The Daily Sigh

Kazakhstan Keeping Up With Tajikistan

"The hypocrite men and hypocrite women are of one another. They enjoin what is wrong and forbid what is right and close their hands (from giving for Allah's sake). They have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them [accordingly]. Indeed, the hypocrites - it is they who are the defiantly disobedient. Allah has promised the hypocrite men and hypocrite women and the disbelievers the fire of Hell, wherein they will abide eternally. It is sufficient for them. And Allah has cursed them, and for them is an enduring punishment." (9:67-68)

Once again we start there because wow. Shocker. More evil.

"Black clothing is only for funerals," says Kazakhstan's president, who wants a legal ban on certain Islamic clothing -- such as body-covering black garments for women and so-called Salafi-style ankle-length pants for men.

In a meeting with the country's religious leaders in the capital, Astana, on April 9, Nursultan Nazarbaev expressed concern over what he described as a growing trend among young Kazakhs to opt for religious garb.

"Our young men grow beards and cut the length of their trousers [above the ankles]," he said, referring to styles of dress and appearance that are often associated with conservative Muslims who are branded as "Salafis" and portrayed by the authorities as followers of a potentially dangerous strand of Islam.

"The number of Kazakh girls who are fully covered with black clothing is on the rise," Nazarbaev said, blaming the trend on young people's "ignorance" and a lack of knowledge about true religious values. (MORE LIKE YOUR IGNORANCE YOU PIG-HEADED ROACH-BRAINED TURD-ROLL)

Nazarbaev said it was "necessary" to work out a legal ban on such attire, which he said was "incompatible" with the traditions of the predominantly Muslim Central Asian country. "Kazakhs wear black garments only for funerals," Nazarbaev said.

He made no mention of banning other forms of Islamic dress worn in Kazakhstan.

'Dangerous' Trends

Nazarbaev, a staunchly secular, former-communist leader who has ruled the resources-rich state since 1989, said there were people who are "envious" of Kazakhstan's vast territories and natural wealth.

These people, he said, seek to incite discord in society through religious teachings alien to the Kazakh nation, Nazarbaev warned, urging the country's nearly 4,000 officially registered imams to help fight against the "dangerous" trends. (More like if you don't get your act together your riches will be your downfall. Let's not forget, Allah has increased evil people in wealth before specifically so that it would be even more cause against them... stupid.)

"We must combat the tendencies that pose threats to our statehood," he said. The Kazakh president's official website also pointed out that "alien religious teachings" have penetrated Kazakh society via the Internet.

Kazakhstan banned the Islamic head scarf or the hijab in schools in 2016, along with all other clothing that "directly or indirectly propagates religion."

Kazakh authorities have increasingly expressed concern about religious extremism in the country, where several hundred people -- including some young families -- are estimated to have joined ISCED.

In June 2016, the government blamed a deadly attack in the northwestern city of Aqtobe on "followers of radical, nontraditional religious movements."

Authorities said eight people were killed when a group of suspected Islamic militants entered the city, raided a gun shop, and attacked an army unit. Aqtobe was also the site of what Kazakh authorities described as the country's first suicide attack, in 2011.

'Foreign Culture Disguised As Religion'

Islamic garments and other outward signs of religious observance have come under pressure elsewhere in Central Asia, where governments see the rising influence of the religion as a threat to state secularism.

In Kyrgyzstan, President Almazbek Atambaev has said that "foreign culture should not be imposed upon us in the guise of religion."

Tajikistan has officially banned the head-covering hijab in all public places and discourages men from growing long beards. Police reportedly often round up men with bushy beards and force them to shave.

Uzbekistan doesn't have a formal ban on the hijab or bushy beards, but some men with long beards have reportedly been barred from attending soccer games, and hijab-wearing women have allegedly been stopped by police for questioning in both the eastern Ferghana Province and the capital, Tashkent.

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😤😤😤😤😤😤 I'm done with this for now. Just... just... ugh...