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Kyrgyzstan
Religion
The vast majority of today's Kyrgyz are Muslims of the Sunni
(see Glossary) branch, but Islam came late and fairly superficially
to the area. Kyrgyz Muslims generally practice their religion
in a specific way influenced by earlier tribal customs. The practice
of Islam also differs in the northern and southern regions of
the country. Kyrgyzstan remained a secular state after the fall
of communism, which had only superficial influence on religious
practice when Kyrgyzstan was a Soviet republic. Most of the Russian
population of Kyrgyzstan is atheist or Russian Orthodox. The Uzbeks,
who make up 12.9 percent of the population, are generally Sunni
Muslims.
Data as of March 1996
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