The measures taken by the Government of Kazakhstan in 2017 helped to strengthen the prevention of religious radicalism in Kazakhstan. This was said by the Minister of Religious Affairs and Civil Society Nurlan Yermekbayev during a briefing in the press center of the Government.

Nurlan Yermekbayev reported that in 2017 the Ministry took a wide range of practical measures. Thus, a package of legislative changes was developed, the ideological basis of which is "The Concept of State Policy in Religious Sphere for 2017-2020".

According to the Concept, the control over religious propaganda is strengthened and state functions are being expanded to monitor the activities of religious associations. At the same time, the state will not interfere in the canonical and religious issues.

Within the framework of interdepartmental work, ideological and informational steps are being taken to oppose the destructive religious trends. A special Interdepartmental Commission has been set up under the Government, which deals only with religious issues. As a result of this interaction, security around the religious institutions was strengthened, and constant monitoring of channels for the distribution of religious materials was built.

Since August 1, together with the General Prosecutor's Office and the MIC, the “Cybershield” project is being implemented. A special resource - kibernadzor.kz - was created within its framework. In addition to monitoring sites, the book and printed products are being examined. Also, in cooperation with the MIA, a special service for the rehabilitation of convicts for religious extremism was organized.

In addition, the system of information and explanatory work, which is now built under the coordination of the MRACS, has been modernized. The composition of the special theological and information groups was reformatted and expanded at the expense of theologians, activists, experts of NGOs, the media and religious associations.

Since the beginning of the year, they have held over 17 thousand events with a coverage of more than 1.8 million people. Particular attention is paid to working with young people. During this period, 700 thousand young people participated in more than 6 000 events organized for them.

A project approach has also been built to work with risk groups. The main partner of the ministry in this direction is the rehabilitation center "Akniet", which works in places of deprivation of liberty. Employees of the center conduct work among convicts for religious extremism and with members of their families.

To help the victims of destructive sects, a network of consultation centers has been established. The Ministry's partners in the project were 24 NGOs. In complex regions, not only consultation centers operate, but full-fledged psychological rehabilitation services.

A large positive response of the population was received by the project - "Hot Line 114". In 2016, it received more than 500 applications from citizens. This project made it possible to advise citizens and promptly respond to signals about violations. In general, on the basis of multilateral partnership, the situation in the sphere of religion is monitored. As a result, the influence of destructive religious ideas is gradually decreasing.