First mufti of Kazakhstan passes away

The Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan has confirmed his passing.

In 1990, Kazakhstan’s Islamic judicial authority (the Kaziyat) separated from the Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Central Asia and Kazakhstan (SADUM), leading to the establishment of an independent Muftiate for the Muslims of Kazakhstan. The organization was later renamed the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan, with Ratbek hadji Nysanbayev serving as its first leader and the country’s first Supreme Mufti.

Born on November 7, 1940, Ratbek hadji Nysanbayev was a native of the South Kazakhstan region, which is now the Turkistan region.

He was a prominent Kazakh religious leader, serving as an Islamic judge (kazi) within Kazakhstan’s Islamic judicial administration from 1979 to 1990, and later as the country’s Supreme Mufti from 1990 to 2000.

Ratbek hadji Nysanbayev co-translated the Quran into Kazakh with U. Kydyrkhanuly and authored several books on Islam.

In 2020, by a decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, he was awarded the Order of Parasat (the Government Order of Nobility) for his contributions to the religious and spiritual sphere, marking the 80th anniversary of his birth.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that the first day of Ramadan in Kazakhstan falls on February 19.