Editing Samarkand (section)

==Religion==
===Islam===
[[Islam]] entered Samarkand in the 8th century, during the [[Muslim conquest of Transoxiana|invasion of the Arabs in Central Asia]] ([[Umayyad Caliphate]]). Before that, almost all inhabitants of Samarkand were [[Zoroastrians]], and many [[Nestorians]] and [[Buddhists]] also lived in the city. From that point forward, throughout the reigns of many Muslim governing powers, numerous [[mosque]]s, [[madrasa]]hs, [[minaret]]s, [[shrine]]s, and [[mausoleums]] were built in the city. Many have been preserved. For example, there is [[:ru:Мемориальный комплекс имама Аль-Бухари|the Shrine]] of [[Muhammad al-Bukhari|Imam Bukhari]], an [[Ulama|Islamic scholar]] who authored the [[History of hadith|hadith collection]] known as ''[[Sahih al-Bukhari]]'', which [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslims]] regard as one of the most authentic (''[[Saheeh|sahih]]'') [[hadith]] collections. His other books included ''[[Al-Adab al-Mufrad]]''. Samarkand is also home to [[:ru:Мавзолей Абу Мансура Матуриди|the Shrine]] of [[Abu Mansur al-Maturidi|Imam Maturidi]], the founder of [[Maturidi]]sm and the [[:ru:Мавзолей Ходжа Дониёр|Mausoleum of the Prophet Daniel]], who is revered in [[Islam]], [[Judaism]], and [[Christianity]].

Most inhabitants of Samarkand are Muslim, primarily [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] (mostly [[Hanafi]]) and [[Sufism|Sufi]]. Approximately 80–85% of Muslims in the city are Sunni, comprising almost all [[Tajiks]], [[Uzbeks]], and Samarkandian Arabs living therein. Samarkand's best-known Islamic sacred lineages are the descendants of Sufi leaders such as Khodja Akhror Wali (1404–1490) and Makhdumi A’zam (1461–1542), the descendants of Sayyid Ata (first half of 14th c.) and Mirakoni Khojas (Sayyids from Mirakon, a village in Iran).<ref>Malikov Azim, Sacred lineages of Samarqand: history and identity in Anthropology of the Middle East, Volume 15, Issue 1, Summer 2020, р.36</ref> The liberal policy of President [[Shavkat Mirziyoyev]] opened up new opportunities for the expression of the religious identity. In Samarkand, since 2018, there has been an increase in the number of women wearing the hijab.<ref>https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ijma/article/view/218533 Malikov A. and Djuraeva D. 2021. Women, Islam, and politics in Samarkand (1991–2021), International Journal of Modern Anthropology. 2 (16): 561</ref>
<gallery mode="packed">
File:AlBukhari mausoleum.jpg|[[:ru:Мемориальный комплекс имама Аль-Бухари|Imam Bukhari Shrine]]
File:Imammaturidi.jpg|[[:ru:Мавзолей Абу Мансура Матуриди|Imam Maturidi Shrine]]
File:Ruhabad.JPG|[[:ru:Мавзолей Рухабад|Ruhabad Mausoleum]]
File:Nuriddin Basir Mausoleum 1.jpg|[[:ru:Мавзолей Нуриддина Басира|Nuriddin Basir Shrine]]
File:Mausoleum Khoja Daniyar 5221.JPG|[[:ru:Мавзолей Ходжа Дониёр|Khoja Daniyar Mausoleum]]
</gallery>

====Shia Muslims====
The [[Samarqand Region|Samarqand Vilayat]] is one of the two regions of Uzbekistan (along with [[Buxoro Region|Bukhara Vilayat]]) that are home to a large number of Shiites. The total population of the Samarkand Vilayat is more than 3,720,000 people (2019).

There are no exact data on the number of Shiites in the city of Samarkand, but the city has several Shiite mosques and madrasas. The largest of these are the Punjabi Mosque, the Punjabi Madrassah, and the Mausoleum of Mourad Avliya. Every year, the Shiites of Samarkand celebrate [[Ashura]], as well as other memorable Shiite dates and holidays.

Shiites in Samarkand are mostly [[:ru:Среднеазиатские иранцы|Samarkandian Iranians]], who call themselves ''Irani''. Their ancestors began to arrive in Samarkand in the 18th century. Some migrated there
in search of a better life, others were sold as [[slavery|slaves]] there by [[Turkmens|Turkmen]] captors, and others were soldiers who were posted to Samarkand. Mostly they came from [[Khorasan Province|Khorasan]], [[Mashhad]], [[Sabzevar]], [[Nishapur]], and [[Merv]]; and secondarily from [[Iranian Azerbaijan]], [[Zanjan, Iran|Zanjan]], [[Tabriz]], and [[Ardabil]]. Samarkandian Shiites also include [[Azerbaijanis]], as well as small numbers of Tajiks and Uzbeks.

