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 İslam 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.
Din Sosyolojisi. Bu makalede bağımsızlığını kazandıktan sonra Kırgızistan’da
toplumsal-siyasi hayatta önemli rol oynayan ve bunlara yön veren din unsurunu,
din sosyolojisi ve siyaset bilimi açısından incelemeye çalışacağız. İslam’ın Kırgızlar arasında ne zaman
yayıldığı ve benimsendiği ile ilgili tarihi kaynaklara dayanarak farklı
görüşlerin bulunduğunu belirtmeliyiz. Günümüzde, Kırgızistan sınırları
içerisindeki İslam’ı anlayabilmek için onun tarihteki süreçlerini göz önünde
bulundurmak şarttır. Kırgızistan’ın Müftiyat kurumu; yani Kırgızistan
Müslümanları Dini İdaresi’nin (KMDİ) ne zaman ve nasıl ortaya çıktığını
göstermek için Sovyet Sosyalist Cumhuriyetler Birliği döneminde İslam hakkında
birtakım tespitlerde bulunularak oluşum sürecinin ele alınması gerekmektedir.
Kırgızistan’da İslam’ın tarihi sürecini birkaç döneme ayırmak gerekir: Ortaçağdan
SSCB’nin kuruluşuna kadarki dönem, Sosyalizm dönemi ve son olarak
Kırgızistan’ın bağımsızlığını kazandıktan sonraki dönem. Bağımsızlığın ilk
yıllarından itibaren Kırgızistan’da dine ve dinî hayata öncesine oranla büyük bir
serbestlik, bir bakıma kısmi özerklik hürriyeti verilmiştir. Ancak 4 Şubat 2014
tarihindeki Devlet Güvenlik Konseyi toplantısında dine verilen bu kısmi
özerklik hürriyeti siyasetinin doğru olmadığı sonucuna varılmıştır. O günden
itibaren devlet dinin toplumdaki yapısına ve yaşamına yön verme siyaseti
yürüteceği kararını almıştır. Bu çalışmamızda bağımsızlık elde edildikten
sonraki süreçte dinî eğilimler ve dine yönelik toplumsal yaptırımlar toplum
bilimi ve siyaset bilimi açısından incelenmiştir. Kırgız toplumunun sosyal ve
siyasi istikrarı için çalışma süreci ve yaptırımları üzerinde durulmuştur.
Makalemizde çeyrek asırlık bir tarihe sahip olan Kırgız devletinin din
konusundaki uygulamalarını siyaset bilimi, güvenlik ve toplum bilimi açısından
ele alıp değerlendirmeye çalışacağız.
Primary Language | Turkish |
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Journal Section | Articles |
Authors | |
Publication Date | June 30, 2020 |
Published in Issue | Year 2020 Volume: 19 Issue: 1 |