{"id":9101,"date":"2024-05-16T20:49:44","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T18:49:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/?p=9101"},"modified":"2024-05-16T20:49:44","modified_gmt":"2024-05-16T18:49:44","slug":"jehovahs-witnesses-in-kazakhstan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/jehovahs-witnesses-in-kazakhstan\/","title":{"rendered":"Why there is a Bias Against Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses in Kazakhstan and How They Overcome It"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses admit they feel social stigma. CABAR.asia learns about the reasons for stigma and how the Christian organisation tries to change the attitude towards it in the society.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As of the first quarter 2024, Kazakhstan had 61\u00a0registered<\/a>\u00a0religious assemblies of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses. Total number of their active members,\u00a0according to the website<\/a>\u00a0of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses, exceeds 17 thousand people, with nearly 20 thousand members in 229 assemblies.<\/p>\n

Despite the legitimate nature of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses in Kazakhstan, their activities take place amid negative background information. Thus, for example, the headings in Kazakhstan media in 2017-2024 were like, \u201cAnathematised for disobedience \u2013 a story of ex-Jehovah\u2019s witness,\u201d \u201cJehovah\u2019s witnesses become active in Kazakhstan after being banned in Russia,\u201d \u201cMost sinister pranks of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses in Kazakhstan,\u201d \u201cJehovah\u2019s Witnesses in Almaty suspected of paedophilia,\u201d \u201cEx-Jehovah\u2019s witnesses won over 2 million tenge by court for harm to mental health\u201d (won from the Jehovah\u2019s community itself), \u201cJehovah\u2019s Witnesses storm apartments in Rudnoye.\u201d Most of such publications are written in a condemnatory tone, and in rare cases, when the material was delivered reasonably, the reason for publication may be related to a negative event. Can we speak of stigmatisation of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses in Kazakhstan and if so, how do Jehovah\u2019s witnesses try to overcome it? CABAR.asia asked this question to experts and the Christian Centre of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses in Kazakhstan.<\/p>\n

Is there a stigma and where does it come from?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Evgeny Zhovtis<\/strong>, director of Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights, human rights activist, answered the question about stigma against Jehovah\u2019s witnesses, \u201cOf course, there is.\u201d He emphasises three factors of such situation.<\/p>\n

The first one is the attitude of the state, which considers the religious sphere \u2018as suspicious, threatening and requiring control.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite the fact that our state is secular (and therefore neutral to diverse forms of public life), it emphasises religion as it is, from its viewpoint, a sphere that mobilises people,\u201d the human rights activist said. \u201cIn this regard, it inherits from the soviet past, complemented by current terroristic threats. Therefore, we have a special Committee for Religious Affairs and a separate law on religious activity, and religious associations stand out in the Civil Code among other public associations, while religious literature is being censored (it cannot be disseminated without a theological examination).\u201d<\/p>\n

The second factor is competition between dominating, \u201cstate-approved\u201d religions and minorities, as well as proselytism (the aspiration to proselyte others).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is expected that all Slavs are members of the ROC (Russian Orthodox Church), while all Muslims obey the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan (DUMK). When many neo-Christian churches emerged and representatives of the titular ethnic group joined them, it was a tense situation. And dominating religions started to spur the state into action: as if saying \u2018don\u2019t give a free hand to our competitors. And it indirectly pushes against religious minorities,\u201d Evgeny Zhovtis said.<\/p>\n

In this context, according to Zhovtis, we have the \u2018stereotypes \u2013 biases \u2013 stigmatisation \u2013 discrimination\u2019 chain.<\/p>\n

\u201cNegative attitude towards Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses comes from the Russian Federation, where they are banned, and it creates particular background information,\u201d the human rights defender said. \u201cAnd this information protects from stereotypes, which could become neutral ones, and leads to stigmatisation and discrimination via biases fuelled on the media.\u201d<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s impact as a factor of public opinion<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Authors of the\u00a0research<\/a>\u00a0\u201cViews, values and beliefs of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses in Kazakhstan\u201d, sociologists\u00a0Aldiyar Auezbek\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Serik Beisembaev\u00a0<\/strong>see Russian impact on the reputation of Kazakhstan-based Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses. In April 2017, the Supreme Court of Russia declared the religious organisation \u201cManagement Centre of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses in Russia\u201d extremist, and banned activities of all 395 offices of the Centre in the territory of the neighbouring state.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could be one of the reasons why Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses are taken cautiously in the society of Kazakhstan,\u201d Aldiyar Auezbek said. \u201cMoreover, Kazakhstan passed laws similar to the ones of Russia many times, and Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses have a concern about their possible ban in our country.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Serik Beisembaev, all non-mainstream religious organisations face restrictions in Kazakhstan. Control became tighter with the passing of the law \u201cOn religious activity and religious associations\u201d following terrorist attacks of 2011 in Kazakhstan. The law introduced mandatory registration of religious associations, rules of dissemination of religious literature, holding meetings and other kinds of activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince then, the law is regularly amended, which makes life tougher for religious organisations,\u201d Serik Beisembaev said. \u201cThe situation around Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses worsens by the fact that they are banned in Russia and the propaganda targets them as a sect. This narrative comes to us as we live in the Russian-speaking media scene and what happens at neighbours has a strong impact on us.\u201d<\/p>\n