While there are no official data on the total number of Shiites in Uzbekistan, they are estimated to be "several hundred thousand." According to [[United States diplomatic cables leak|leaked diplomatic cables]], in 2007–2008, the [[United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom|US Ambassador for International Religious Freedom]] held a series of meetings with Sunni [[mullah]]s and Shiite [[imam]]s in Uzbekistan. During one of the talks, the imam of the Shiite mosque in [[Bukhara]] said that about 300,000 Shiites live in the Bukhara Vilayat and 1&nbsp;million in the Samarkand Vilayat. The Ambassador slightly doubted the authenticity of these figures, emphasizing in his report that data on the numbers of religious and ethnic minorities provided by the government of Uzbekistan were considered a very "delicate topic" due to their potential to provoke interethnic and interreligious conflicts. All the ambassadors of the ambassador tried to emphasize that traditional Islam, especially [[Sufism]] and [[Sunnism]], in the regions of Bukhara and Samarkand is characterized by great religious tolerance toward other religions and sects, including Shiism.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.islamsng.com/uzb/pastfuture/5570 |title=Шииты в Узбекистане |work=www.islamsng.com |access-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003214455/http://www.islamsng.com/uzb/pastfuture/5570 |archive-date=October 3, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dn.kz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1545:2013-11-29-08-08-10&catid=2:2011-10-23-11-43-45&Itemid=17 |title=Ташкент озабочен делами шиитов |work=www.dn.kz |access-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403133434/http://www.dn.kz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1545:2013-11-29-08-08-10&catid=2:2011-10-23-11-43-45&Itemid=17 |archive-date=2019-04-03 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://catoday.org/centrasia/uzbekistan-irancy-shiity-stalkivayutsya-c-problemami-s-pravoohranitelnymi-organami-iran |title=Узбекистан: Иранцы-шииты сталкиваются c проблемами с правоохранительными органами |work=catoday.org |access-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905092804/http://catoday.org/centrasia/uzbekistan-irancy-shiity-stalkivayutsya-c-problemami-s-pravoohranitelnymi-organami-iran |archive-date=September 5, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Panjab Shia Mosque in Samarkand.jpg|[[:ru:Панджоб (мечеть)|Panjab Shia Mosque]]
File:Panjab Madrasa in Samarkand.jpg|[[:ru:Медресе Панджоб|Panjab Shia Madrasa]]
File:Murad Avliya Mausoleum and Courtyard.jpg|[[:ru:Мавзолей Мурад Авлия|Murad Avliya Shrine]]
</gallery>

===Christianity===
{{More citations needed section|date=March 2024}}[[File:Church of the East provinces 10 c.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.5|Provinces of the [[Church of the East]] in 10th century]]
[[Christianity]] was introduced to Samarkand when it was part of Sogdiana, long before the penetration of [[Islam]] into Central Asia. The city then became one of the centers of [[Nestorianism]] in [[Central Asia]].<ref>Dickens, Mark "Nestorian Christianity in Central Asia. p.&nbsp;17</ref> The majority of the population were then [[Zoroastrians]], but since Samarkand was the crossroads of trade routes among [[East Asia|China]], [[Greater Iran|Persia]], and [[Europe]], it was religiously tolerant. Under the [[Umayyad Caliphate]], Zoroastrians and Nestorians were persecuted by the [[Arabs|Arab]] conquerors;{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} the survivors fled to other places or converted to Islam. Several Nestorian temples were built in Samarkand, but they have not survived. Their remains were found by archeologists at the ancient site of [[Afrasiyab (Samarkand)|Afrasiyab]] and on the outskirts of Samarkand.

In the three decades of 1329–1359, the [[:ru:Самаркандская епархия (титулярная)|Samarkand eparchy]] of the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]] served several thousand Catholics who lived in the city. According to [[Marco Polo]] and Johann Elemosina, a descendant of [[Chagatai Khan|Chaghatai Khan]], the founder of the [[Chagatai Khanate|Chaghatai dynasty]], [[Eljigidey]], converted to Christianity and was baptized. With the assistance of Eljigidey, the Catholic Church of [[St. John the Baptist]] was built in Samarkand. After a while, however, Islam completely supplanted Catholicism.

