Ashiraliev, Elmurat (2021) To What Extent Are Minority Religious Rights Protected in the Kyrgyz Republic? CAP Paper (249).
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Religious conflicts are not new to Kyrgyzstan. Since its independence, the country has witnessed several incidents. To regulate the religious realm, the Kyrgyz Republic established the State Commission for Religious Affairs (SCRA), the central body that develops and implements state policy in the religious sphere and coordinates other state institutions’ activities in this field. This paper focuses on the challenges that religious minorities face in Kyrgyzstan, specifically Jehovah's Witnesses. It explores the lives of the Witnesses in rural Kyrgyzstan as an attempt to delve into the meaning of being a member of a religious minority and how freedom of belief and religion play out in remote areas. The paper is based on a one-month fieldwork exploration using interviews with Witnesses and other villagers in the Abdraimov village where a conflict occurred a year ago, with village- and district-level authorities, and SCRA officers. The Witnesses are not the largest religious minority in the country, however. These are various Protestant denominations and Orthodox Christians, while other religious minorities that are represented include the Baha’i Faith, Shiites, and Buddhists.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | B Mission theology/theory > Public Theology |
| Divisions: | Central Asia > Kyrgyzstan |
| Depositing User: | Katharina Penner |
| Date Deposited: | 06 Apr 2026 07:50 |
| Last Modified: | 06 Apr 2026 07:50 |
| URI: | https://ceamol.osims.org/id/eprint/3261 |
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