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Turkmenistan
Religion after Independence
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.
Since 1990, efforts have been made to regain some of the cultural
heritage lost under Soviet rule. President 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 the schools and
the mosques, with instruction in Arabic language, the Koran (Quran)
and the hadith, and the history of Islam.
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.
On the other hand, some Muslim leaders are opposed to the secular
concept of government and especially to a government controlled
by former communists (see Centers of Political Power, this ch.).
Some official leaders and teachers working outside the official
structure have vowed to increase the population's knowledge of
Islam, increase Islam's role in society, and broaden adherence
to its tenets. Alarmed that such activism may aggravate tensions
between Sunnis and Shiites and especially alienate Orthodox Slavs,
the government has drawn up plans to elevate the council of religious
affairs to ministry status in an effort to regulate religious
activities more tightly.
Data as of March 1996
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