- Islam in Poland
The first noticeable presence of
Islam inPoland began in the 14th century. From this time it was primarily associated with the Tatars, many of whom settled inPolish-Lithuanian Commonwealth while continuing their traditions and religious beliefs. The first significant non-Tatar groups of Muslims arrived in Poland in the 1970s. Currently the total number of Muslims in Poland is estimated at around 30,000 or 0.07% of the total population.Fact|date=September 2008In the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (14th - 18th century)Poland had little prolonged contact with Islam until the 14th century with the advent of the first
Tatar settlers. Although Muslims were involved in earlierMongol invasions in the 13th century, these had a purely military character and there are no traces of settlement or conversion of any parts of the Polish population.On the other hand, the first accounts of the Polish state of Mieszko I were written by a
Jewish merchant and diplomat of theCaliphate of Córdoba Ibrahim ibn Jakub and later published in an Arabic chronicle ofAl-Bakri . Other Muslim merchants, arrived in Polish lands at that time, as can be seen by a large number of Arab coins found in numerous archaeological sites throughout modern Polandcite web | title=Historia Islamu w Polsce | work=Oficjalna strona Muzułmańskiego Związku Religijnego w RP | url=http://www.mzr.pl/index.php?nr=14 | accessdate=February 23 | accessyear=2006] .In 14th century the first
Tatar tribes settled in the lands of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania . Skilled warriors and great mercenaries, their settlement was promoted by the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, among themGediminas ,Algirdas andKęstutis . The Tatars who settled in Lithuania, Ruthenia and modern-day eastern Poland were allowed to preserve theirSunni religion in exchange for military service. The initial settlements were mostly temporary and most of the Tatars returned to their native lands after their service expired. However, in the late 14th century Grand DukeVytautas (named by the Tatars "Wattad", that is "defender of Muslims") and his brother KingWładysław Jagiełło started to settle Tatars in the Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic borderlands. TheLipka Tatars , as they are known, migrated from the lands of theGolden Horde and in large part served in the Polish-Lithuanian military. The largest of such groups to arrive to the area was a tribe ofTokhtamysh , who in 1397 rebelled against his former protectorTamerlane and sought asylum in the Grand Duchy. The Tatars under his command were all granted withszlachta status, a tradition that was preserved until the end of the Commonwealth in 18th centurycite journal | author=Selim Mirza-Juszeński Chazbijewicz | title=Szlachta tatarska w Rzeczypospolitej | journal=Verbum Nobile | year=1993 | volume=2| issue=Feb. 1993 | pages= | url=http://www.szlachta.org/selim.htm ] . Light Tatar cavalry, used both as skirmishers and reconnaissance troops took part in many of the battles against the foreign armies in the 15th century and afterwards, including thebattle of Grunwald in which the Tatars fought commanded by their leader,Jalal ad-Din khan .In 16th and 17th century additional Tatars found refuge in the lands of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth , mostly ofNogay and Crimean origin. Since then until the 1980s the Muslim faith in Poland was associated primarily with the Tatars. It is estimated that in 17th century there were approximately 15,000 Tatars in the Commonwealth for a total population of 8 million. Numerous royal privileges, as well as internal autonomy granted by the monarchs of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth allowed the Tatars to preserve their religion, traditions and culture throughout the ages. The most notable military clans were granted with Coats of Arms andszlachta status, while many other families melted into the rural and burgher society. The first Tatar settlements were founded near the major towns of the Commonwealth in order to allow for fast mobilization of troops. Apart from religious freedom, the Tatars were allowed to marry Polish and Ruthenian women of Catholic or Orthodox faith, uncommon in Europe of that time. Finally, theMay Constitution granted the Tatars with a representation in the PolishSejm .Perhaps the only moment in history when the Lipka Tatars fought against the Commonwealth was during the so-called
