RELIGIOUS CULTURE OF UYGHUR TURKS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION
UYGUR TÜRKLERİNİN DİNÎ KÜLTÜRÜ VE İSLÂM MEDENİYETİ’NE KATKILARI

Author : Nur Ahmet KURBAN
Number of pages : 267-281

Abstract

It is accepted that the Uighurs, who showed up in the strong Turkic states such as the Hun Empire (220 B.C. - 2016 A.D.) and Gokturk Empire (551-745), were the earliest Turkish folk entering settled life. Later on, the Orhun Uygur State (745-840) and Idikut Uygur State (866-1369), have made their names well-known in history. Similarly, some Uyghur tribes scattered with great emigration played an important role in the establishment of the Karahanli State. Later, with the descent of Genghis Khan into the Asian steppes, the Uighur State and Karahanlı State dominating the south-eastern provinces of East Turkistan came to an end. The Uyghurs who lived independently for a long time encountered Manchu invasion in 1750. This invasion, which lasted until 1862, was repulsed by the establishment of the Yakub Beg regime in 1863. However, upon the death of Yakub Beg in 1877, Manchu attacked East Turkestan again and invaded the entire region on 18 May 1878. This invasion was sustained by the Nationalist China (1911), then the Communist China (1949) until the day. The Uighurs have adopted various religious beliefs during the above-mentioned periods. The Shamanism belief that evolved on the basis of Animism and Totemism has become their oldest religion. Belief systems such as Buddhism, Manicheism and Christianity have left important traces in the religious life of the Uighurs. After the Uighur Turks accepted Islam, radical changes took place in their history. The religion of Islam has taken its place in their culture as the last and longest religion. While they were still in pre-Islamic times, they had recorded significant distances in writing languages, architecture and crafts, music and other diverse arts. The Uighurs, after accepting the religion of Islam, preserved the elements of the civilization of the pre-Islamic period which this new religion approves, as well as adopted the Islamic civilization, and developed them. Just as they produced great works in the atmosphere of the previous religious beliefs, they have made important contributions to the Islamic civilization treasure with the same determination after accepting Islam. In this study, we will try to focus on the developments in this regard.

Keywords

Islamic Civilizition, Culture of Uygur, Riligin, Cihna

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