An introduction to the religion of Uyghurs. Prior to Islam, like most of the Turkic peoples in Central Asia, the Uighurs believed in religions like Shamanism, Buddhism and Manicheism. Buddhism entered Eastern Turkestan at the beginning of our era(44).. It quickly spread among the Turkic peoples of Central Asia, but it was the uygurs who founded Buddhism in Central Asia. The ruins of the famous monasteries known as the Ming Oy or the Thousand Buddhas built by the Uighurs can still be seen in the cities of Kucha, Turfan and Tunhuang, where the Kan-Chao Uighurs lived. The Uighur Kin Kul Bilge Khan (685-712) ordered a Buddhist monastery to be built in the city of Bay in Eastern Turkestan(45). In the city of Kucha, there were more than 50 Buddhist temples, libraries and welfare programs for the support of the poor(46). In the city of Hoten there were 14 large monasteries without counting the smaller ones(47) When Uighur king Bugu Khan travelled to China in 762, he met some Manichean priests. They succeeded in converting him to their religion and four of these priests returned with him to Karabalgasun. Shortly after, Bugu Khan imposed Manicheism as the state religion(48). This was a political step rather than a religious one. He hoped, by adopting this characteristically Sogdan religion, to direct the future of his people away from the cultural influence of the Chinese who were also Buddhists(49) The Uighurs embraced Islam in 934, during the reign of Satuk Bughra Khan. He was the first Turkic ruler who embraced Islam in Central Asia. At this time instead of temples, mosques were built. Almost 300 mosques were built only in the city of Kashgar. Among them, most famous are Ihe Azna Mosque, built in 12th century, Idgah Mosque built in 15th century and Appak Khoja Mosque, built in the 18th century. The Idgah mosque can accomodate 5000 Muslims. In the city of Kashgar alone their were 6 big Madrasahs. The Mesudi Library, built in the 15th century, had a collection of almost 200,000 books(51). Hundreds of MusIim students from various parts of the Islamic World came to Kashgar to study.
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