Uzbekistan gained the status of an independent country after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Since 1923 it had been a part of the Soviet Union and named the Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan. Until the Bolshevik Red Army gained control of the land in 1923, its territory was part of an area called Turkestan, which encompassed most of the territory now known as Central Asia. Most Uzbeks are Muslims who have very little knowledge of Christianity. Most are Sunni Muslims, with small Shi’ite groups concentrated in Samarkand and Bukhara. Some 85% of the population are Uzbeks, while the rest are Russians, Tajiks, Kazakhs and other smaller ethnic groups. Uzbekistan is a democratic republic per its constitution but it has retained the Soviet style of governing. The first President had been the General Secretary of the Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan and assumed the role of the President after the country's independence. After several elections and a referendum his office declared that ‘his people’ wanted him to stay in power until his death, which is exactly what happened: Islam Karimov was President of Uzbekistan until his death in September 2016. The constitution of Uzbekistan declares freedom of conscience – that is, freedom to practise any religion a citizen might choose – but both government and society are quite intolerant of any Uzbek who might decide to follow Christ instead of practising Islam, which has been the dominant religion of the Uzbek people for centuries. The government fears uprisings and revolution that fanaticism might bring; society fears it will be torn apart by dissidents. Persecution is not limited to followers of Christ. Any person who is seen to be too religious – whether Muslim, Christian, Buddhist or any other religion – is watched carefully, interrogated intensely and jailed if the government decides that is what is required to subdue the person's zeal for faith. The authoritarian government is able to continue its corrupt practices thanks to the many neighbourhood committees that are in place to keep order and that are active in their endeavour to keep the peace within the country.

Although Christianity is not new to the land of Uzbekistan, many Uzbek people believe that their ancestors have been Muslim forever.