{"id":10397,"date":"2026-01-06T07:58:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T07:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/natharatmouchrika.net\/home\/?p=10397"},"modified":"2026-01-06T07:58:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T07:58:09","slug":"islam-in-kyrgyzstan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/natharatmouchrika.net\/home\/?p=10397","title":{"rendered":"Islam in Kyrgyzstan"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The vast majority of people in\u00a0Kyrgyzstan<\/a>\u00a0are\u00a0Muslims<\/a>; as of 2019, 90.7% of the country’s population were followers of\u00a0Islam<\/a>.[<\/span>1]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>[<\/span>2]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Muslims in Kyrgyzstan are generally of the\u00a0Non denominational<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Sunni<\/a>\u00a0branch, mostly of the\u00a0Hanafi<\/a>\u00a0school, which entered the region during the eighth century.[<\/span>3]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Kyrgyzstan is home to\u00a0more than 2000 mosques<\/a>. Most Kyrgyz Muslims practice their religion in a specific way influenced by shamanic tribal customs. There has been a revival of Islamic practices since independence in Kyrgyzstan. For the most part religious leaders deal only with issues of religion and do not reach out to communities, but rather offer services to those who come to the mosque. There are regional differences, with the southern part of the country being more religious.[<\/span>4]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Kyrgyzstan remained a secular state after the fall of\u00a0communism<\/a>, which had only superficial influence on religious practice when Kyrgyzstan was a\u00a0Soviet republic<\/a>, despite the policy of\u00a0state atheism<\/a>. Most of the\u00a0Russian<\/a>\u00a0population of Kyrgyzstan is\u00a0Russian Orthodox<\/a>. The\u00a0Uzbeks<\/a>, who make up 14.9 percent of the population, are generally Sunni Muslims.<\/p>\n

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The introduction of Islam<\/h2>\n

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<\/a>
Remains of the eleventh-century\u00a0Burana minaret<\/a>\u00a0in the ruined town of\u00a0Balasagun<\/a>, capital of the Islamic\u00a0Kara-Khanid Khanate<\/a>\u00a0(934\u20131212)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Islam was introduced to the Kyrgyz tribes between the seventh and twelfth centuries by the Umayyad caliphate. More recent exposure to Islam occurred in the seventeenth century, when the\u00a0Jungars<\/a>\u00a0drove the Kyrgyz of the\u00a0Tian Shan<\/a>\u00a0region into the\u00a0Fergana Valley<\/a>, whose population was totally Islamic due to previous Umayyad influence. However, as the danger from the Jungars subsided, a few elements of the Kyrgyz population returned to some of their tribal customs. When the\u00a0Quqon Khanate<\/a>\u00a0advanced into northern Kyrgyzstan in the eighteenth century, various northern Kyrgyz tribes[<\/span>3]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0remained aloof from the official Islamic practices of that regime. By the end of the nineteenth century, however, the entire Kyrgyz population, including the tribes in the north, had converted to Sunni Islam. Each of the Muslim ethnic groups has a deep and long tradition of customary law. The ethnic Kyrgyz have also preserved pre-Islamic traditions and customs which are not contrary to the Islamic teachings, which is similar to what happened in\u00a0Indonesia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Tribal influence<\/h2>\n

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<\/a>
Karakol<\/a>\u00a0Dungan<\/a>\u00a0Mosque<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before Islam, the religion of the Kyrgyz people was\u00a0Tengriism<\/a>, the recognition of spiritual kinship with a particular type of animal and reverence for the Spirits of nature, ancestors, the earth and sky. Under this belief system, which predates their contact with Islam, Kyrgyz tribes traditionally adopted reindeer, camels, snakes, owls, and bears as objects of worship. The sky, earth, sun, moon, and stars also play an important religious role. The strong dependence of the nomads on the forces of nature reinforced such connections and fostered belief in\u00a0shamanism<\/a>. Traces of such beliefs remain in the religious practice of many of today’s Kyrgyz residing in the north.[citation needed<\/span><\/a><\/i>]<\/sup>\u00a0Kyrgyz sociologist\u00a0Rakhat Achylova<\/a>\u00a0discussed how aspects of\u00a0Tengrism<\/a>\u00a0were adopted into Kyrgyz Islam.[<\/span>5]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Knowledge of and interest in Islam is much stronger in the south than further north. Religious practice in the north is more mixed with\u00a0animism<\/a>\u00a0and shamanist practices, giving worship there a resemblance to\u00a0Siberian<\/a>\u00a0religious practice.[citation needed<\/span><\/a><\/i>]<\/sup><\/p>\n

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Islam and the state<\/h2>\n

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<\/a>
Muslim cemetery in\u00a0Kosh-K\u00f6l<\/a>,\u00a0Issyk-Kul Region<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While religion has not played a particularly significant role in the\u00a0politics of Kyrgyzstan<\/a>, more traditional elements of Islamic values have been urged despite the nation’s constitution stipulating to secularism. Although the constitution forbids the intrusion of any ideology or religion in the conduct of state business, a growing number of public figures have expressed support for the promotion of Islamic traditions.[<\/span>6]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0As in other parts of\u00a0Central Asia<\/a>, non-Central Asians have been concerned about the potential of a\u00a0fundamentalist Islamic<\/a>\u00a0revolution that would emulate\u00a0Iran<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Afghanistan<\/a>\u00a0by bringing Islam directly into the shaping of state policy, to the detriment of the non-Islamic population.<\/p>\n

Because of sensitivity about the economic consequences of a continued outflow of Russians (brain drain<\/a>), then president\u00a0Askar Akayev<\/a>\u00a0took particular pains to reassure the non-Kyrgyz that no\u00a0Islamic revolution<\/a>\u00a0would occur. Akayev paid public visits to\u00a0Bishkek<\/a>‘s main\u00a0Russian Orthodox<\/a>\u00a0church and directed one million rubles from the state treasury toward that faith’s church-building fund. He also appropriated funds and other support for a German cultural center. Nevertheless, there has been support from local government to build bigger mosques and religious schools.[<\/span>6]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Additionally, recent bills have been proposed to outlaw\u00a0abortion<\/a>, and numerous attempts have been made to decriminalize\u00a0polygamy<\/a>\u00a0and to allow officials to travel to\u00a0Mecca<\/a>\u00a0on a\u00a0hajj<\/a>\u00a0under a tax-free agreement.[<\/span>6]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0In August 2016, the former President of Kyrgyzstan,\u00a0Almazbek Atambayev<\/a>, claimed that “women can become radicalised to become terrorists if they put on Islamic dress.\u201d His remarks followed several weeks of controversy over government-sponsored hoardings or banners put up in the streets of the capital Bishkek to try to dissuade Kyrgyz women from wearing Islamic clothing, notably the hijab, niqab and burka.[<\/span>7]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

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Current status<\/h2>\n

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The state recognizes two Muslim feast days as official holidays:\u00a0Eid ul-Fitr<\/a>\u00a0(\u00d6r\u00f6z Ayt<\/i>), which ends\u00a0Ramadan<\/a>, and\u00a0Eid ul-Adha<\/a>\u00a0(Kurban Ayt<\/i>), which commemorates Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son. The country also recognizes Orthodox\u00a0Christmas<\/a>\u00a0as well as the traditional\u00a0Persian<\/a>\u00a0festival of\u00a0Nowruz<\/a>. As of 2015, there have been more than 2000 mosques in Kyrgyzstan.[<\/span>8]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n