Сommunity Intolerance, State Repression and Forced Displacement in the Kyrgyz Republic

Abstract

This study aims to understand how repressive state policy and community intolerance towards religious minority groups results in their migration from their home villages and towns to larger cities within the country and abroad. More specifically, this chapter studies the repression and migration experiences of ethnic Kyrgyz who converted to Christianity. The research is based on the analysis of news archives and interviews with 23 representatives of religious minority groups and with ten representatives of local Muslim communities conducted between February and May 2020.