Islamic Academy Launched in Kyrgyzstan
It is the latest measure by the secular majority-Muslim country in its attempts to combat extremism, according to the government.
Former Soviet republics across Central Asia are trying to manage a resurgence in Islam that has taken off since the break-up of the Soviet Union, which had imposed state atheism.
Authorities in Kyrgyzstan said the new academy, which can accommodate 400 students in the northern city of Tokmok, meets the “growing need for objective religious education.”
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said that the growing threat of extremism both worldwide and in Central Asia “directly undermines national security and contributes to the spread of ideologies based on violence.”
Authorities in the region stepped up efforts to counter radicalization after thousands of their citizens joined terrorist groups in the Middle East during the rise of Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) in 2013-2015.
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Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country with mountainous terrain in Central Asia. It is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west and southwest, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east. Its capital and largest city is Bishkek.
Official sources estimate that 80 percent of the country’s population is Muslim.
Source: Arab News
