Embracing Christ and tradition in Kyrgyzstan

(Photos courtesy Christian Aid Mission)

Kyrgyzstan (CAM/MNN) ― Kyrgyzstan is the first country in Central Asia to have a democratically-elected head of state. Unlike the rest of Central Asia, persecution of believers comes mainly from family, friends, and community. In rural areas especially, Muslim-background believers face enormous pressure to recant their new faith.

To be a traditional Kyrgyz practically equates with being Muslim. Identifying oneself as a Christian brings all sorts of challenges for new believers who experience misunderstanding, ridicule, and in some cases even abandonment by families who feel they have scorned their very heritage.

Nearly 90% of Kyrgyzstan's 5.5 million people consider themselves Muslim, according to Operation World. Most adhere to a form of traditional Islam that combines remnants of tribal folk practices with Sunni beliefs.

More militant forms of Islam, however, are perceived to be a threat to the country's secular government. To combat increased pressures from radical groups, Kyrgyzstan passed a law against extremism in 2005. Additional religious laws approved in 2009 tightened controls on all faiths but had an especially adverse effect on Christianity.

Proselytism, the distribution of religious literature, and private religious education were among the practices banned under the regulations. Most challenging was the mandate that churches and other religious groups have at least 200 adult citizen members in order to qualify for legal registration. The former law required only 10 members for registration.

Critics expressed concern at the time that the laws violated Kyrgyzstan's own constitution, which on paper upholds religious freedom. Fears persist that harsher laws will propel Kyrgyzstan down the same course as its Central Asia neighbors, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, where religious activities are highly restricted.

Despite cultural resistance and stiffening government regulations, GNM Mission has planted seeds of the Gospel in Kyrgyzstan for over 17 years. In 1995, GNM opened the first Bible school in Central Asia. Graduates have gone on to serve as full-time native missionaries or church leaders.

Gifts from Christian Aid Mission, your link to indigenous missions, help support the Bible school and evangelistic events. Three outdoor services, complete with music and dramatic presentations, attracted the curious as well as the faithful. As a result, more than 150 people received Jesus Christ into their hearts and 30 people joined home churches.

More than any other Central Asian people, the Kyrgyz cling to their traditional way of life. That poses both difficulties and opportunities for missionaries, who sometimes travel far into the mountains to reach isolated communities with the gospel.

In July, GNM sent a team of five workers to an impoverished village in the southern part of the country. There are few jobs and not much hope for the future for the area's young people. The missionaries sought to encourage residents with the good news of the Savior who will stand beside them in the midst of their suffering.

Pray that God would show believers how to be wise when sharing their faith with others. Ask God to comfort and lavish His love upon believers who face rejection, abuse, and isolation from their own families and friends.

More religious activities proposed for legal chopping block

Kyrgyzstan (MNN) ― Throughout 2012, government officials tookone step after another, trying to keep extremist ideology from spreading throughout Kyrgyzstan.

Now, it appears they're moving beyond censorship to punishment. According to Forum 18 News, officials are trying to get more activities to be considered as "violations" of the nation's Religion Law.

Forum 18 says the proposed administrative code is much longer than the current one, Article 395. This article punishes youth ministry and the refusal by church leadership to register with the government.

Article 395 would expand dramatically if the new amendments are passed.

Sharing the Gospel openly or trying to lead kids to Christ would result in fines. Activities like praying outside the walls of a registered church building, teaching Christianity without personal registration, and conducting unregistered religious activity would be regarded as "violations" of the Religion Law.

Missionaries to Kyrgyzstan and missionary groups would also be subject to legal heat.

"Any religious activity without state registration by foreign organizations and individuals," reports Forum 18, "would be punished by fines…deportation…and a ban on the activity of the organizations, including local branches."

Multiple religious groups expressed concern about the new amendments, a source told Forum 18.

"All of the religious leaders present without exception were very worried about the amendments," said Galina Kolodzinskaia of the Inter-Religious Council in the Kyrgyz Republic. "If adopted, the punishments will definitely be used.

"We regard them as a way for the authorities to collect money from religious communities."

Representatives of Muslim, Protestant Christian, Jewish, and Buddhist communities participate in the Council. 

Kolodzinskaia spoke to Forum 18 after the council's meeting earlier this week and said members plan to make their opposition known to government officials.

Forum 18 says the new amendments would need approval from the Committee of Ministers Department before it can be considered by parliament. However, the drafts were returned "for further work" on December 31, 2012.

Pray that additional punishments would not be added.

Kyrgyzstan's Religion Law, which passed in 2009, requires all religious organizations to be registered with the state. Since the inception of the Religion Law, officials have repeatedly tried to make the code harsher.