What can be done about it?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

At least, Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses try to cope with it. Thus, a social research of opinions and values of Jehovah\u2019s witnesses prepared for the Regional Religious Association \u201cChristian Centre of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses\u201d looks as a tool for the dialogue with the state and experts. Special attention is focused on the stereotypes about Jehovah\u2019s witnesses, which make them a target of public reprimand, e.g., about rejection of former coreligionists, refusal of blood transfusion, and others.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndependent researches about Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses not only help understand their lifestyle and values, but also open an opportunity for a meaningful dialogue with the state (relevant ministry) and the society,\u201d said Aldiyar Auezbek.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that Witnesses use the research to convince the state that they are good,\u201d said Serik Beisembaev.<\/p>\n

The goal, according to him, may be raising public awareness of their community: research community, media, regular citizens. The state is yet another stakeholder.<\/p>\n

According to Beisembaev, the policy of non-participation restricts Witnesses in their public activity, yet they actively interact with relevant state bodies via lawyers, and thus try to get feedback.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir communication refers rather to specific cases,\u201d Beisembaev said. \u201cAs far as I know, Witnesses try to respond immediately after media publishes some negative materials about them. They also ask the state to explain some norms to avoid claims or legal proceedings.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses think about it<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Christian Centre of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses in Kazakhstan agree that they feel social stigma.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, it is so. The media often stigmatise Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses, and call us erroneously \u2018a sect\u2019 or \u2018a cult\u2019,\u201d Department of Community Information of the Centre said and complained that journalists rarely ask information from them. \u201cSuch discriminatory terms, which are actually incite hatred in most cases, are generally borrowed from the Soviet anti-religious propaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Witnesses, materials in the media can stigmatise both directly and indirectly. For example, video materials can use frightening words, background music and voice tone that escalate the atmosphere of danger.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe media, strangely enough, sometimes use images and videos of other religious groups to illustrate our activities,\u201d the Centre said.<\/p>\n

If one of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses (or just a person who has attended their religious meetings) is a participant of any trial, his\/her religious affiliation would be emphasised in news items, regardless of its relevance, they said. If a patient, who is a Witness, wants to exercise his\/her right to make choices about the type of medical care, the hospital\u2019s press release may focus on the patient\u2019s religious affiliation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were cases when the administration of educational institutions was asked to report how many \u2018students involved in destructive religious movements\u2019 studied in the institution. Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses were also on the list of such destructive movements,\u201d the Centre said.<\/p>\n

Another example of stigmatisation made by them was a video and leaflets about the missionary activity disseminated in Almaty in autumn 2023. \u00a0The leaflets, according to them, were distributed close to religious buildings of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses among people who leave Sunday service.<\/p>\n

These materials seem to caution against illegal missionary activity (the one that is carried out without state approval), yet they discredit any missionary work instead (legal and illegal missionary work is mixed there so that no one can discern it). No religious movements are named in them, yet the video ends by listing negative stereotypes implying Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses.<\/p>\n

What Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses do to overcome the stigma<\/strong><\/h3>\n

According to them, they make \u201cspecial efforts to raise awareness of the public, authorities, human rights activists, scholars, and the media about them and about the peaceful and legal nature of their activities.\u201d\u00a0 To do this, the republican centre of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses in Almaty opened a department of community information in 2019.<\/p>\n

As part of their outreach activity, they mention Doors Open Days in their reply to CABAR.asia, namely 16 events in 14 towns of Kazakhstan (all dated 2018-2019).<\/p>\n

\u201cSeveral thousand people attended them,\u201d the Centre said. \u201cThe events gave an opportunity to state officials, journalists and scholars, as well as the public at large, to learn about the history and activities of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses in Kazakhstan.\u201d<\/p>\n

One more method to overcome stigma is to cooperate with religious scholars. According to Witnesses, they \u201cprovide specific information readily upon request of religious scholars and sociologists, who use it afterwards in their academic researches.\u201d They cited the research paper by Artur Artemyev about Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses in Kazakhstan, which was published in three issues and translated into English and Kazakh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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