How why and when did the Turkic peoples become Muslims?

[Illyrius]

I've always wondered this.
When did they accept Islam and what was their motive?
Were they desperate because their old tengrist god's didn't answer their prayers? Were they conquered and was Islam forcefully imposed on them or did they accept it willingly.

Also why did the Mongols and Siberian turks remain tengrist?

[Dr_Maul]

Mostly converted by Sogdian types in Uzbekistan/Turkmenistan somewhere around the 8-9th century. Most Siberian turks at the time would still be Tengri.

[Kaspias]

Soon after Islam rose, Muslims clipped the wings of the Eastern Roman Empire by conquering Syria and Egypt in 641. Toppling the Sassanid Empire and reaching the Amu Darya River the following year, Muslims made contact with Turkic peoples for the first time. However, the Turkic people and the Muslims were nothing but neighbors until the eighth century because of the internal Islamic struggle resulting from the assassinations of Caliph Omar and his successor Uthman. Some of the first Turkic people to be converted were relocated to Iraq in 675 by the Umayyad commander Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad. During the reign of the Umayyads, Hajjaj ibn Yusuf was assigned as the governor of Iraq, involving all the eastern territories of the empire. Following his assignment, he assigned Qutaiba ibn Muslim, who was one of the most prominent commanders of the time, to Khorasan in 705, and they seized Mawara al-Nahr quickly. The Turkic people held back attacks from the Arab armies in 720, but the struggle between Arabs and the Turkic peoples led the latter to get to know Islam from close up. During the battle between Muslims and the Chinese in 751, by the Talas River in present-day Kyrgyzstan, the Turkic forces sided with the Muslims and fought alongside them. It was a milestone in Turkic history. From that time on, Islam spread among Turkic people, and in time almost the entire Turkic region accepted Islam. All Turkic communities followed the way other tribes followed and joined Islam one by one with their own willing.

Why Turks accepted Islam?

1- Religious reason: Most Turkic people belonged to the Kök Tengri (Tengrism) religion. Their belief system and lifestyle were somewhat close to those in Islam. They used to believe in the existence of a single creator god, the existence of a Satan figure, the afterlife, the immortality of the soul and heaven and hell. Wrong doings such as adultery, theft, torture, killing and lying were also forbidden. Sacrificing animals, prostration and polygamy were common among the Turkic peoples as well. And lastly, the concept of jihad in Islam used to fit in a way with the warrior characteristics of the Turkic cultures.

2- Economic reason: After the conquest of Turkestan, economic relations began between the local people and Muslims. The intimate relations between them created an opportunity for Turkic people to get to know the religion. Hence, Islam first began to spread among merchants in the cities. Turkic people living in the north and the east started to adopt the religion of their fellow nation with whom they spoke the same language and conducted commerce.

3- Social reason: The Muslims' honesty in commerce and the importance they gave to justice and ethics positively affected the people Muslims met through their commercial and neighborhood ties. The locals of neighboring areas understood that the social ethics of the Muslim tradesmen who came to do business with them was a result of their religion. For example, their style of measuring fabric -measuring loose when selling, but tight when buying - mesmerized the locals. They started to question whether Muslims were humans or angels.

4- Political and military reason: Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs based their militaries on the Turkic style, and recruited Turkic men and established garrison cities such as Samarra for these Turkic troops. With their superior ability to fight, the Turkic people were promoted to high ranks in the army. They were also assigned to positions concerning state governance. Hence, the army and the administrative services were conducted mostly by these Turkic people, which resulted in Turkic communities feeling closer to Islam. British historian Sir Thomas Arnold, in his book "The Preaching of Islam: A History of the Propagation of the Muslim Faith", gives a detailed explanation of why people from different cultures and ethnicities willingly accepted Islam.


Many Turkic communities converted to Islam not under force of arms, but with their own consent. The Quran forbids forcing people to convert to Islam with the sword. At the beginning of the eighth century, Turkic lands were being conquered by the Muslims. However, for some of the Turkic peoples, conversion to Islam came two centuries later in the 10th century. Within this time, there were some who converted to Islam, but it was not widespread, which shows that some of them adopted Islam peacefully. According to sharia law, non-Muslims must pay much more in taxes than Muslims. It was more advantageous for the state for Turkic people to remain non-Muslims. It would not have made sense for Muslim leaders to force the Turkic people to convert to Islam.