New censorship amendments were added last month and increased state control over all religious literature. Additional draft amendments appeared before parliament in October 2012 and, if adopted, would impose the following restrictions: 

•   • Government permission would be required for students to attend foreign religious colleges.
•   • Each religious group would need 200 Kyrgyzstani founders in one location.
•   • Foreigners would need a state license to proclaim their faith.

Pray that Kyrgyzstani believers would share their faith boldly, despite governmental restrictions.

Crackdown on religious freedom continues

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Central Asia (MNN) ― Like the steady drip of a leaky faucet, authorities are slowly but surely draining religious freedom from Central Asia.

According to Forum 18, Kyrgyzstan leaders flew under the public radar in recent days, adding new censorship amendments to the country's Religion Law.

While authorities were unable to tell Forum 18 what censorship categories like "extremism," "separatism" and "fundamentalism" meant under the new amendments, a political analyst said it could spell trouble for Protestant Christians.

"No one will check Muslim Board or Russian orthodox literature, but faiths deemed 'non-traditional' could face problems," the analyst said.

Joel Griffith with Slavic Gospel Association says, "It's apparently going to increase state control over religious literature and other materials. It really remains to be seen, though, exactly how this is going to be implemented and carried out.

"This is all part and parcel of something larger that's actually been going on in the so-called 'Stan' countries for some time."

Central Asia consists of five countries that once belonged to the Soviet Union: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. While Kyrgyzstan is tightening the collar on its Religion Law, church registration is a challenge in Kazakhstan and having more than a Bible in Uzbekistan could send you directly to jail.

"The interesting thing is: in the former Soviet days, you had atheistic Communism that was against religion in general," Griffith states. "Nowadays what we're seeing, even though the governments of these nations are…considered secular: [Islam is becoming] predominant. Because of that, other religious groups tend to receive some pressure.

"But…and this is an interesting thing to watch," Griffith continues. "The governments are also concerned about Islamic extremism and terrorist activity."

He cites last year's attacks as an example.

"That had not happened in Kazakhstan before," Griffith explains. "Even though Islam is the predominant religion inside these Central Asian countries, you're going to have the secular government scrutinizing very closely what's going on."

Could the region possibly be returning to its atheistic Soviet roots?

"It really is a mixed bag of what governments are doing and the reasons they're giving for doing i. But in the sense of religious freedom in general, the trend is not promising, and we need to make that a matter of prayer," Griffith says.

Pray for wisdom and discernment for God's people in Central Asia.

"We need to pray that as [believers] share the Gospel, the Lord would grant them open doors to be able to do that," says Griffith. "We also need to remember that God is not stopped by human governments from accomplishing His purpose."

Kyrgyzstan's coalition falls, impact on Christians unknown

Kyrgyzstan's coalition falls.

Kyrgyzstan (MNN) ― Another government in a predominately Muslim nation has fallen. This time it's a former Russian Republic -- the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. This is a nation that has increasingly become antagonistic to evangelical Christians and has taken steps to curb religious freedom.

Slavic Gospel Association has limited work in the country for this very region. SGA's Joel Griffith says this isn't the first issue in Kyrgyzstan, but he describes what happened. "The most recent flare-up is this collapse of the coalition government. The two parties apparently withdrew in protest, and Reuters says basically their objections were a bad economy alleged corruption."

The two parties claim Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov has yet to enact a single reform and is accusing him of using "shadowy" organizations to handle money. It unclear what will happen next as there is no clear majority coalition in the five party system.

Griffith says the evangelical church has been under fire the last few years. "With an unstable situation, depending on who actually comes to power both in the parliament and in the presidency later, it could have a significant impact on evangelical churches in their freedom to either worship or proclaim the Gospel. So it's something that needs to be watched."

While persecution isn't new, Griffith says, "No matter what happens, churches are going to continue to proclaim the Gospel no matter what. But it certainly does stand the pressure is more than likely, the knot will tighten up in the days ahead."

According to Griffith, prayer is essential. "We really need to intercede for the churches there that the Lord would use this situation to somehow open the door for the churches to be able to freely worship and also to proclaim the Gospel. That certainly doesn't go with the trend, but the Lord can do anything, and that has to be our prayer."

Lawyer sticks up for beaten Christians; case likely to reach the Supreme Court

Kyrgyzstan (MNN) ― A case of crucial importance for all believers in Kyrgyzstan is finally headed to trial.

Kyrgyzstan made the Open Doors World Watch List this year at #48 for its tight grip on Christians. It's not uncommon for believers to face property destruction, intimidation, and physical harm in Kyrgyzstan. Despite a 2009 Religion Law, the nation is currently considering tighter censorship on all religious literature as well.

