Sheikh Bukhari | The Uzbeki Community in Jerusalem

<BODY> <H2><A HREF="art-uzbek.html">The Uzbekis of Jerusalem</A></H2> <P>In one of the many corners of the Old City lives the Bukhari family. Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bukhari is the head of the Uzbeki Holy Land community, as were his father and his grandfather in years gone by. There are five Uzbeki families in the Old City and around 300 Uzbekis in all of the country.</P> <P>The community in Jerusalem is very united - they meet every Thursday to talk, to solve their problems, to prepare something to eat for poor people, and to pray in their little, gracious mosque. They try to keep alive the memories and spiritual heritage of their country which is located in the Asian portion of territory that once made up the former Soviet Union.</P> <P>The first Uzbekis came to Jerusalem three hundred years ago, and soon thereafter a member of the mystical Sufi community, an Uzbeki man by the name of Othman, bought a property in the Old City. Since that time it has belonged to the Uzbeki Family. During the Communist era in the Soviet Union religious persecution was particularly acute and many people decided to escape abroad. A lot of them came to Jerusalem. The city was an important site for Muslim pilgrims and was also a place were they could feel free to express their religiosity.</P>  <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript1.2"> </script><script type="text/javascript"> </script><noscript><img height="1" width="1" alt="" src="http://nht-2.extreme-dm.com/n2.g?login=jpeace&pid=bkuzbek&j=n&jv=n"/> </noscript>  </BODY>