Kazakhstan passes restrictive religion law

New law, which authorities say is needed to curb extremism, bans prayer in state institutions.

Kazakhstan passes restrictive religion law

Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan’s president, has approved a new religious law which authorities say is intended to tackle extremism following a spate of violent incidents over the summer blamed on religious groups, including the country’s first suicide bombing.

The law forces all religious organisations to re-register and bans prayer in state institutions such as schools and prisons.

But the Central Asian nation’s chief imam believes restrictions on prayers will antagonise the Muslim-majority Kazakh public.

Al Jazeera’s Robin Forestier-Walker reports from Kazakhstan’s western city of Aktobe.

Source: Al Jazeera