Return of Tengriism?

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              HIGH-RANKING KYRGYZ OFFICIAL PROPOSES NEW NATIONAL IDEOLOGY               

By Erica Marat

Following the removal of Kyrgyzstan's long-time President Askar Akayev
on March 24, 2005, the new government led by Kurmanbek Bakiyev
terminated some of Akayev's efforts to build an official state
ideology. But aside from anti-corruption slogans aimed at remnants of
Akayev's regime, the Bakiyev government has not generated any new
political concepts. A number of Kyrgyz politicians are actively pushing
Tengrism, an ancient Turkic religion dating to the fourth century BC,
to fill the ideological void. Dastan Sarygulov, currently secretary of
state and formerly chair of the Kyrgyz state gold mining company, has
established "Tengir Ordo," a civic group that seeks to promote the
values and traditions of the Tengrian period in modern Kyrgyzstan. 

Independent Kyrgyzstan has not been able to promulgate a state
ideology, although the Akayev regime made many failed attempts.
Beginning in 1991 Akayev had to confront the twin pressures of growing
Kyrgyz nationalism and increasing nervousness among the ethnic Russian
population about their status in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan. The former
president tried a variety of national projects ranging from the
ethnic-centered "Manas-1000" in the mid-1990s, to more civic-based
ideas such as "Kyrgyzstan is Our Home" in the late 1990s. In 2002
Akayev's government celebrated the 2,200-year history of the Kyrgyz
nation. 

In the mid-1990s the Manas ideology, based on the world's longest epic
narrative, was placed at the center of efforts to advance a national
consciousness. Seven maxims mentioned in the epic and modified by a
government committee on cultural and educational affairs were included
into the official state ideology. A competing ideology, the
civic-oriented "Kyrgyzstan is Our Home" campaign, was primarily
directed at the Russian-speaking and ethnic Uzbek minorities. While the
civic formula gained popularity, attempts to incorporate all ethnic
groups into a common idea about the Kyrgyz state inevitably exacerbated
neo-nationalist political movements in the country. 

Given his high position in the government, and his credentials as a
member of the economic elite in Kyrgyzstan, Sarygulov potentially has
sufficient resources to propagate his views. Tengrism, according to
Sarygulov, is the genuine religion of the Kyrgyz and helped the people
to survive throughout the centuries. In his interpretation, Tengrism
promotes an anti-capitalist lifestyle and is a natural response to the
problems caused by globalization: "The time has come to get rid of
external influences � to lift barriers, the inferiority complex, and
centuries of humiliation" (Slovo Kyrgyzstana, July 22). 

Kyrgyzstan's communists have embraced Sarygulov's ideas. Anarbek
Usupbayev, secretary of the Kyrgyz Communist Party, sees resilient
similarities between values of Tengrism and communism, such as social
justice and equality (Bely parohod, May 31; Moya stolitsa novosti,
November 9). Usupbayev also tried to draw parallels between Tengrism
and the Manas epic, which he referrers to as the "Kyrgyz Bible."
Supporters of Tengrism do not deny that as a national doctrine, it will
represent mainly pan-Turkic and even pan-Kyrgyz views. 

Some Kyrgyz experts see Tengrism as an idea developed to resist Islamic
feelings among the Kyrgyz public (Obshchestvenny reiting, November 24).
Anara Abdynasyrova, a philosophy scholar, argues that Tengrism is
unable to coexist peacefully with Islam, the dominant religion in
Kyrgyzstan. Other scholars warn that a clash between Sarygulov's
doctrine and Islamic clergy in Kyrgyzstan is inevitable if Tengrism is
further popularized. Kyrgyz Prime Minister Felix Kulov commented,
"Today there are many different �prophets' who invent new religions.
For instance, Tengrism. Yes, it is interesting, but this is history and
has nothing in common with modern life" (Megapolis.kg, December 5). 

According to some observers, since Islam in Kyrgyzstan is generally
moderate and the percentage of Muslims is low compared with neighboring
Central Asian states, the principles of Tengrism might gain some
popularity. In the recent years the term has gradually entered everyday
use: it is discussed in the mass media and Internet forums. However,
given the number of failed attempts at formulating a state ideology,
the Kyrgyz public tends to be skeptical of any new ideology project. 

Similar efforts to revive Tengrism ideals are evident in Kazakhstan and
some parts of Russia. In February 2005 the French Institute for Central
Asian Studies sponsored a regional colloquium in Almaty on the topic,
"Tengrism as a New Factor in the Construction of Identity"
(Centrasia.ru, February 26). 

Although Sarygulov has few supporters of his national doctrine
proposal, today he is the only self-declared ideologist in Kyrgyzstan.
Akayev tended to maneuver between various projects on Kyrgyz state
ideology, but most of his initiatives were short-lived. The lessons
learned from Akayev's search for a unifying state ideology demonstrate
that with large Russian and Uzbek minorities living on the territory of
Kyrgyzstan and hundreds of thousands of Kyrgyz labor migrants residing
in Russia and Kazakhstan, pursuing any policy that discriminates
against ethnic minorities is risky for the Kyrgyz government.

SOURCE:  http://www.jamestown.org/publications_details.php?volume_id= 407&issue_id=3548&article_id=2370554 

An interesting article, but we've heard no more since the fall of
Akayev.  Kyrgyzstan has the advantage of having a weak social
attachment to Islam and Turkey has the advantage of being an
ever-increasing pluralistic society - who knows, maybe It'll take of
one day.

Any views?