VZCZCXRO5425
OO RUEHIK
DE RUEHTA #0024/01 0120504
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 120504Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY ASTANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7169
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE 2325
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1687
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2393
RHMFISS/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFAAA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC 1882
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC 1732
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000024 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON SOCI KIRF RS KZ
SUBJECT:  NORTHERN KAZAKHSTAN PROMOTES INTER-RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE FOR 
SOME 
 
REFS:  A.  ASTANA 0010 
  ¶B.  ASTANA 0013 
       ¶C.  ASTANA 0023 
 
ASTANA 00000024  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY:  During recent visits to Kazakhstan's Kostanai and 
North Kazakhstan Oblasts (refs A-C), officials, civil society 
representatives, and leaders of the Russian Orthodox and Islamic 
communities emphasized the regions' religious tolerance and 
inter-confessional harmony.  However, they expressed concern about 
non-traditional religions.  END SUMMARY. 
 
OVER 90 RELIGIOUS HOUSES OF WORSHIP IN KOSTANAI 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Noting the representation of over 90 houses of worship in 
Kostanai, Tatyana Zueva, a representative of the region's Internal 
Policy Department, praised its record of inter-religious harmony. 
With a large ethnic Russian and Slavic population (ref C), the 
sizeable Russian Orthodox community has two churches within Kostanai 
city, she underlined.  During a weekday morning visit to the new 
cathedral, which replaced a smaller church next door, PolOff 
observed approximately 30 worshippers, men and women, young and old, 
praying.  A Catholic cathedral, two mosques (one built with private 
money and one government-funded), and one synagogue -- opened during 
Israeli President Shimon Peres' July visit -- also populate 
Kostanai. 
 
NO NON-TRADITIONAL MISSIONARIES 
 
¶4.  (SBU) In response to PolOff's inquiry about missionary activity, 
Zueva said that Oblast authorities welcome all religious 
confessions.  She added, "Fortunately, however, we do not have any 
non-traditional missionaries here now, as we did in the 1990's." 
Zueva claimed that non-traditional missionaries "bother people" by 
going door-to-door, selling books.  "It is people's choice to open 
their door and admit such people, and, in Kostanai, we have such 
freedom, but I think we are better off without such religious 
activities."  (NOTE: While Kazakhstan is proud of its record on 
religious tolerance, some Kazakhstanis are uneasy about a perceived 
threat from "non-traditional" religions, such as Jehovah's 
Witnesses, Scientologists, and Hare Krishnas.  END NOTE.) 
 
ORTHODOX PRIEST PRAISES PROMOTION OF RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE 
 
¶5.  (SBU) North Kazakhstan Oblast officials also praised 
inter-religious tolerance in their region, noting the presence of 34 
confessions and 39 missionary groups.  Accompanied by Faina 
Seryogina, Chief Specialist of Internal Policy Department of the 
North-Kazakhstan Oblast Akimat (regional government), PolOff met 
with Protopriest Sergiy, who reports directly to the Patriarch of 
Moscow and All the Rus.  Responsible for the spiritual well-being of 
one-third of Kazakhstan's Russian Orthodox community, Protopriest 
Sergiy described excellent relations with the government and all 
other traditional religions in Kazakhstan.  Sergiy praised 
Nazarbayev for his initiatives to promote inter-ethnic and 
inter-confessional harmony, in particular the July 2009 Congress of 
Leaders of Traditional and World Religions, held in Astana, which 
Protopriest Sergiy attended.  He highlighted excellent relations 
with local imams and rabbis, and called the former imam a very close 
friend.  According to Protopriest Sergiy, approximately 500 Jews 
live in North Kazakhstan Oblast.  Protopriest Sergiy proudly showed 
PolOff Petrapavlovsk's most famous landmark, the Cathedral of Saint 
Peter and Paul, as well as a newer Orthodox church in another part 
of town.  Both Russian Orthodox religious sites support large 
congregations and many charitable activities, he said.  Protopriest 
Sergiy, however, expressed reservations about the growth of 
"missionary activity by non-traditional religions" in North 
Kazakhstan. 
 
IMAM PRAISES TOLERANCE, BUT SAYS ISLAM IS UNDER-REPRESENTED 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Kasymkhan Isayev, North Kazakhstan Oblast's representative 
of the Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Kazakhstan and 
 
ASTANA 00000024  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Chief Imam of the Kyzylzhar Center, recently moved to Petrapavlovsk 
from Zhambyl Oblast in southern Kazakhstan.  He is responsible for 
the city's four mosques, which attract approximately 585 believers 
for weekly prayers.  To accommodate growing numbers of worshippers, 
he said the Muslim community is now planning a fifth mosque.  The 
city's largest mosque has a large cafeteria to provide food to the 
needy and cater to the halal dietary restrictions of worshippers, as 
well as several classrooms, which can accommodate up to 30 students. 
 Like Protopriest Sergiy, Isayev praised President Nazarbayev for 
encouraging tolerance and highlighted his excellent relations with 
other religious organizations in North Kazakhstan.  Even though half 
the region's residents are Muslim, he argued that Islam remains 
under-represented because many "Muslims" in the region do not 
practice their ancestral faith.  Isayev described his efforts to 
meet the needs of the Islamic community and increase understanding 
of Islam.  Isayev, who appeared to be in his mid-forties, studied 
Arabic in Shymkent, and fluently speaks both Kazakh and Russian. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) COMMENT:  In frank conversations with representatives of 
religious organizations and Akimats in Kostanai and North Kazakhstan 
Oblasts, PolOff's interlocutors unanimously praised the tolerant 
atmosphere of residents towards various religions, and government 
support for inter-confessional harmony.  In both regions, new 
mosques, churches, and synagogues continue to be built, and 
irrespective of their religion, interlocutors said "Kazakhstani 
citizens feel free to practice religion."  At the same time, the 
concern of religious representatives and local officials alike about 
the growth of "non-traditional" confessions reflects the national 
mood, which prompted the government to propose the restrictive 2009 
draft religion law.  END COMMENT. 
 
HOAGLAND