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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Kyrgyzstan
Index
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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