Kazakhstan’s Muslim Spiritual Authority to train 30-40 imams a year

Muslim Spiritual Authority will be training 30-40 imams a year to provide qualified staff for the country’s mosques, Intefax-Kazakhstan reports, citing the Supreme Mufti Absattar Khazhi Derbisali as saying October 15. “We have a university of our own, a training center, 9 madrasa schools. Every year we will have 30-40 imams trained. The understaffing problem will be resolved. The imams will master the local language, traditions and will be knowledgeable on history issues”, the Supreme Mufti said at a conference on Islam in Aktobe. Absattar Khazhi Derbisali cited Turkey as an example. “Turkey has lived through extreme points we are living through at the memnet. But they easily overcame the problem. How was it done? I was advised Kazakhstan should have imams properly trained: should mosques be filled with qualified imams, the population at large will be listening to them and there will be no room for misleading teachings”, he said. The Supreme Mufti stressed that the clergy need support of the authorities.