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thumb|right|230px| Central Mosque in Kone-Gummez village, [[Nohur area.]]
According to a 2020 report, 95.8% of Turkmenistan's population is Muslim. Traditionally, the Turkmen of Turkmenistan, like their kin in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan are Sunni Muslims. Shia Muslims, the other main branch of Islam, are not numerous in Turkmenistan, and the Shia religious practices of the Azerbaijani and Kurdish minorities are not politicized. The great majority of Turkmen readily identify themselves as Muslims and acknowledge Islam as an integral part of their cultural heritage, but some support a revival of the religion's status primarily as an element of national revival.
History and structure
thumb|230 px|Caliph Umar's empire at its peak in 644
Islam was introduced to Turkmenistan during the period of Islamic conquest by the second and third Rashidun Caliphs, Umar and Uthman.
Integrated within the Turkmen tribal structure is the "holy" tribe called övlat. Ethnographers consider the övlat, of which six are active, as a revitalized form of the ancestor cult injected with Sufism. According to their genealogies, each tribe descends from Muhammad through one of the Four Caliphs. Because of their belief in the sacred origin and spiritual powers of the övlat representatives, Turkmen accord these tribes a special, holy status. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the övlat tribes became dispersed in small, compact groups in Turkmenistan. They attended and conferred blessings on all important communal and life-cycle events, and also acted as mediators between clans and tribes. The institution of the övlat retains some authority today. Many of the Turkmen who are revered for their spiritual powers trace their lineage to an övlat, and it is not uncommon, especially in rural areas, for such individuals to be present at life-cycle and other communal celebrations. Since 1990, efforts have been made to regain some of the cultural heritage lost under Soviet rule. Former president Saparmurat Niyazov, who ruled Turkmenistan from 1991 until his death in 2006, issued orders that basic Islamic principles be taught in public schools. More religious institutions, including religious schools and mosques, have appeared including those built with the support of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Turkey. Religious classes are held in both schools and mosques, with instruction in Arabic, the Qur'an and the hadith, and history of Islam.