OSCE helps solidify an international high-level platform

The Second International Conference on Islam in a Contemporary Secular State took place in Bishkek on 15 and 16 November 2018. The Conference was opened by the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sooronbai Jeenbekov and brought together representatives of government agencies, academics and independent experts working on religious issues from 20 countries across Asia and the Middle East, as well as representatives of embassies and international organizations based in Bishkek. 

The event was organized by the State Commission for Religious Affairs and supported by the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek and the United Nations in Kyrgyzstan.

Building on the Bishkek Declaration adopted in 2017, the Second International Conference focused on ways to integrate Islamic traditions into a modern and secular state and approaches to harmonizing relations in Muslim communities. The participants developed recommendations for improving the effectiveness of democratic governance in the religious sphere, and brainstormed about new ways to prevent radicalization and the spread of extremist ideas.

Praising Kyrgyzstan’s multinational and multi-confessional space, President Jeenbekov said: “Kyrgyzstan has declared complete freedom of religion and confessions and religious organizations have been given the opportunity to develop freely. Modern Kyrgyzstan is a state in which religion is separated from the state.” The President expressed his disapproval of the misuse of Islam by certain groups who try to impose their traditions and culture on the Kyrgyz people.

Referring to Kyrgyzstan’s strategic approach to the issue, Pierre von Arx, the Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek said: “Just this month, the National Strategy for Sustainable Development 2040 was adopted. The document is comprehensive and it includes an entire chapter on religion in a democratic state, underlining the guarantee of civil rights including freedom of religion and belief by the Kyrgyz Republic.”

Von Arx added that the Office is also supporting the educational pilot project Basic History of Religious Culture, which introduces the history of world religions to secondary school students. The government made educating students about world religions mandatory for all schools in 2019.