ORGANISATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SOCIAL FUNCTIONS OF ISLAMIC ORGANIZATIONS IN MODERN KAZAKHSTAN

Abstract

This paper is based on the results of empirical research with a focus on the organizational activities and social functions of Islamic organizations in modern Kazakhstani society. The aim of the study was to identify the key characteristics and areas of activity of Islamic organizations functioning in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as to determine their role in the social, cultural and educational processes of the country. Specifically, the study examined the institutional structure of these organizations, their social involvement, degree of interaction with civil society and state structures, and the opportunities for their steady growth within the context of digitalisation and transformation of religious identity. The analysis of statistical data of the 2021 census and semi-structured expert survey with representatives of academia, clergy, and government agencies brings us to the conclusion that the interaction of Muslim organizations with state institutions in Kazakhstan is characterised by institutional ambivalence, from cooperation to competition in the religious space. The level of scholarly novelty of the paper lies in the analysis of the ways in which transnational Islamic structures interact with the state and society. The paper is theoretically significant as it exposes the part that Muslim organizations have played in Kazakhstan’s social modernisation. The practical value lies in the expert recommendations on the regulation of Islamic groups’ activity in the context of socioeconomic development and security in Kazakhstan.