Kazakh officials ask media to stop airing jihadist videos

    The Kazakhstani Interior Ministry (MVD) November 25 called on the country's electronic media to refrain from airing videos of Kazakhstani men purportedly fighting or preparing to fight in Syria, Novosti-Kazakhstan reported, citing MVD anti-extremism official Darkhan Razuyev.
    Broadcasting such videos promotes the jihadist cause and can spread panic, he said.
    Meanwhile, Kazakhstani mullahs and imams are stepping up their efforts to reach out to youth online, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported November 22.
    The clerics are using sites like Facebook, Moi Mir and vKontakte to counteract any online recruiting efforts by religious extremists, RFE/RL added.
    Fifty-seven clerics in Kostanai Oblast November 13 attended a workshop on Web skills, RFE/RL reported. Elsewhere, the chief imams of South Kazakhstan Oblast (SKO)'s 14 districts recently attended workshops on using the internet, posting to mosque websites and opening social media accounts, Ulykbek Aliakparuly, an SKO mosque mullah, told RFE/RL, according to Central Asia Online.