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 Religion,
Human Rights & Democracy: Peer Interactions
Between Religious & Civic Leaders in the
U.S. & Kazakhstan.
Over the past
2 1/2 years, Legacy staff and U.S. and Kazakh
religious and civic leaders have traveled to
each other's countries. Targeting the
southern region of Kazakhstan (Taraz and Shymkent)
and the Est coast of the U.S. (New York, Baltimore,
Washington, DC and southern Virginia), they
exchanged views on many topics, including religion
and democracy.
"I
am very grateful for the opportunity to participate
in the program. People-to-people diplomacy
and building bridges of mutual understanding
and cooperation a mong the peoples of the world
are not only civilized endeavors, but also a
strategic approach to making th eworld a better
and more peaceful place for our children and
future generations. It was a great honor for
me to represent the United States, the American
Muslim community, and the ADAMS Center in Kazakhstan."
-- Wael Alkhairo, All Dulles
Area Muslim Society (ADAMS), Sept. 2005
IN THE U.S.
Ten
Kazakh delegates representing various sectors
(religious, civic, and non-profit) from the
southern Kazakh and Zhambyl regions traveled
to the U.S. for a training program in Washington
DC, baltimore, New York City and small towns
and rural regions in southern Virginia.
Here they experienced team-building, sharing
their common interests, and observed US models
and concepts that could most appropriately be
transferred to their communities. The
results are both exciting and inspiring.
Following are brief reports on some of the work
completed by participants in the program.
"...
the most important aspect (of my trip to the
US) was the inter-relationship between the
Islamic mosque and the church, the workd they
have done with the population based on democracy
(referring to the dialogue work of ADAMS and
in Baltimore)...All the meetings were valuable."
(excerpted from the program evaluation
of Imam Yerbol Kospagar, Chief Imam,
Aulie-Ata, Taraz City mosque.
Follow-up
From the U.S Based Program (TIC)
Svetlana
Beissova, Executive Director of the Taraz
Initiative Centre, worked closely with Sergui
Kislov and Varvara Naidenova, also alumni.
Sergui works in local governmetn and is responsible
for 22 cultural groups. Varvara's NGO
trains women in skills that can generate income
for them. Inspired by what they had seen in
Goodwill in Roanoke, VA, they approached
an NGO in Taraz that represents handicapped
persons about the concept of setting up a Goodwill
organization. In June 2005, TIC undertook
the venture itself, involving women who were unemployed.
They found a room, and put an announcement in
the paper. They solicited and received donations
from two political parties to place more newspaper
ads, and handed out and posted flyers. And the
word spread...
"...at
first, only volunteers brought in recycled
goods. They inventoried the merchandise
and washed, repaired, and ironed them.
Next other people called them to bring in
their items. After that, others came
to buy or if they had no money, they just
gave the clothes away. The venture continues
working..." Svetlana Beissova
Ruslan
Abdullin, Executive Director of Club
Vera, an NGO in
Shymkent, returned home and shared his experiences
with the head of the Youth Division of the Office
for Internal Affairs. He pursued and received
a grant from the US Embassy to set up a Tolerance
Center in Shymkent, based on what he learned
about the services of American Islamic Centers
and the Inter-Faith Center in New York.
For
several years, he has planned and led a
annual Peace March. This year, 47
people participated in a 740 Km march from Shymkent
to Almaty that took 25 days. 10,000 booklets
were distributed, and 30,000 additional people received
information through media coverage. In 2006,
Ruslan plans to march from Almaty to Astana,
and involve 15 countries during a 52-day
program spanning July and August. His main
goal is to show that different religions can
live together, and one thing they can do together
is march for peace.
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There
was a grave concern about lack of women's participation
in the mosques and the fundamentalists's influence
on youths. We were in agreement that women play
a major role in society and there is no justification,
from an Islamic point of view, not to participate
in mosque activities. However, mosques
in Kazakhstan play a limited role in society
to the extent that they are merely places of
worship rather than centers for social activities,
welfare, and education.
We
tried to broaden their understanding of fundamentalism.
The most vulnerable group to fundamentalist
ideologies are youths who are going through
their rebellious phase. We explained that confronting
them violently gives them more reason to become
entrenched in their position and addss romance
and romantic martyrdom to their struggle. Violent
confrontations only aggravates the situation
and leads to further violence. This is
especially true in the absence of alternative
programs and social avenues that could direct
their energies constructively. Once again, we
returned to the need for appropriate social
outlets and a real understanding of Islam.
-- Khaled Hassouna and Wael Alkairo, U.S. delegates.
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