[Karadon]

Soon after Islam rose, Muslims clipped the wings of the Eastern Roman Empire by conquering Syria and Egypt in 641. Toppling the Sassanid Empire and reaching the Amu Darya River the following year, Muslims made contact with Turkic peoples for the first time. However, the Turkic people and the Muslims were nothing but neighbors until the eighth century because of the internal Islamic struggle resulting from the assassinations of Caliph Omar and his successor Uthman. Some of the first Turkic people to be converted were relocated to Iraq in 675 by the Umayyad commander Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad. During the reign of the Umayyads, Hajjaj ibn Yusuf was assigned as the governor of Iraq, involving all the eastern territories of the empire. Following his assignment, he assigned Qutaiba ibn Muslim, who was one of the most prominent commanders of the time, to Khorasan in 705, and they seized Mawara al-Nahr quickly. The Turkic people held back attacks from the Arab armies in 720, but the struggle between Arabs and the Turkic peoples led the latter to get to know Islam from close up. During the battle between Muslims and the Chinese in 751, by the Talas River in present-day Kyrgyzstan, the Turkic forces sided with the Muslims and fought alongside them. It was a milestone in Turkic history. From that time on, Islam spread among Turkic people, and in time almost the entire Turkic region accepted Islam. All Turkic communities followed the way other tribes followed and joined Islam one by one with their own willing.

Why Turks accepted Islam?

1- Religious reason: Most Turkic people belonged to the Kök Tengri (Tengrism) religion. Their belief system and lifestyle were somewhat close to those in Islam. They used to believe in the existence of a single creator god, the existence of a Satan figure, the afterlife, the immortality of the soul and heaven and hell. Wrong doings such as adultery, theft, torture, killing and lying were also forbidden. Sacrificing animals, prostration and polygamy were common among the Turkic peoples as well. And lastly, the concept of jihad in Islam used to fit in a way with the warrior characteristics of the Turkic cultures.

2- Economic reason: After the conquest of Turkestan, economic relations began between the local people and Muslims. The intimate relations between them created an opportunity for Turkic people to get to know the religion. Hence, Islam first began to spread among merchants in the cities. Turkic people living in the north and the east started to adopt the religion of their fellow nation with whom they spoke the same language and conducted commerce.

3- Social reason: The Muslims' honesty in commerce and the importance they gave to justice and ethics positively affected the people Muslims met through their commercial and neighborhood ties. The locals of neighboring areas understood that the social ethics of the Muslim tradesmen who came to do business with them was a result of their religion. For example, their style of measuring fabric -measuring loose when selling, but tight when buying - mesmerized the locals. They started to question whether Muslims were humans or angels.

4- Political and military reason: Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs based their militaries on the Turkic style, and recruited Turkic men and established garrison cities such as Samarra for these Turkic troops. With their superior ability to fight, the Turkic people were promoted to high ranks in the army. They were also assigned to positions concerning state governance. Hence, the army and the administrative services were conducted mostly by these Turkic people, which resulted in Turkic communities feeling closer to Islam. British historian Sir Thomas Arnold, in his book "The Preaching of Islam: A History of the Propagation of the Muslim Faith", gives a detailed explanation of why people from different cultures and ethnicities willingly accepted Islam.


Many Turkic communities converted to Islam not under force of arms, but with their own consent. The Quran forbids forcing people to convert to Islam with the sword. At the beginning of the eighth century, Turkic lands were being conquered by the Muslims. However, for some of the Turkic peoples, conversion to Islam came two centuries later in the 10th century. Within this time, there were some who converted to Islam, but it was not widespread, which shows that some of them adopted Islam peacefully. According to sharia law, non-Muslims must pay much more in taxes than Muslims. It was more advantageous for the state for Turkic people to remain non-Muslims. It would not have made sense for Muslim leaders to force the Turkic people to convert to Islam.

Abicim bazı küçük hatalar dışında "Religious reason" kısmı çok yanlış olmuş ve yazını daha kısa tutup sadece siyasi çıkarlar yazman daha mantıklı olurdu

[Ryujin]

Basically during the invasion of Central Asia by an Arab commander called Qutayba ibn Muslim. Many Tengriist Turkic peoples resisted at first and fought Arab Muslims, but eventually Qutayba's forces prevailed and as they began to massacre Turkic women and children indiscriminately; the Turkic rulers were forced to accept Islam in order to save their people. In Turkic traditions; a leader is believed to be the shadow of God/Tengri so what the leader believes; his people follow.

The turning point was Curcan and Talkan, where Abbasid forces unfortunately defeated the Turkic peoples and killed many of them.

An Arab poet called Kaah al-Askari were proudly glorifying this with those words:

" Remember the nights when you killed those Turks who embraced each other in fear in Kazah and Facfac.

