest Jewish organization, the Eurasian Jewish Congress, 
Aleksandr Mashkevich said words heard by every Muslim on 
the planet, 'Today, our duty is to put aside our 
disagreements, to help our Muslim brothers to restore their 
desecrated dignity and justice.'"  The author writes that 
the contest sponsored by an Iranian newspaper for 
caricatures of the Holocaust is a blow against Islam itself 
and the global Muslim community.  "This blasphemy will only 
strengthen the positions of their enemies, who call Islam 
an aggressive religion.  All the aforementioned once again 
emphasizes the importance of stability in our multi- 
national, multi-confessional country.  We should be mindful 
that no fanatics can influence life in our country.  Let's 
be tolerant of any true religion and tolerant of any 
manifestation of intolerance!" 
 
Both Sides to Blame for Conflict, but Who Benefits? 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶7.  Pro-government Russian language weekly Novoye 
Pokoleniye February 10 referred to "the game of freedom of 
speech" in Europe, which provoked Islamic leaders into 
forgetting their history and the traditional wisdom of 
their faith.  "Danish journalists (and together with them 
those who reprinted the caricatures in Spain, France, 
Germany, and Italy) could not be unaware that the game of 
freedom of speech in reality plumbs the depths of 
misfortune. . . However, the sharp reaction of Islamic 
governments to caricatures is no less striking than the so- 
called theological illiteracy of the Europeans. . .  Is it 
possible that leaders of Islamic countries forgot their 
history, lost their traditional wisdom accumulated through 
the centuries and allowed themselves to give in to such an 
essentially cheap provocation?  Why exactly now were true 
believers offended by images published last September in an 
unknown newspaper?  Now when the nuclear report of Iran 
could be sent to the UN Security Council.  Now when the 
U.S. president unambiguously speaks about possible war with 
Iran.  Now when the radical organization Hamas has come to 
power in Palestine and on the eve of parliamentary 
elections in Israel.  The fragile world in the Middle East 
again hangs by a thread.  Someone benefits from this." 
 
West Will Use Conflict to Justify Military Strikes on East 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
¶8.  The question of who benefits was answered in this piece 
in pro-government Russian language weekly Delovaya Nedelya 
February 10.  "No matter how paradoxical it sounds, the 
current situation is beneficial not only to 'rogue states,' 
but also to the West.  Reports from Syria, Lebanon, and 
Iran are strong arguments in favor of a next strike on 'the 
axis of evil.'  A military operation in the East will be 
perceived by average Westerners as something inevitable . . 
. to protect democratic freedoms in general, and freedom of 
speech in particular.  Meanwhile, some Asian leaders . . . 
came forward with conciliatory statements. . . Such 
statements raise optimism, because as long as they are 
being said, pessimisstic forecasts will probably remain 
only forecasts." 
 
ALMATY 00000575  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
Cartoonists Poorly Brought Up; We all Lack Tolerance 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶9.  In an article for pro-government daily Ekspress K 
February 10, a political cartoonist for the progressive 
weekly Vremya criticized not only those who took freedom of 
speech too far, but also those who took images too much to 
heart.  "I consider this caricature to be beyond the pale. 
One can joke about any topic in the kitchen, but it is not 
right to do it publicly. . . Truth be told, the reaction 
was extremely wild on this thing.  We all lack tolerance. 
These heedless caricaturists and those who immediately grab 
daggers especially lack it.  It is difficult to say how a 
caricaturist should know where to stop.  It all depends on 
upbringing.  Some say you can laugh about this, others say 
you cannot. . . Absolute freedom of speech is evil." 
Ekspress K's deputy editor in a separate piece agreed. 
"Regarding the firewall between 'can' and 'cannot' . . . I 
would say this:  it all depends upon how his parents 
brought him up.  A caricaturist should have unwritten 
rules.  The most important is to do as you would have done 
unto you." 
 
Ordway