Kazakhstan’s Unique Story of Building Interfaith Dialogue and Co-existence Must Be Told, Says US Rabbi
ASTANA – With rising geopolitical confrontations around the world, the seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions that took place in Astana on Sept. 14-15 could not have been more timely. Attended by high-level religious leaders, such as Pope Francis and Grand Imam of al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the congress claimed to be…
Exhibition Dedicated to Shining Light on History and Consequences of Nuclear Testing Opens in Astana
ASTANA – An exhibition drawing on the international experience with nuclear testing and armaments, titled Everything You Treasure – For a World Free From Nuclear Weapons, opened in Astana in the Keruen shopping center on Sept. 16. The exhibition, which runs until Sept. 30, depicts over 70 years of nuclear history from the Hiroshima explosion…
Kazakhstan Celebrates 100 Years of Syrbay Maulenov, Great Patriotic War Poet and Warrior
NUR-SULTAN – Syrbay Maulenov, one of the few Kazakh poets and writers, whose life was devastated by World War II, was born 100 years ago on Sept. 17. His works derived from his love for his homeland and embraced a wide range of topics from sharp depictions of war to tender praise of homeland scenery…
Three Events Highlight Final Day of Seventh Congress of World and Traditional Religions Leaders
NUR-SULTAN – Over the past two days the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan once again served as the platform for dozens of religious leaders to engage in dialogue and seek ways to promote peace and tolerance amid rising tensions in the world. The Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, which the country has hosted…
Religion in a Post-Pandemic World Panel and Holy Mass Mark First Day of Congress of World and Traditional Religions Leaders
NUR-SULTAN – The first day of the seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions started with an organized panel on the role of religious leaders in the spiritual and social development of humankind in the post-pandemic period followed by an award ceremony dedicated to the contribution to interfaith dialogue and concluded with Pope…
Tokayev Stresses Role of Religious Principles in Building New System of International Security at Congress of World and Traditional Religions
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed to build a new international security system based on humanistic ideals using world religions as a template as he addressed the seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Nur-Sultan on Sept. 14. The two-day congress, convened for the first time in 2003, brought some of…
Nazarbayev Center Chair Briefs Foreign Journalists on Agenda and Peacebuilding Contribution of Congress of World and Traditional Religions Leaders
NUR-SULTAN – Bulat Sarsenbayev, chairman of the board of the Nazarbayev Center for the Development of Interfaith and Inter-Civilization Dialogue, briefed foreign media on the main agenda and the contribution that the seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions could offer to peacebuilding on Sept. 13, a day ahead of the congress. The…
Congress of World and Traditional Religions Leaders to Address Social Topics Beyond Religion, Says Senate Chairman Maulen Ashimbayev
NUR-SULTAN – Discussions at the seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions will range from religious education and combating extremism to strengthening the status of women and promoting peace and religious dialogue, said Maulen Ashimbayev, chairperson of the Senate and head of the Secretariat of the Congress an upper chamber of the Kazakh…
Women of Kazakhstan Virtual Museum Celebrates Overlooked Kazakh Women in Arts and Culture
NUR-SULTAN – The Women of Kazakhstan project is the first virtual museum exploring the history and accomplishments of Kazakh women undertaken as part of an effort to broaden the picture of women’s important, yet historically overlooked roles in driving the cultural and historical changes in Kazakhstan. In an exclusive interview with The Astana Times, the…
Faithful Few: How Religious Minority Communities of Jews and Protestants Live and Practice Their Religion in Kazakhstan
Editor’s Note: In the run-up to the seventh Congress of Leaders of the World and Traditional Religions to be held on Sept. 14-15 in Nur-Sultan, The Astana Times has started a series of articles on the diversity of spiritual life in Kazakhstan. The first three articles focused on Kazakhstan’s Muslim, Orthodox Christian, and Catholic communities.…
30 Years of CICA: Executive Director Talks About Results of Kazakhstan’s Chairmanship, Milestones and Upcoming Sixth CICA Summit
NUR-SULTAN – As the sixth Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Summit draws near, Kairat Sarybay, executive director of CICA shared the details on the preparation for the summit and the results of Kazakhstan’s chairpersonship of CICA from 2020 to 2022 during his meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Sept. 7,…
Researchers Inaugurate New Academic Journal on Central Asian Studies to Offer Insider Approach to Regional Studies
NUR-SULTAN – A group of leading scholars from Central Asia launched an open access peer-reviewed journal titled Ketmen International Journal for Central Asian Voices on Aug. 26 to challenge the existing dominant perspectives on Central Asian studies. The first special issue of the journal is titled Autoethnography of Spiritual Practices in Central Asia and includes…
Out of the Dust: Kazakh Researchers Bring Back Manuscripts That Might Open New Pages of Kazakh History From World Archives
NUR-SULTAN – An ancient Quran gifted to a Golden Horde ruler called Uzbek Khan, fragments of Mahmud Churas’s history book, and medieval maps revealing the territories of Kazakhstan along with thousands of pages of other ancient manuscripts discovered in the largest archives of Russia, Türkiye, and Hungary could “open new pages of history,” said Zhandos…
