Kazakhstan has outlawed Takfir wal-Hijra (Excommunication and Exodus), a radical Islamic group that has already been banned in Russia and many Western countries.
The prosecutor-general's office said on October 15 the Sary-Arqa District Court in Astana ruled in August that Takfir wal-Hijra is an extremist organization and must be banned in Kazakhstan.
It said the court's ruling has taken effect, which means any involvement in the activity of Takfir wal-Hijra is now illegal.
Takfir wal-Hijra emerged in Egypt in the 1960s and is believed to have links with Al-Qaeda.
Security forces in Russia, which shares a long border with Kazakhstan, detained 14 suspected members of Takfir wal-Hijra last November.
The group has been banned in Russia, the European Union, the United States, Turkey, and Kyrgyzstan, another mostly Muslim neighbor of Kazakhstan.
