Islam in Central Asia

Muslims in Central Asia
Madrassa in Bukhara
Total population
c. 66 million[1][2] (90.6%)
Religions
Sunni Islam
Languages
Liturgical
Common
Some Turkic languages, Tajik (Persian) and Arabic (Sacred)
Muslims Percentage per Country[4][5][6][7][8][9]
Country Percent
 Tajikistan
98%
 Turkmenistan
96.1%
 Uzbekistan
96.5%
 Kyrgyzstan
90.6%
 Kazakhstan
72%

Islam in Central Asia has existed since the beginning of Islamic history. Sunni branch of Islam is the most widely practiced religion in Central Asia. Shiism of Imami and Ismaili denominations predominating in the Pamir plateau and the western Tian Shan mountains (almost exclusively Ismailis), while boasting to a large minority population in the Zarafshan river valley, from Samarkand to Bukhara (almost exclusively Imamis).[10] Islam came to Central Asia in the early part of the 8th century as part of the Muslim conquest of the region. Many well-known Islamic scientists and philosophers came from Central Asia, and several major Muslim empires, including the Timurid Empire and the Mughal Empire, originated in Central Asia. In the 20th century, severe restrictions on religious practice were enacted by the Soviet Union in Soviet Central Asia and the People's Republic of China in Xinjiang.

  1. ^ Rowland, Richard H. "CENTRAL ASIA ii. Demography". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. 2. pp. 161–164. Retrieved 2017-05-25.
  2. ^ "The Global Religious Landscape" (PDF). Pew. December 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015.
  3. ^ Al-Jallad, Ahmad (30 May 2011). "Polygenesis in the Arabic Dialects". Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics. BRILL. doi:10.1163/1570-6699_eall_EALL_SIM_000030. ISBN 9789004177024.
  4. ^ "The results of the national population census in 2009". Agency of Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan. 12 November 2010. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  5. ^ "Tajikistan". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  6. ^ "Kyrgyzstan". Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project. 2010. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  7. ^ Trilling, David (2015-05-08). "Tajikistan debates ban on Arabic names as part of crackdown on Islam". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-05-25.
  8. ^ Trilling, David. "Islam in Uzbekistan". CIA. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
  9. ^ "Religion in Turkmenistan". Facts and Details. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  10. ^ Naumkin, 38.