KAZAKHSTAN: REACTION TO CARTOON CONTROVERSY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ALMATY 000575



SIPDIS



SIPDIS



STATE FOR SCA/CEN (JMUDGE),EUR/PPD (JBASEDOW),DRL/PHD

(CKUCHTA-HELBLING),INR/R/MR



E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, KPAO, KDEM, KZ

SUBJ: KAZAKHSTAN: REACTION TO CARTOON CONTROVERSY





1. SUMMARY. Public reaction and comment by Kazakhstanis

(almost half of whom are Muslim) on the cartoon controversy

started February 9, after several days of primetime news

reports of international events. One local man known for

eccentric behavior led a small protest against "insulting

any nation." A teacher-student advocacy group sent a

letter to the Danish prime minister, asking the West not to

abuse freedom of speech and to adopt a code of ethics.

Opinion makers generally denounced the cartoons and urged

Western media to not publish images with the potential to

provoke violence. A Jewish community leader said the

violent reaction discredited Islam and he called for

tolerance on all sides. Kazakh language press interpreted

the controversy as a "clash of civilizations," while

Russian language media speculated on which side benefited,

and whether the controversy could provoke a strike on the

"axis of evil" countries. END SUMMARY.



2. Most public reaction in Kazakhstan to the controversy

began several days after primetime news broadcasts had been

reporting international reaction to the cartoons. The

first statement was issued February 6 by Omirbek Ongar,

press secretary of the Spiritual Directorate of

Kazakhstan's Muslims. He said, "We hold an extremely

negative view of the publishing of the Prophet Muhammad's

cartoons. . . We support our Muslim brothers from other

countries, who have also condemned this." On February 9

centrist national broadcaster Channel 31 carried two

reports on the evening news about how the "international

crisis of civilizations had reached Kazakhstan." Asylbek

Amantay, well known for his public protests, led about 30

supporters in a demonstration in Almaty. "As God is great,

so is his prophet. We oppose in general insulting any

nation. Ninety percent of the prophets are descended from

the Jews." (Last May when Amantay led a protest against

desecration of the Koran, his supporters carried placards

reading, "Yankees out of the Soviet Union.")


<br />Civil Leaders Denounce Images, Appeal for Calm

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3. The Channel 31 report also covered reaction from the

teacher-student advocacy group Bolashak, which sent a

letter to the Danish prime minister, asking the West not to

abuse freedom of speech and to develop an international

code of ethics. Chairman Farkhad Kasenov said that he

believes the West intends to start a "cold war" with the

East, and is discrediting Islam, which he said is a

peaceful religion. Although he said he thought reaction in

other countries was understandable, his group does not

advocate "pogroms." Akhmetzhan Kerimbekov, the imam for

the Southern Kazakhstan Mosque said, "Allah himself formed

Mohammed and He Himself protects Him. We need not worry or

undertake any kind of protest action. We must preserve

tranquility and rely on the will of Allah." Safar Abdullo,

a scholar of eastern studies, appealed for "dialogue,

mutual understanding and respect, otherwise, nothing good

can come from this."



Kazakh Publications: "Clash of Civilizations"

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4. Some Kazakh language newspapers, most of whose readers

are Muslim, expressed the issue as a "conflict of

civilizations" deliberately provoked by the West.

Progressive Kazakh language Zhas Alash published the

opinion of a prominent local theologist Murtaza Bulutai

February 9: "The West knows perfectly well that depicting

images of the prophet Mohammed is strictly prohibited and

that the Muslim community will not tolerate taunts. . .

Mocking the prophet Mohammed cannot be justified by any

freedom of speech! This is a provocation! . . . There are

groups in the West that regard both Muslims and Muslim

countries with suspicion. How long has Turkey been trying

to join the EU? For 45 years! The EU keeps bouncing

Turkey back. . . because Turkey is a country of Muslims."

(Note: Almost half of the country's population of 15

million are Muslim.)



5. Pro-government Kazakh language Aikyn speculated in

their February 9 issue on the threat of "another fire in

the Persian Gulf." "The world is facing another challenge.



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The perverted pictures of the prophet Mohammed published by

western media started a conflict between the European and

Muslim worlds. Protest actions against the West that

started in Islamic countries can bring Muslims of European

countries into the streets. These protests may spread to

all the countries that published images of Mohammed. If

so, it will be difficult to control the situation."



