Central Mosque in
Kone-Gummez village,
Nohur area.
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According to a 2009
Pew Research Center report, 93.1% of
Turkmenistan's population is Muslim.[1]
Traditionally, the
Turkmen of
Turkmenistan, like their kin in
Uzbekistan and
Afghanistan, are
Sunni Muslims.
Shia Muslims, the other main branch
of Islam, are not numerous in
Turkmenistan, and the Shia religious
practices of the
Azerbaijani and
Kurdish minorities are not
politicized. The great majority of
Turkmen readily identify themselves as
Muslims and acknowledge
Islam as an integral part of their
cultural heritage, but some support a
revival of the religion's status
primarily as an element of national
revival. |
History and structure
Caliph Umar's empire at its peak in 644 |
Islam was introduced to
Turkmenistan during the
period of Islamic conquest by the second
and third
Rashidun Caliphs,
Umar and
Uthman. Integrated within the Turkmen
tribal structure is the "holy" tribe called
övlat. Ethnographers consider the övlat, of
which six are active, as a revitalized form
of the ancestor cult injected with Sufism.
According to their genealogies, each tribe
descends from the Prophet
Muhammad through one of the
Four Caliphs. Because of their belief in
the sacred origin and spiritual powers of
the övlat representatives, Turkmen accord
these tribes a special, holy status. In the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the
övlat tribes became dispersed in small,
compact groups in Turkmenistan. They
attended and conferred blessings on all
important communal and life-cycle events,
and also acted as mediators between clans
and tribes. The institution of the övlat
retains some authority today. Many of the
Turkmen who are revered for their spiritual
powers trace their lineage to an övlat, and
it is not uncommon, especially in rural
areas, for such individuals to be present at
life-cycle and other communal celebrations.[2] |
Islam in the Soviet Era
In the
Soviet era, all religious beliefs were attacked
by the communist authorities as superstition and
"vestiges of the past." Most religious schooling and
religious observance were banned, and the vast
majority of mosques were closed. An official
Muslim Board of Central Asia with headquarters
in
Tashkent was established during
World War II to supervise Islam in Central Asia.
For the most part, the Muslim Board functioned as an
instrument of propaganda whose activities did little
to enhance the Muslim cause. Atheist indoctrination
stifled religious development and contributed to the
isolation of the Turkmen from the international
Muslim community. Some religious customs, such as
Muslim burial and male circumcision, continued to be
practiced throughout the Soviet period, but most
religious belief, knowledge, and customs were
preserved only in rural areas in "folk form" as a
kind of unofficial Islam not sanctioned by the
state-run Spiritual Directorate.[2]
Religion after independence
Prayer rugs inside a
Nohur mosque. |
The current government
oversees official Islam through a structure
inherited from the Soviet period.
Turkmenistan's Muslim Religious Board,
together with that of Uzbekistan,
constitutes the Muslim Religious Board of
Mavarannahr. The Mavarannahr board is based
in Tashkent and exerts considerable
influence in appointments of religious
leaders in Turkmenistan. The governing body
of Islamic judges (Kaziat) is registered
with the Turkmenistan Ministry of Justice,
and a council of religious affairs under the
Cabinet of Ministers monitors the activities
of clergy. Individuals who wish to become
members of the official clergy must attend
official religious institutions; a few,
however, may prove their qualifications
simply by taking an examination.[2] |
Some Turkmen do not regularly
attend mosque services or demonstrate their
adherence publicly, except through participation in
officially sanctioned national traditions associated
with Islam on a popular level, including life-cycle
events such as weddings, burials, and pilgrimages.[2]
However, since 1990, efforts have been made to
regain some of the cultural heritage lost under
Soviet rule. President
Saparmurat Niyazov has ordered that basic
Islamic principles be taught in public schools. More
religious institutions, including religious schools
and mosques, have appeared, many with the support of
Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait,
and
Turkey. Religious classes are held in both
schools and mosques, with instruction in
Arabic language, the
Qur'an and the
hadith,
and history of Islam.[2]
The
Ertugrul Gazi
Mosque in
Ashgabat named after the founder of the
Ottoman Empire |
Turkmenistan's government
stresses its secular nature and its support
of freedom of religious belief, as embodied
in the 1991 Law on Freedom of Conscience and
on Religious Organizations in the Turkmen
Soviet Socialist Republic and
institutionalized in the 1992 constitution.
That document guarantees the separation of
church and state; it also removes any legal
basis for Islam to play a role in political
life by prohibiting proselytizing, the
dissemination of "unofficial" religious
literature, discrimination based on
religion, and the formation of religious
political parties. In addition, the
government reserves the right to appoint and
dismiss anyone who teaches religious matters
or who is a member of the clergy. Since
independence, the Islamic leadership in
Turkmenistan has been more assertive, but in
large part it still responds to government
control. The official governing body of
religious judges gave its official support
to President Niyazov in the June 1992
elections.[2]On
the other hand, some Muslim leaders are
opposed to the secular concept of government
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