Christianity reappeared in Samarkand several centuries later, from the mid-19th century onward, after the city was seized by the [[Russian Empire]]. [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodoxy]] was introduced to Samarkand in 1868, and several churches and temples were built. In the early 20th century several more Orthodox cathedrals, churches, and temples were built, most of which were demolished while Samarkand was part of the [[USSR]].

In present time, Christianity is the second-largest religious group in Samarkand with the predominant form is the [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)]]. More than 5% of Samarkand residents are Orthodox, mostly [[Russians]], [[Ukrainians]], and [[Belarusians]], and also some [[Koryo-saram|Koreans]] and [[Greeks]]. Samarkand is the center of the Samarkand branch (which includes the [[Samarqand Region|Samarkand]], [[Qashqadaryo Region|Qashqadarya]], and [[Surxondaryo Region|Surkhandarya]] provinces of Uzbekistan) of the [[:ru:Ташкентская и Узбекистанская епархия|Uzbekistan and Tashkent eparchy]] of the [[:ru:Среднеазиатский митрополичий округ|Central Asian Metropolitan District]] of the [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate]]. The city has several active Orthodox churches: [[:ru:Собор Святителя Алексия Московского (Самарканд)|Cathedral of St. Alexiy Moscowskiy]], [[:ru:Храм Покрова Пресвятой Богородицы (Самарканд)|Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin]], and [[:ru:Храм Святого Георгия Победоносца (Самарканд, действующий)|Church of St. George the Victorious]]. There are also a number of inactive Orthodox churches and temples, for example that of [[:ru:Храм Святого Георгия Победоносца (Самарканд, недействующий)|Church of St. George Pobedonosets]].<ref>В. А. Нильсен. У истоков современного градостроительства Узбекистана (ΧΙΧ — начало ΧΧ веков). —Ташкент: Издательство литературы и искусства имени Гафура Гуляма, 1988. 208 с.</ref><ref>''Голенберг В. А.'' «Старинные храмы туркестанского края». Ташкент 2011 год</ref>

There are also a few tens of thousands of [[Catholic Church|Catholics]] in Samarkand, mostly [[Polish people|Poles]], [[Germans]], and some [[Ukrainians]]. In the center of Samarkand is [[St. John the Baptist Church, Samarkand|St. John the Baptist Catholic Church]], which was built at the beginning of the 20th century. Samarkand is part of the [[Apostolic Administration of Uzbekistan]].<ref>Католичество в Узбекистане. Ташкент, 1990.</ref>

The third largest Christian sect in Samarkand is the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]], followed by a few tens of thousands of Armenian Samarkandians. Armenian Christians began emigrating to Samarkand at the end of the 19th century, this flow increasing especially in the Soviet era.<ref>Armenians. Ethnic atlas of Uzbekistan, 2000.</ref> In the west of Samarkand is the [[:ru:Церковь Святой Богородицы (Самарканд)|Armenian Church Surb Astvatsatsin]].<ref>Назарьян Р.Г. Армяне Самарканда. Москва. 2007</ref>
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Orthodox church in Samarkand 11-09.JPG|[[:ru:Собор Святителя Алексия Московского (Самарканд)|Orthodox Cathedral of St. Alexiy Moscowskiy]]
File:Church Cover Blessed Virgin in Samarkand 12-55.JPG|[[:ru:Храм Покрова Пресвятой Богородицы (Самарканд)|Orthodox Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin]]
File:Church of St. George Victorious Samarkand 08-19.JPG|[[:ru:Храм Святого Георгия Победоносца (Самарканд, действующий)|Orthodox Church of St. George the Victorious]]
File:Church of St. George Victorious in Samarkand 08-18.JPG|[[:ru:Храм Святого Георгия Победоносца (Самарканд, недействующий)|Orthodox Church of St. George Pobedonosets]]
File:Church Saint John Baptist in Samarkand 23-38.JPG|[[St. John the Baptist Church, Samarkand|St. John the Baptist Catholic Church]]
File:St. Mary Church in Samarkand 10-54.JPG|[[:ru:Церковь Святой Богородицы (Самарканд)|Armenian Church Surb Astvatsatsin]]
</gallery>

Samarkand also has several thousand [[Protestantism|Protestants]], including [[Lutheranism|Lutherans]], [[Baptists]], [[Mormons]], [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], [[Adventism|Adventists]], and members of the [[Korean Presbyterian church]]. These Christian movements appeared in Samarkand mainly after the independence of [[Uzbekistan]] in 1991.<ref>Бабина Ю. Ё. Новые христианские течения и страны мира. Фолкв, 1995.</ref>