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Kyrgyzstan is a small, mountainous country in southeastern Central Asia. It is bordered to the northwest and north by Kazakhstan, to the southeast and south by China, and to the south and west by Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The country has served as a crossroads for several religions: Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Manichaeism, Christianity, and Islam. In ancient and medieval times adherents of these religions and other groups built their cities and settlements along the ancient trade route of the Silk Road. Muslims are by far the largest religious group in the Kyrgyz Republic....
