Bağımzıslık Öncesi ve Sonrası Kırgız Toplumunda Din ve Dini Kurumlar Üzerine Bir Analiz

Abstract Regarding the sociology of religion and political science perspectives, this article attempts to examine the influence of religion on Kyrgyzstan’s social and political life after her independence from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). This study addresses the following pieces of information before discussing the current circumstances. First, the historical background of how Islam has spread in Kyrgyzstan has different narratives and needs to be addressed before explaining the role of Islam in today’s Kyrgyzstan. Also, to show how and when the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kyrgyzstan (SAMK), which is also called the Muftiyat of Kyrgyzstan, has emerged, it is necessary to examine the USSR era of Islam. In addition, since the first years of independence, religion and religious life have been given full freedom in Kyrgyzstan; however, the State Security Council in the meeting of February 2014 has decided that the prior religious freedom policy was wrong. In the following period, it was decided that the state would implement politics that would lead the religious structure and the religious life of society. In this study, religious tendencies and social sanctions for religion were studied in terms of sociology and political science in the post-independence period. Furthermore, the study focused on the work process and sanctions for the social and political stability of Kyrgyz society. This article also elaborates on the practices of the Kyrgyz state, which had a quarter-century past, on religion and shows that the practices are unstable and changing based on new circumstances. Summary Islamic elements are important in the daily life of the Kyrgyz people. Some of these are considered as traditions and customs by some people. The Kyrgyz were worshipping pre-Islamic Tengrism (Theism) and the elements of this faith. According to some researchers, Tengrism did not obstruct Islam, and it did not conflict with Islam, but rather made it easier for the Kyrgyz to embrace Islam. It has been suggested that various traditions are compatible with Islam and that they are accepted as Islamic. Tengrians keep this question in their agenda: “When did the Kyrgyz people accept Islam as a religion?” Even though they have just emerged with their current view, they claim that they have come from their ancestors. They try to portray Islam and Islamization as a distortion in society, whereas Islam has an ancient history and has become a national value and an integral part of life. The radical people identify Islam and Muslims as being Arab and disseminating this idea in society and portray the Kyrgyz Muslims as Arabized. Although they consider Kyrgyz and Islam as two different phenomena, it is clear that Kyrgyz people are Muslims from early times. Nobody can deny this fact. However, some events in the society and some practices are not accepted by some parts of the society in the name of Islam. For example, those who consider the Arab outfit as a symbol of Islam prefer to replace it with traditional or modern clothing. The clothing of the members of the Tabligh Jamaat, and some of the other radical groups, have led to this concern. Some people claim that there is no connection between Islam and Kyrgyz using these examples. During the Soviet period, there was no Islam along with the ideology of atheism. Although the understanding and ideas of these two are completely different, the clergy of the old Soviet-era expressed that there were no social problems during this period. After Kyrgyzstan gained its independence, atheism collapsed. But some issues related to Islamic misunderstanding have emerged. Since the early years of sovereignty, there have been many incidents and a new set of facts have emerged. Several ideas have emerged contradicting traditional understandings. These have led to the consolidation of Muslims. In 1993, an independent Muftiyat (Religious Affairs) was established in Kyrgyzstan under the name of “the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kyrgyzstan” apart from Tashkent. However, this institution remained very weak in religious and social matters, so it did not prevent the spread of different perceptions among the public. Even, it has led to the spread of some other perceptions. No innovations were introduced during the establishment of the Muftiyat. Just a branch of the Tashkent-based Muftiyat system during the former USSR was established in Kyrgyzstan. After the establishment of the Muftiyat, it has not been able to create a new system until today. The Muftiyat is a non-governmental organization, but they call themselves the religious administration of Muslims in Kyrgyzstan. Communities also accept it in the same way. So far, Muftiyat is the owner of mosques and madrasahs built within the borders of Kyrgyzstan. But it has no connection with the social organization and the state. Since independence, Religious Education has been carried out without a plan and system. Although so many madrasahs were opened, it was not able to spread traditional Islamic understanding. All the madrasahs are dependent on the Muftiyat. The opening of the madrasahs and the philosophy of education are generally dependent on the initiative of local religious people. In other words, if a person is a scholar then this man must have a madrasah. Even students are going to madrasah according to the name of this scholar. After independence, the state gave freedom to religion, yet tried to control it. However, the issue of religion did not play an important role in state policy. Five years after the independence, the State Commission for Religious Affairs was established by the Kyrgyz Government. At least, it is aimed to carry out the religion-related policies through this institution. This institution was not very strong in its early years. It only served to register religious institutions. The reason for the ineffectiveness of this institution was the freedom of religious belief and religious institutions, according to the law adopted in 1991. We can say that the State Commission for Religious Affairs and Muftiyat were unable to work together. These kinds of events in Kyrgyz society began to expand and spread the different misunderstanding of Islam, and of course, the state began to worry. Therefore, after 20 years of Independence, the state began to pay attention to the religious issues society. The state defines the policy towards religion in the past as wrong and tries to correct the situation in order not to fall again and make the same mistakes. The stability and continuous development of society depend on leaders and community engineers. Experts must work in this area. Unfortunately, not well-qualified experts are included in the working group in any case, we will try to examine the positive and negative aspects of this from the points of view of politics and sociology.