Kazakhstan investigates reports of sexual abuse of boys at a madrasa

Kazakhstan’s Interior Ministry has confirmed a pretrial investigation following reports of possible sexual abuse of underage boys in Ismatulla Maksum’s religious community. As Total.kz reports, the ministry’s response reached its newsroom on October 21, 2026. The ministry did not identify the region where the case is being investigated.

Ismatulla Abdugappar, known as Maksum, is a religious figure whose community is referred to as zikrists and associated with a Sufi branch of Islam. According to Interior Ministry information cited by Total.kz, he arrived in Kazakhstan in 1996 and opened a madrasa in Almaty.

According to Ulysmedia, former community member Akylbek Zhumabekov, speaking to Kazakh journalist Zhanar Baisemiz, relayed the account of a young man who alleged sexual harassment by the religious teacher. Zhumabekov said he had spoken to him by video call; he had previously heard other similar accounts but had not believed them.

The ministry said it was examining all the circumstances but did not disclose the offence being investigated or the number of alleged victims, citing Article 201 of the Criminal Procedure Code on investigative confidentiality.

In a statement published by the Kazislam portal on October 1, the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan said Maksum and his followers were not affiliated with the muftiate and that their activities and religious views did not reflect its position. It also described violence, intimidation and coercion as grave sins.

In a response published by Total.kz, the Committee for Religious Affairs separately stated that Kazakhstan’s nine official madrasa colleges were not linked to Maksum’s activities. It said investigating reports of alleged crimes against children was a matter for law enforcement. The sources consulted contain no public comment from Maksum himself on the new allegations.