Kazakhstan mulls banning face-covering clothing

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - Nurlan Yermekbayev, Minister of Religious Affairs and Civil Society, suggested using Europe's best practice to mitigate the threat coming from religious radicals and terrorists in Kazakhstan, Kazinform reports.

Mr. Yermekbayev revealed that recently Europe had taken a number effective measures that allowed to decrease the threats coming from religious radicals and terrorists.

"Our legislation does not have a crystal clear definition of radical religious activity. That is why we have taken into account the European practice and decided to include such regulations into our legislation," he said at the briefing with reps of foreign embassies in Kazakhstan dedicated to the bill "On amendments to some legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the issues of religious activity and religious associations," he said.

For instance, Minister Yermekbayev suggested banning hijabs, purdah and other elements of face clothing that do not allow to identify a person. He stressed that that step will help prevent crimes and strengthen stability in religious sphere in Kazakhstan.