Religion in Turkmenistan
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The demographics of religion in Turkmenistan are 89% Muslim, 9% Eastern Orthodox, and 2% unknown.[1]
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[edit] Islam in Turkmenistan
Traditionally, the Turkmen of Turkmenistan, like their kin in Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Iran, 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. Although the great majority of Turkmen readily identify themselves as Muslims and acknowledge Islam as an integral part of their cultural heritage, many are non-believers and support a revival of the religion's status only as an element of national revival. They do not 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]
[edit] Orthodox Christianity
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Nine percent of the country's citizens are Eastern Orthodox.
[edit] Other Christianity
Protestants are less than 1 % of the population of Turkmenistan. There are very few Catholics in the country - around 50 in total.[3]
[edit] Hinduism
Hinduism spread in Turkmenistan by Hare Krishna Missionaries. Hare Krishnas are a minority community in Turkmenistan. Many of the 600 Indians in Turkmenistan are Hindu.
[edit] Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith in Turkmenistan begins before Russian advances into the region when the area was under the influence of Persia.[4] By 1887 a community of Bahá'í refugees from religious violence in Persia had made a religious center in Ashgabat.[4] Shortly afterwards — by 1894 — Russia made Turkmenistan part of the Russian Empire.[5] While the Bahá'í Faith spread across the Russian Empire[6][5] and attracted the attention of scholars and artists,[7] the Bahá'í community in Ashgabat built the first Bahá'í House of Worship, elected one of the first Bahá'í local administrative institutions and was a center of scholarship. However during the Soviet period religious persecution made the Bahá'í community almost disappear - however Bahá'ís who moved into the regions in the 1950s did identify individuals still adhering to the religion. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in late 1991, Bahá'í communities and their administrative bodies started to develop across the nations of the former Soviet Union;[8] In 1994 Turkmenistan elected it's own National Spiritual Assembly[9] however laws passed in 1995 in Turkmenistan required 500 adult religious adherents in each locality for registration and no Bahá'í community in Turkmenistan could meet this requirement.[10] As of 2007 the religion had still failed to reach the minimum number of adherents to register[11] and individuals have had their homes raided for Bahá'í literature.[12]
[edit] Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion is guaranteed by article 11 of the Constitution of Turkmenistan. However, like other human rights, in practice it does not exist. Former President Saparmurat Niyazov's book of spiritual writings, the Ruhnama, is imposed on all religious communities. According to Forum 18, despite international pressure, the authorities severely repress all religious groups, and the legal framework is so constrictive that many prefer to exist underground rather than have to pass through all of the official hurdles. Protestant Christian adherents are affected, in addition to groups such as Jehovah's Witnesses, Bahá'í, and Hare Krishna. [2] Jehovah's Witnesses have been imprisoned and suffered beatings due to being conscientious objectors.
[edit] References
- ^ CIA World Factbook
- ^ Larry Clark, Michael Thurman, and David Tyson. "Turkmenistan". A Country Study: Turkmenistan (Glenn E. Curtis, editor). Library of Congress Federal Research Division (March 1996). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.[1]
- ^ Turkmenistan, Statistics by Diocese, by Catholic Population [Catholic-Hierarchy]
- ^ a b Momen, Moojan. Turkmenistan. Draft for "A Short Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith". Bahá'í Academics Resource Library. Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
- ^ a b Momen, Moojan. Russia. Draft for "A Short Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith". Bahá'í Academics Resource Library. Retrieved on 2008-04-14.
- ^ Statement on the history of the Bahá'í Faith in Soviet Union. Official Website of the Bahá'ís of Kyiv. Local Spiritual Assembly of Kyiv (2007-8). Retrieved on 2008-04-19.
- ^ Smith, Peter (2000). "Tolstoy, Leo". A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. p. 340. ISBN 1851681841.
- ^ Hassall, Graham & Fazel, Seena, “100 Years of the Bahá'í Faith in Europe”, Bahá’í Studies Review 1998 (8): pp. 35-44, <http://bahai-library.com/asia-pacific/Europe.htm>
- ^ Hassall, Graham; Universal House of Justice. National Spiritual Assemblies statistics 1923-1999. Assorted Resource Tools. Bahá'í Academics Resource Library. Retrieved on 2008-04-02.
- ^ compiled by Wagner, Ralph D.. Turkmenistan. Synopsis of References to the Bahá'í Faith, in the US State Department's Reports on Human Rights 1991-2000. Bahá'í Academics Resource Library. Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
- ^ Turkmenistan - International Religious Freedom Report 2007. The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair (2007-09-14). Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
- ^ Corley, Felix (2004-04-01), “TURKMENISTAN: Religious communities theoretically permitted, but attacked in practice?”, F18News, <http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=293>
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