You have slayed everyone. The only ones left are little children who can not even ride horses. And those who somehow rode them were like burden on top of those wild horses. "

Details here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim...of_Transoxiana

I know that there are Muslim Turks today here and in real life, and I respect their faith as long as they are loyal to secular values brought by Atatürk, however these are the historical facts. Turks DID NOT accept Islam willingly.

Also; this is the same for the christianization of Europe as well. None of the Abrahamic religions spread peacefully. European Pagans were also subject to persecution.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persec...e_Roman_Empire

[Bender1999]

Basicaly during the invasion of Central Asia by an Arab commander called Qutayba ibn Muslim. Many Tengriist Turkic peoples resisted at first and fought Arab Muslims, but eventually Qutayba's forces prevailed and as they began to massacre Turkic women and children indiscriminately; the Turkic rulers were forced to accept Islam in order to save their people. In Turkic traditions; a leader is believed to be the shadow of God/Tengri so what the leader believes; his people follow.

The turning point was Curcan and Talkan, where Abbasid forces unfortunately defeated the Turkic peoples and killed many of them.

An Arab poet called Kaah al-Askari were proudly glorifying this with those words:

" Remember the nights when you killed those Turks who embraced each other in fear in Kazah and Facfac.

You have slayed everyone. The only ones left are little children who can not even ride horses. And those who somehow rode them were like burden on top of those wild horses. "

Details here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim...of_Transoxiana

I know that there are Muslim Turks today here and in real life, and I respect their faith as long as they are loyal to secular values brought by Atatürk, however these are the historical facts. Turks DID NOT accept Islam willingly.

Also; this is the same for the christianization of Europe as well. None of the Abrahamic religions spread peacefully. European Pagans were also subject to persecution.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persec...e_Roman_Empire

Thats not really the hole story how Turkics became Muslims and not everything is true.
Yes not every Turkic willingly accepted Islam, but on the other hand some did. This was a process which continued for centuries, also it had many factors which influenced it. Many Anatolian Turks kept their preislamic traditions until modern times, ironically many of them lost since the last century. I don’t know how many times i will repeat it, nearly every historian say that too, but Arabs didn’t make us Muslims, Persians did. And many Turkics in central asia were until 19th century non muslims, other Turkics brought them Islam.
Nevertheless i agree, strictly speaking every Abrahamic religion is foreign outside of Near east. But Islam is now for nearly 1000 years an important part for many Turkics. Most Turkic civilizations were Islamic and they changed the world history and influenced hole Eurasia(+North Africa).

[Ryujin]

Thats not really the hole story how Turkics became Muslims and not everything is true.
Yes not every Turkic willingly accepted Islam, but on the other hand some did. This was a process which continued for centuries, also it had many factors which influenced it. Many Anatolian Turks kept their preislamic traditions until modern times, ironically many of them lost since the last century. I don’t know how many times i will repeat it, nearly every historian say that too, but Arabs didn’t make us Muslims, Persians did. And many Turkics in central asia were until 19th century non muslims, other Turkics brought them Islam.
Nevertheless i agree, strictly speaking every Abrahamic religion is foreign outside of Near east. But Islam is now for nearly 1000 years an important part for many Turkics. Most Turkic civilizations were Islamic and they changed the world history and influenced hole Eurasia(+North Africa).

I agree that Turks have preserved some of their pre-Islamic traditions. Not all Islamic practises were incorporated into our culture. For example; polygamy was never a common practise amongst Turks even in the Ottoman Empire.

[Bender1999]

I agree that Turks have preserved some of their pre-Islamic traditions. Not all Islamic practises were incorporated into our culture. For example; polygamy was never a common practise amongst Turks even in the Ottoman Empire.

I met many other Turkics, and they often dealed with issues which i never thought they have this kind of problems. It is an illusion that our problems are just caused by an specific influence, although i would wish new cultural reforms. Turks should stop lying themselves, they are responsible for their some backwarded habits.

[Demhat]

I've always wondered this.
When did they accept Islam and what was their motive?
Were they desperate because their old tengrist god's didn't answer their prayers? Were they conquered and was Islam forcefully imposed on them or did they accept it willingly.

Also why did the Mongols and Siberian turks remain tengrist?

As far as I know they were ultimately beaten by the Muslim Hordes in Central Asia and converted mostly forcefully (With forcefully I mean joining the winners).

[Edgü]

As far as I know they were ultimately beaten by the Muslim Hordes in Central Asia and converted mostly forcefully (With forcefully I mean joining the winners).

Thats not true Turks learned Islam from Iranian people not from Arabs