Christians may constantly be under a microscope in Kyrgyzstan, but an incident in April was especially disturbing.

Narsbek was invited to a school by the principal and several village leaders to distribute Samaritan's Purse shoe boxes in his home village of Ak-Kyia in the Naryn region of Kyrgyzstan, reports Voice of the Martyrs. Narsbek and a team arrived in the village on the morning of April 11, 2012 in two vehicles.

As they greeted the principal and other leaders, the village mosque leader, or mullah, appeared with his students in tow. He ordered the group to stop the distribution immediately. Instead, the principal directed the team to move their vehicles onto the school yard, and the mullah left.

But a few moments later, he reappeared--this time with a group of about 20 young zealots with him. The mob shouted "Allahu Akbar" and rushed in to pummel the visiting Christians, flinging rocks through the air. They grabbed Narsbek and his brother-in-law, Marazat, pinning them to the ground to beat them. Narsbek was hit in the back of the head with a rock, and another attacker clenched his hands around his throat.

Just when Narsbek thought he would be leaving the earth forever, his wife managed to surprise his attacker and the two barely escaped in their battered van.

The remaining attackers reportedly collected the Samaritan's Purse shoe boxes and burned them in the school yard in front of the students and school staff.

Although the distribution team notified local authorities of the incident, police took no action. Narsbek still has remaining damage to his right eye, as well as reoccurring headaches.

Narsbek decided to file a case against the mullah to prompt authorities to act, but even that didn't get results. Finally, Narsbek and his family got a lawyer from another city to come speak to the local state attorney, police, and village leaders. The lawyer reminded the local officials that Kyrgystan's new president had stated it was important not to have conflict over ethnic or religious issues and that the country's laws must be followed.

It appears that Narsbek's case will go all the way to the country's Supreme Court, according to VOM. If it does, it would be a victory for believers all over the country.

Narsbek recently told VOM, "We are pushing this case not for our own benefit, but so that everyone will feel safe and not afraid of being beaten or killed because of their religion. People... are very afraid to think about following Jesus... Please pray that justice would reign and that there would be freedom, and not fear, in following Jesus."

Pray that this case will not only promote religious freedom in Kyrgyzstan, but that the injustice would cause Kyrgyzstanis to think about and even give their lives to Christ. 

Censorship of all religious materials coming soon?

Kyrgyzstan (MNN) ―Censorship on religious literature could soon be so restrictive in Kyrgyzstan that anyone wanting to "import, publish or distribute religious literature will have to seek prior permission from the authorities," reports Forum 18 News Service.

Despite being a reasonably free nation in regard to religious freedom after the fall of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan has been imposing more and more restrictions to religious communities over the years. The behavior follows suit with the rest of neighboring former Soviet nations, but it is making religious communities increasingly cautious.

In 2009, Kyrgyzstan created a Religion Law, but it did not impose censorship on all religious literature, notes Forum 18. Now, amendments to the law have been proposed to tighten censorship by September.

The new amendment technically reads like this: "Control on the import, production, acquisition, storage and distribution of printed materials, film, photo, audio and video productions, as well as other materials with the purpose of unearthing religious extremism, separatism and fundamentalism is conducted by the plenipotentiary state organs for religious affairs, national security and internal affairs."

Many Kyrgyzstanis agree that would mean all-out censorship of all religious materials.

The amendment was initially refused by President Almazbek Atambayev in April, but it is now being considered by parliament's Education, Science, Culture and Sport Committee, says Forum 18.

If the amendment passes, the Committee has suggested the establishment of another committee which will exist exclusively to oversee the censorship. Essentially, local authorities won't be the enforcers: a specific task force will be.

Whether all-out censorship is being proposed to eliminate extremism or not, it will likely mean bad news for Christians. Evangelism has been getting more difficult over the last few years, but this could make it much harder.

Slavic Gospel Association partners with a number of churches in Kyrgyzstan. SGA's Joel Griffith says although the churches are concerned, it's not the first time they've faced persecution.

"We have to remember that the believers in these regions--the former Soviet countries--were for 70 years under communism where they had to face outright persecution and being jailed."

Griffith adds, "They're not going to be deterred in proclaiming the Gospel. They take the attitude of the apostle Peter and others: 'Shall we obey God, or shall we obey men?' They're going to choose to obey the Lord and continue to show the love of Christ and proclaim the Gospel, no matter what."

As of now, it looks like no certain decision will be made on the amendment until September. Until then, be praying for the Kyrgyz church.