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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Turkmenistan
Index
Islam came to the Turkmen primarily through the activities of Sufi (see
Glossary) shaykhs rather than through the mosque and the "high"
written tradition of sedentary culture. These shaykhs were holy men
critical in the process of reconciling Islamic beliefs with pre-Islamic
belief systems; they often were adopted as "patron saints" of
particular clans or tribal groups, thereby becoming their "founders."
Reformulation of communal identity around such figures accounts for one of
the highly localized developments of Islamic practice in Turkmenistan.
Integrated within the Turkmen tribal structure is the "holy"
tribe called övlat . Ethnographers consider the övlat,
of which six are active, as a revitalized form of the ancestor cult
injected with Sufism. According to their genealogies, each tribe descends
from the Prophet Muhammad through one of the Four Caliphs. Because of
their belief in the sacred origin and spiritual powers of the övlat
representatives, Turkmen accord these tribes a special, holy status. In
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the övlat tribes
became dispersed in small, compact groups in Turkmenistan. They attended
and conferred blessings on all important communal and life-cycle events,
and also acted as mediators between clans and tribes. The institution of
the övlat retains some authority today. Many of the
Turkmen who are revered for their spiritual powers trace their lineage to
an övlat, and it is not uncommon, especially in rural
areas, for such individuals to be present at life-cycle and other communal
celebrations.
In the Soviet era, all religious beliefs were attacked by the communist
authorities as superstition and "vestiges of the past." Most
religious schooling and religious observance were banned, and the vast
majority of mosques were closed. An official Muslim Board of Central Asia
with a headquarters in Tashkent was established during World War II to
supervise Islam in Central Asia. For the most part, the Muslim Board
functioned as an instrument of propaganda whose activities did little to
enhance the Muslim cause. Atheist indoctrination stifled religious
development and contributed to the isolation of the Turkmen from the
international Muslim community. Some religious customs, such as Muslim
burial and male circumcision, continued to be practiced throughout the
Soviet period, but most religious belief, knowledge, and customs were
preserved only in rural areas in "folk form" as a kind of
unofficial Islam not sanctioned by the state-run Spiritual Directorate.
Data as of March 1996
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