BISHKEK -- Maksat Hajji Toktomushev has been elected as the grand mufti of Kyrgyzstan.
The Congress of Kyrgyzstan's Muslims elected Toktomushev as the leader of the Kyrgyz Muslims Spiritual Directorate on March 4.
Toktomushev had been serving as the country's acting grand mufti since early January after his predecessor, Rakhmatulla-Hajji Egemberdiev, resigned amid an adultery scandal.
Toktomushev has been harshly criticized by human rights groups for his fatwa against same-sex relations issued in January.
The fatwa was in response to a Human Rights Watch report that accused Kyrgyz police of abusing homosexuals.
The Congress of Kyrgyzstan's Muslims elected Toktomushev as the leader of the Kyrgyz Muslims Spiritual Directorate on March 4.
Toktomushev had been serving as the country's acting grand mufti since early January after his predecessor, Rakhmatulla-Hajji Egemberdiev, resigned amid an adultery scandal.
Toktomushev has been harshly criticized by human rights groups for his fatwa against same-sex relations issued in January.
The fatwa was in response to a Human Rights Watch report that accused Kyrgyz police of abusing homosexuals.