Jewish Community Leader Calls for Stability and Tolerance

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6. Pro-government Ekspress K carried an opinion piece

emphasizing points in common between Judaism and Islam and

calling for religious tolerance. The paper is reputedly

owned by wealthy entrepreneur Aleksandr Mashkevich,

president of the Eurasian Jewish Congress, and a close

friend of President Nazarbayev. "What is taking place in

some Islamic countries has nothing to do with true

religion. Some heart-broken Muslims have already forgotten

that as soon as sacrilegious caricatures of the Prophet

Muhammad appeared, prominent Jewish figures were among the

first who condemned it. For example, the president of the

largest Jewish organization, the Eurasian Jewish Congress,

Aleksandr Mashkevich said words heard by every Muslim on

the planet, 'Today, our duty is to put aside our

disagreements, to help our Muslim brothers to restore their

desecrated dignity and justice.'" The author writes that

the contest sponsored by an Iranian newspaper for

caricatures of the Holocaust is a blow against Islam itself

and the global Muslim community. "This blasphemy will only

strengthen the positions of their enemies, who call Islam

an aggressive religion. All the aforementioned once again

emphasizes the importance of stability in our multi-

national, multi-confessional country. We should be mindful

that no fanatics can influence life in our country. Let's

be tolerant of any true religion and tolerant of any

manifestation of intolerance!"



Both Sides to Blame for Conflict, but Who Benefits?

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7. Pro-government Russian language weekly Novoye

Pokoleniye February 10 referred to "the game of freedom of

speech" in Europe, which provoked Islamic leaders into

forgetting their history and the traditional wisdom of

their faith. "Danish journalists (and together with them

those who reprinted the caricatures in Spain, France,

Germany, and Italy) could not be unaware that the game of

freedom of speech in reality plumbs the depths of

misfortune. . . However, the sharp reaction of Islamic

governments to caricatures is no less striking than the so-

called theological illiteracy of the Europeans. . . Is it

possible that leaders of Islamic countries forgot their

history, lost their traditional wisdom accumulated through

the centuries and allowed themselves to give in to such an

essentially cheap provocation? Why exactly now were true

believers offended by images published last September in an

unknown newspaper? Now when the nuclear report of Iran

could be sent to the UN Security Council. Now when the

U.S. president unambiguously speaks about possible war with

Iran. Now when the radical organization Hamas has come to

power in Palestine and on the eve of parliamentary

elections in Israel. The fragile world in the Middle East

again hangs by a thread. Someone benefits from this."



West Will Use Conflict to Justify Military Strikes on East

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8. The question of who benefits was answered in this piece

in pro-government Russian language weekly Delovaya Nedelya

February 10. "No matter how paradoxical it sounds, the

current situation is beneficial not only to 'rogue states,'

but also to the West. Reports from Syria, Lebanon, and

Iran are strong arguments in favor of a next strike on 'the

axis of evil.' A military operation in the East will be

perceived by average Westerners as something inevitable . .

. to protect democratic freedoms in general, and freedom of

speech in particular. Meanwhile, some Asian leaders . . .

came forward with conciliatory statements. . . Such

statements raise optimism, because as long as they are

being said, pessimisstic forecasts will probably remain

only forecasts."



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Cartoonists Poorly Brought Up; We all Lack Tolerance

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9. In an article for pro-government daily Ekspress K

February 10, a political cartoonist for the progressive

weekly Vremya criticized not only those who took freedom of

speech too far, but also those who took images too much to

heart. "I consider this caricature to be beyond the pale.

One can joke about any topic in the kitchen, but it is not

right to do it publicly. . . Truth be told, the reaction

was extremely wild on this thing. We all lack tolerance.

These heedless caricaturists and those who immediately grab

daggers especially lack it. It is difficult to say how a

caricaturist should know where to stop. It all depends on

upbringing. Some say you can laugh about this, others say

you cannot. . . Absolute freedom of speech is evil."

Ekspress K's deputy editor in a separate piece agreed.

"Regarding the firewall between 'can' and 'cannot' . . . I

would say this: it all depends upon how his parents

brought him up. A caricaturist should have unwritten

rules. The most important is to do as you would have done

unto you."



Ordway