What is the religion here? Uzbekistan, its spiritual traditions and history

Probably, not every inhabitant of our country can shine with knowledge in the field of the history of Uzbekistan. Today, we know this country mainly by migrants who come to us, who are ready to work at the lowest paid positions.

And meanwhile, this country with its ancient history and culture. Of course, there is the main religion here, Uzbekistan is a Muslim country, although representatives of other faiths can also be found here.

Current state

Today, according to statistics, about 88% of the population of the country professes Islam. They are indigenous people of Uzbekistan, as well as representatives of Turkic-speaking peoples. The Uzbeks are Sunni Muslims of the Hanafi type (it should be noted that the Sunnis in the Muslim world are much larger than the Shiites, moreover, these two directions are fiercely fighting among themselves).

Therefore, on the question of which religion in Uzbekistan dominates today, we can give a confident answer: this is Sunni Islam.

Other denominations

The rest of the confessions are as follows: Orthodox Christians represented by Russians who never left this country after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Poles who profess Catholicism (the Polish families exiled to Central Asia in the last century, so they stayed here). There are also Bukharian Jews, professing Judaism, as well as their distant ancestors. Adepts of modern Protestant currents are also represented: Baptists, Lutherans, Adventists and others.

Thus, everyone in this country has a different religion, Uzbekistan, according to the Constitution, reserves for its citizens the right to freedom of religion.

History of the Christian religion in Uzbekistan

Traditionally, different peoples lived on the territory of modern Uzbekistan. They confessed their pagan cults. Since V century AD, Christianity has come to this land, known as Sogdiana. However, it was almost completely destroyed in the Middle Ages, when Islam began to assert itself.

Only in the XIX century, when the Russian Empire, trying to prevent the seizure of these lands by the British and the closure of British expansion at their borders, conquered these lands, in Uzbekistan Orthodox churches began to open. They were intended for Russians and for those local people who want to accept Christianity. However, such was negligible. And the Russian government, by its tradition, did not force its new subjects. In connection with this, there were very few transitions from Islam to Christianity.

Therefore, today the Christian religion is so little represented here, Uzbekistan is a state whose peoples were first pagans, and then, following the will of the khan, they accepted Mohammedanism.

Why was Islam adopted here?

We must not forget that the most powerful state of the Middle Ages, the Golden Horde, partially occupied the territory of modern Uzbekistan.

Therefore, the Muslim religion was accepted here, Uzbekistan as a state would not have arisen if the great Horde khans had not thought about the questions on how to spiritually fasten their country.

The spiritual revolution was performed by a khan named Uzbek. He also refused the generic pagan religion, according to which there are many gods who need to be worshiped, becoming the first Muslim in their country.

By the way, there is a legend that our beloved prince Alexander Nevsky, knowing that the enemies who attacked Russia were pagans, tried to persuade the Khan of the Horde to accept Christianity. However, the retinue of Khan, having learned about the intentions of the Russian prince and not accepting Christianity for his too merciful attitude towards people, poisoned the great Russian commander and diplomat.

How to know if Alexander Nevsky could have accomplished the conceived, was there such a country on the world map called Uzbekistan, whose religion is now unchanged?

History of Uzbek

So, Khan Uzbek, who later assumed the Islamic title Sultan Giyas ad-Din Mohammed lived in the early 14th century. He was the most famous khan of the Golden Horde, greatly strengthened the power of the state.

The religion of Uzbekistan to Islam is a mixture of tribal beliefs and traditional cults that hindered the development of the Golden Horde. It was necessary to do something urgently. And Khan Uzbek realized that he had to make a serious choice in his life.

The fact is that Uzbek was not a direct recipient of the Horde's throne. The power he seized by killing the legitimate heirs of the throne.

Khan was helped by those who dreamed about Islamization of this region. A fierce struggle began for the religious future of the country, in which the supporters of the Horde were not the supporters of the clan religion, but the supporters of the Muslims. By the way, Islam has always won fire and sword since its appearance in the 6th century AD (even Muhammad was a good general, and it's not necessary to talk about 4 great viziers). Islam Uzbek adopted in 1320.

The resistance to his decision among the Tatar-Mongolian leadership was enormous. So, he had to execute about 120 of his direct relatives from the genus of Genghisides, in order to establish a new faith.

The desire to make his subjects faithful was dictated by the pragmatic interests of the khan. He strove at all costs to strengthen his power. How to know if he thought that his name would be called after many centuries the country of Uzbekistan, whose religion would be so close to him?

Islam Today

Today, Central Asia is a zone of tension. This is due to the fact that beside it there are bloody events, densely implicated in the heretical teaching, which claims to be the role of true Islam. This teaching is called Wahhabism. He is professed by members of the sect, better known as Igil. Members of this sect seek to conquer all nations, retraining them in their own way. Central Asia is a tidbit for them. Therefore, the problem consisting of three components: "Uzbekistan - religion - Islam" is more relevant than ever.