KYRGYZSTAN TODAY Policy briefs on - Department of Geography

Currently, progressive traditions of Islam, associated with knowledge of moral
values, have been revived; there is a tendency for broad and deep penetration of Islam
in the masses.
Representatives of the clergy, prominent scientists, theologians of the Republic are
carrying out educational work in local communities about the Islamic faith, basing it
on historical traditions and the attitudes of the population. In addition, mosques have
become more active in their religious and educational activities.
The population in the south of Kyrgyzstan has more actively explored the
foundations of Islamic religion, and engaged in more religious activities. During Soviet
times, religious people conducted religious rites in secret, while they now do it openly at
home and in mosques [5]. At the same time, there remain cases of parents not bringing
their daughters to secular schools, instead sending them to small religious schools. In
other cases, boys do not go to school but instead attend hudzhuras at a mosque, which
teach the basics of Islam.
In the early years of the Republic’s independence, many mosques were constructed,
thanks mainly to foreign investment. Currently, local sponsors now pay for the construction
of mosques. If Osh once had only a small number of mosques, it is now impossible to say how
many mosques are there. All of the city’s neighborhoods and makhallyas have mosques.
The spread of Islam in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan has been rapid. But it is difficult to
predict the impact of this process on Kyrgyz society. In our view, the spread of Islam among
the population happens casually– i.e. unsystematically. We believe that this process should
be regulated at the level of education. There should be a clear national or social program of
Islamic education. Finding a solution to this problem is now more crucial than ever.
The American researcher E. Koliha noted that, since October 1991 (when the first
madrassa in Bishkek opened), formal Islamic education in Kyrgyzstan has been initiated.
However, no one agrees which subjects of Islam should be taught, nor the relationship
between Islamic educational institutions and the Kyrgyz state. These questions are crucial
not only for the nations of Central Asia, but also for most countries in the world. However,
for Central Asian countries– recently released from the suppression of religious feelings and
ideas – these issues are even more acute than in other regions of the world [1, p. 119].
Two of the Republic’s state universities now have Departments of Theology. One of
these was opened in 1993 jointly by Osh State University and the University of Ankara.
In the beginning, the department trained qualified religious scientists, but it now turns
out bachelors of Theology.
Before the establishment of Soviet power, the Osh district, had 88 madrassas with
thousands of students [4, p. 83]. Today one Islamic University, 6 institutes and 46 madrassas
operate in Kyrgyzstan. According to the State Agency for Religious Affairs of the KR,
between 700 and 1,000 people study in these educational institutions. Yet there are also
private courses, organized by imams at mosques, that teach the fundamentals of Islam. One
cannot say how many people are enrolled in the courses and educational institutions in
the mosques (hudzhuras), because these educational entities are not officially registered.
Of course, these schools have problems that need to be solved. The following
problems are, in our view, the most pressing:
1. Course curricula and logistics, and qualification of teachers, do not meet modern
standards. However, we should point out that logistics in some schools have been
recently updated due to the initiative of internal and foreign sponsors. Islamic
institutions do not work according to the same curricula as other centers of
learning.
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