Almaty maslikhat deputy suggests to invite theologists of CIS
The topic was raised in anticipation of the Universiade-2017. Another question was why a terror act happened in Almaty on July 18 and how can we prevent it from happening again.
According to the chief of the department for religion affairs of Almaty Aydar Yesseenbekov noted that, after the events in Aktobe and Almaty , attention to Islam has increased. Today in Almaty 70% of the population consider themselves to be Islam follower, over 60 thousand people visit mosques on a regular basis.
"There is a strong growth of religiousness. We also should support imams because most imams, don't speak Russian. There is an Institute has been opened at Mubarak center to train specialists in the Russian. We created Shanyrak center to help those who were entangled by terrorist groups. It is a difficult task. Nobody comes by free will, people are brought here. Today 18 people came, we are talking to them. We have started interacting with local police inspectors, they will help to bring such people. Theologists are ready to talk to them. At least one year of work is needed for such persons", - A. Yessenbekov reported.
The deputy of Almaty Maslikhat Konstantin Avershin called to direct all effort to ensuring public security and counter-acting terrorism in a more structured way rather than just distribute information leaflets which, in most of the cases, go to the garbage bin right away. "I suggest that we should invite theologists from the CIS countries like Dagestan of Chechen Republic who are good at reading lectures. We cannot waste time till our theologists get certified which takes at least two years. Every hour is precious. We must separate Islam from radical tendencies", the deputy said.
It was decided in the end of the hearings to conduct the sessions on a regular basis because the issues of terrorism and extremism should be number one in the Public Council of Almaty.