Prominent Diplomats in Kazakh Capital Give Positive Assessment of President Tokayev’s Reforms Announced During Address to Nation
NUR-SULTAN – Members of the diplomatic corps in Kazakhstan expressed their support for President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s initiatives to ease investment procedures as well as his decision to call early presidential elections which was announced during the address to the nation on Sept. 1. European Union Ambassador to Kazakhstan Kestutis Jankauskas addressed Tokayev’s social and economic…
Dialogue and Tolerance are Nation-Building Framework for Kazakhstan, Says Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies Director
NUR-SULTAN – Agreement, dialogue, and tolerance are not just a foreign policy image, but the framework of Kazakhstan’s nation-building, said the director of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies Yerkin Tukumov in an interview with Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper, emphasizing the importance of the seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, which will be…
Early Presidential Elections Provide Enough Timeframe for Implementation of Major Reforms, According to Experts
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh political experts expect early presidential elections, announced by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during his address to the nation on Sept. 1, to provide enough time frame for thorough implementation of presidential reforms. President Tokayev announced his plans to hold extraordinary presidential elections in the coming months with major revisions to the presidential terms.…
Catholic Community in Kazakhstan Becomes More Ethnically Diverse, Says Head of Kazakhstan’s Catholic Church
Editor’s Note: In the run-up to the seventh Congress of Leaders of the World and Traditional Religions to be held on Sept.14-15 in Nur-Sultan, The Astana Times has started a series of articles on the diversity of spiritual life in Kazakhstan. The first two articles focused on Kazakh Muslim and Orthodox Christian communities. This week…
No Limits to Trade and Cooperation Potential with Azerbaijan, Says President Tokayev
NUR-SULTAN – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Kazakhstan will work very productively in promoting trade and logistics with Azerbaijan and that there would be “no obstacles from our side”, addressing President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev during his official visit to Baku on Aug. 24, reported Akorda’s press service. In his opening remarks, Tokayev highlighted the long…
Russia’s Chief Mufti Expects Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions to Offer Solutions to Ongoing Conflicts
NUR-SULTAN – Chairman of Russia’s Muftis Council and the Spiritual Administration of Muslims Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gainutdin said that the upcoming seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions would offer solutions to countries in conflict in an interview with Kazakh journalists, reported Kazinform news agency. According to him, the role of the world…
Orthodox Christian Community in Kazakhstan Emerges Strong in the Midst of Islam and Soviet Period Atheism
Editor’s Note: In the run-up to the seventh Congress of Leaders of the World and Traditional Religions to be held on Sept.14-15 in Nur-Sultan, The Astana Times has started a series of articles on the diversity of spiritual life in Kazakhstan. The first one focused on Islam. This week we profile the second-largest religious group…
Kazakh Language is Gaining Increasing Popularity, But Needs Greater Support to Sustain Interest, Says Expert
NUR-SULTAN – People in Kazakhstan are increasingly becoming more interested in learning the Kazakh language in the aftermath of recent political events in Kazakhstan and in the world, says Kanat Tasibekov, a Kazakh language advocate and the author of the “Situational Kazakh” series of self-tutorials, in an interview to the Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper. After the…
Evolution of Islam in Kazakhstan: How Modern Kazakh Muslims Balance Their Religious Identity, the Soviet Legacy and National Traditions
Editor’s Note: In the run-up to the seventh Congress of Leaders of the World and Traditional Religions to be held on Sept.14-15 in Nur-Sultan, The Astana Times starts a series of articles on the diversity of spiritual life in Kazakhstan. We shall profile different religions and denominations starting with the most practiced one in the…
UN GA President Welcomes Kazakhstan’s Contribution to Providing Peace and Achieving SDGs During Visit to Nur-Sultan
NUR-SULTAN – President of the 76th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly (GA), Abdulla Shahid voiced a positive evaluation of Kazakhstan’s commitment to UN principles and confirmed further cooperation in building regional peace and security, sustainable development, climate crisis, food security, and human rights during his first official visit to Kazakhstan that took…
Elders Advise on Preparation for Organization of Turkic States Summit
NUR-SULTAN – The Council of Elders, an advisory body of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), discussed the development of logistics and tourism, as well as the preparation for the upcoming OTS Summit at the 13th meeting in Bishkek on Aug. 8, reported the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry’s press center. The Council of Elders was established…
Wild Tiger Population Could Be Reintroduced in Kazakhstan by 2025, Says Expert
NUR-SULTAN – Wild tigers may be reintroduced to Kazakhstan’s biosphere as early as 2025, said Olzhabek Kholov, the lead expert of the forestry and wildlife committee of the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan in an interview with The Astana Times. The government of Kazakhstan and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) signed…
