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Belief.cabar.asia presents #BeliefTalks – a series of speeches of representatives of various confessions of Kyrgyzstan, which was held as part of the interfaith festival “Listen to who is nearby”. The event was dedicated to the development of interfaith harmony and tolerance between representatives of various religious organizations of Kyrgyzstan. (more…)

Belief.cabar.asia presents #BeliefTalks – a series of speeches of representatives of various confessions of Kyrgyzstan, which was held as part of the interfaith festival “Listen to who is nearby”. The event was dedicated to the development of interfaith harmony and tolerance between representatives of various religious organizations of Kyrgyzstan. (more…)

Belief.cabar.asia presents #BeliefTalks – a series of speeches of representatives of various faiths of Kyrgyzstan, which was held as part of the interfaith festival “Listen to the one who is close”. The event was dedicated to the development of interfaith harmony and tolerance between representatives of various religious organizations of Kyrgyzstan.
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“My grandmother was born in a hungry 1933. And hunger remained the main theme of her memories…”- columnist CABAR.asia Ak-Maral Azimova tells the story of the women of her family, who created and create their picture of being, organically fitting into it the religion and conscious attitude to their personality. (more…)

“Recently, I have read that information about ancestors provides a powerful energy platform. I read and understood how little I know about my own ancestors. As it turned out, it is not only me. The obligation to know the seven generations and to pass them from mouth to mouth, from father to son was impossible in the historical conditions that our country experienced”, – columnist CABAR.asia Ak-Maral Azimova tells the story of the women of her family, who created and create their picture of being, organically fitting into it the religion and conscious attitude to their personality

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A journalist based in Tashkent, Louiza Atabayeva, was wearing a headscarf for a week and told what it was like to hold business meetings, travel by underground, meet boyfriend’s friends and hear personal insults when you wear a headscarf.
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I was 19 the first time marriage was mentioned. My mother told me about a young man whose family had expressed an interest in me, and then she promptly left the house. The realisation that I was of marriageable age was clearly as difficult for her as it was surprising to me. I was a geeky young woman who had never even shaken hands with a man, let alone had a boyfriend. I’d attended an all-girls Catholic school before opting to study science at university. My life was Malcolm X and Maya Angelou, X-Men and Spider-Man; summers were spent at my nani’s house in Karachi, and winters trudging through Yorkshire snow. Bespectacled before it was cool, I was short-sighted in more ways than one, young enough to believe that good things happened to good people. (more…)

The first adherents of Bahá’í Faith appeared in Kyrgyzstan in the beginning of 90s. Today, 12 Bahá’í communities are registered in the country. One of the followers, Malika, told us about how people close to her react to her religious views in everyday life.

– I will begin by saying that since I was 8 years old, every day I intuitively prayed to God before sleeping. I thanked Him for the day and asked Him to bless my relatives with health and well-being.

When I was 10, I came across the religion of Islam for the first time. I set my heart upon studying in a religious school for girls. My mom did not allow me to do so back then. She said when I turn 18, I would be able to make rational and independent decisions on what to do. At the same time, my mom and my grandma were not against me studying and learning more about other religions.

Since the 6^th grade, I came to love history and realized there are many other worldviews. When I became 18, I entered the faculty of history, where I was engaged in a research of different religions for two years. This is how I understood that the ideas and principles of Bahá’í are the closest to me.

My grandma was the first who got to know about my adherence to Bahá’í among my relatives. She listened to me attentively and then wondered of what does this religion say about the trade, as she used to work in the marketplace for many years. I explained to her that by doing her work, she also serves the people around her. She became happy and supported my decision.

When I told my mom, she was somewhat worried, as it was the first time she heard about it. But when she received adequate amount of information, she told me she was not against and she respected my choice.

My university friends reacted differently. While most of them reacted positively, one of my coursemates told me I was wrong and I betrayed the faith [Islam]. He told me he prayed for me changing my mind every day. Meanwhile, I prayed for him accepting my decision.

Three of my close friends from my university class made jokes about me being a member of a sect. They also had many questions about my faith. Nevertheless, they did not change their attitude to me, and we are friends for more than 5 years now.

With what regards the professors, one of them always told me I could not study to become a historian, i.e. be religious and simultaneously study science.

Last year, me and my friend confessed to each other in that we consider each other to be more than just friends and decided to talk. I told him I was Bahá’í. He shared with me a story of his grandfather telling him to marry only a Muslim before dying. Then I turned it all into a joke and told him I was not going to marry him and that we could remain wonderful friends. I still have good relations with him.

Overall, many people react positively. Many note that I become better in my reasoning, personality and spirituality.

The story was produced under IWPR project “Stability in Central Asia via Open Dialogue”. If you want to become a participant of our blog, share with us on how your belief or worldview reveal in your everyday life.