10:35, 24 июня 2025, Bishkek - 24-kg.com news agency , Tilebaldy TUKUEVA
The Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Vicky Hartzler and Vice Chair Asif Mahmood met with the Ombudsperson of Kyrgyzstan Jamilya Jamanbaeva. The press service of the Ombudsman reported.
They discussed issues of observing the right to freedom of religion, as well as the implementation of the new law on religion, which entered into force on February 1, 2025.
Jamilya Jamanbaeva noted that the principles of freedom of belief, equality before the law and the inadmissibility of discrimination on religious grounds are an integral part of state policy in the field of human rights in Kyrgyzstan.
«Religious organizations with a small number of parishioners may not be able to continue to operate in Kyrgyzstan, since the law requires at least 500 people to register,» she noted.
Vicky Hartzler also reported that in some regions of Kyrgyzstan local authorities are preventing the re-registration of individual religious organizations. And according to the law, they are required to re-register within two years.
«However, after meeting with you, I have hope that religious minorities will still have an opportunity to freely practice their faith,» the Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said.
In turn, the Vice Chair of the commission, Asif Mahmood, drew attention to the activities of religious educational institutions. According to him, extremist ideas may be spread in some madrassas, which poses a potential threat to state security.
Jamilya Jamanbaeva reported that the institute plans to monitor boarding religious educational institutions this year.
There are 4,363 registered religious organizations in Kyrgyzstan, of which 3,966 are Islamic, 391 are Christian, as well as several Buddhist, Jewish and Baha’i organizations.