Nurlan Baizhigitov

Nurlan Baizhigitov is a Kazakhstani imam and preacher, popularly known as the "TikTok Imam", and chief imam of Astana's Yryskeldi Kazhy Mosque since May 2023. ¹ He rose with remarkable speed over roughly two years to become one of his country's leading online preachers: a peer-reviewed study in Millah: Journal of Religious Studies counted 927 thousand followers on his Instagram account @nurlanimam.kz as of 31 January 2025. ² Kazinform had earlier, in February 2024, put him at 850,000 Instagram followers and nearly 581,000 TikTok followers, with more than 5 million likes on his videos; all are dated platform figures. ¹

Baizhigitov was born on 1 January 1979 in Merke district of Zhambyl region. He served as imam in the Zhambyl, Karaganda and Kostanay regions, was imam of the East Kazakhstan Regional Mosque in Ust-Kamenogorsk, and chief imam of the Nur Gassyr Mosque in Aktobe, before his appointment in May 2023 as chief imam of the Yryskeldi Kazhy Mosque in the capital, Astana. ¹

Baizhigitov began preaching relatively recently compared with his social-media peers, yet established himself within two years, according to the Millah study, which observed his preaching over that period. ² His method blends Islam with Kazakh customs, and he holds live sessions daily, answering listeners' questions with a touch of humour. ² He says his goal is to reach young minds by explaining the canons of Islam in modern and simple language, clear to young people and the older generation alike, and in his live broadcasts he answers pressing questions about generation gaps, human relations and universal and national values. ¹

This section presents positions reported in the sources; they are not the museum's verdict. His sermons consistently highlight the rights of women, especially brides, from the Sharia perspective, and the peer-reviewed study calls him a pioneer among his peers in championing women's rights in a country that had seen significant events concerning those rights, noting that this stance helped make his sermons popular with the general public. ²

Baizhigitov received an invitation from US President Joe Biden to the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington and attended the event, which gathered some 1,600 guests from 127 countries; during his American visit he preached at several mosques across the country — a level of international attention no Kazakh preacher had previously received, according to the study. ^{1 2} His audience is first of all the youth of Kazakhstan and neighbouring countries, and Kazinform credits his popularity to his modesty, erudition, humour and openness. ¹

• Kerim, Kurmanaliyev, Ongarov and Kaliyeva, "Digital Transformation of Islamic Preaching in Kazakhstan", Millah: Journal of Religious Studies 24(2), 2025, as read on 4 November 2026. ²
• Kazinform, "Imam from Kazakhstan attends National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C.", February 2024, as read on 4 November 2026. ¹