Kyrgyzstan is one of the least restrictive of the Central Asian countries in terms of religious liberty. The majority of its population is Muslim, but often only nominally. For centuries Kyrgyzstan was ruled by foreigners who imposed their religion on the people, and Christianity is sometimes seen as the religion of non-indigenous Russians, Ukrainians and Germans. Yet over recent years the number of known Kyrgyz believers has been growing steadily.

A Christian cemetery in Kyrgyzstan.

Legally, churches do not require registration in order to meet, but local authorities have sometimes threatened to shut down unregistered churches. The government has also been planning a new religion law, and believers fear that it will make Kyrgyzstan as intolerant of Christians as its neighbouring countries are.

Despite the fact that many Kyrgyz do not have a strong Muslim identity, ethnic Kyrgyz who convert to Christianity often face severe pressure and threats from family and local communities. Leaving Islam is seen as betraying one’s ethnic identity and family. Over recent years local authorities and Muslims have frequently opposed the burial of non-Muslims in local cemeteries, or insisted they be buried according to Islamic rituals. In May 2008 a village mob and the local imam prevented a Christian family from burying their 14- year-old son in the local cemetery. The police did nothing to help them; instead they forced their way into the family’s house, stole the body and buried it carelessly in an abandoned place 25 miles away from the village. A spokeswoman for the Regional Administration commented: “As a Kyrgyz national I am against the Kyrgyz accepting other faiths. We need a stronger law putting a constraint on all kinds of religious sects. Only then would we not have such problems.”