Lipka Rebellion of 1672. The "Deluge" and the ensuing period of constant wars made theszlachta of central Poland associate the Muslim Lipkas with the invading forces of theOttoman Empire . This, combined with theCounter-Reformation promoted by theVasa dynasty led theSejm to gradually limit the privileges of the Polish Muslims. Although KingJohn Casimir of Poland tried to limit the restrictions on their religious freedoms and the erosion of their ancient rights and privileges, the gentry opposed. Finally, in 1672, during the war with the Ottomans, the Lipka Tatar regiments (numbering up to 3,000 men) stationed in thePodolia region of south-east Poland abandoned the Commonwealth at the start of the Polish-Turkish wars that were to last to end of the 17th century with the Peace of Karłowice in 1699. Although the Lipkas initially fought for the victorious Turks, soon their camp was divided onto the supporters of the Turks and a large part of Tatars dissatisfied with the Ottoman rule. Although after thetreaty of Buczacz the Tatars were granted lands around the fortresses of Bar andKamieniec Podolski , the liberties enjoyed by their community within the Ottoman Empire were much less than those within the Commonwealth. Finally, in 1674, after the Polish victory at Chocim, the Lipka Tatars who held the Podolia for Turkey from the stronghold of Bar were besieged by the armies of Jan Sobieski, and a deal was struck that the Lipkas would return to the Polish side subject to their ancient rights and privileges being restored. All the Tatars were pardoned by Sobieski and most of them took part in his campaign against Turkey resulting in the brilliant victory in thebattle of Vienna cite book | author =Michał Mochocki | title =Bunt Lipków | year =2005 | publisher = Swawolna Kompanija | url =http://valkiria.net/index.php?type=special&area=8&p=articles&id=11188 | accessdate =2006-02-23 ] . The Lipka Rebellion forms the background to the novelPan Wołodyjowski , the final volume of theNobel Prize winning historical "Trylogia " ofHenryk Sienkiewicz . The 1969 film of "Pan Wołodyjowski", directed byJerzy Hoffman and starringDaniel Olbrychski as Azja Tuhaj-bejowicz, was one of the largest box-office success in the history ofPolish cinema .Although by 18th century most of the Tatars serving in the military had become polonized, while the lower classes of the Muslim community gradually adopted the
Ruthenian language (the predecessor of the modernBelarusian language ), the Sunni and tatar traditions were preserved. This led to formation of a distinctive Muslim culture of Central Europe, in which elements of Muslim orthodoxy mixed with religious tolerance and a relatively liberal society. For instance, the women in Lipka Tatar society traditionally had the same rights as men, were granted equal status and could attend common non-segregated schools.In 20th century Poland
By the beginning of the twentieth century,
Lipka Tatars had become so integrated into Polish society that they joined theirRoman Catholic brethren in the mass migrations for theUnited States that gave rise to American Polonia and even founded their ownmosque inBrooklyn, New York which is still in use today. In 1919, at the outbreak of thePolish-Bolshevik War , two of the Tatar officers serving with thePolish Army Col. Maciej Bajraszewski and Capt. Dawid Janowicz-Czaiński started forming a Tatar cavalry regiment fighting alongside the Polish Army. This unit transformed into a squadron after the war, continued the traditions of Tatar military formations of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and became one of the most notable achievements of the Polish Tatar community in 20th centurycite journal | author=Piotr Borawski | title=Pułk Tatarski Ułanów imienia Mustafy Achmatowicza | journal=Kraj, dwutygodnik polski (Auckland, NZ)| year=1991 | volume=3 | issue=August 11 | pages= | url=http://www.uq.net.au/~zzwfrenk/Kj_91_08a.HTM ] . With the restoration of Polish independence, the Tatar community of Poland numbered around 6,000 people (according to the 1931 national census ), mostly inhabiting the regions of Wilno, Nowogródek andBiałystok Voivodeship (1919-1939) s. A large community of the Lipka Tatars remained outside of Polish borders, mostly inLithuania and Belarus (especially in Minsk, the capital of theBelarusian SSR ). Although small, the Tatar community formed one of the most vibrant national minorities of Poland. The Muslim Religious Association (est. 1917) focused on preserving the Muslim faith and religious beliefs. At the same time the Cultural and Educational Association of Polish Tatars worked on the preservation and strengthening of Tatar culture and traditions. In 1929 a Tatar National Museum was created inWilno and in 1931 a Tatar National Archive was formed. All the Muslim people drafted into the army were sent to the Tatar Cavalry Squadron of the 13th Cavalry Regiment, which was allowed to use its own uniforms and banners. The Army Oath for Muslim soldiers was different from the one taken from soldiers of other denominations and was sworn in presence ofAli Ismail Woronowicz , the ChiefImam of thePolish Army cite web | title=Imamat Wojska Polskiego | work=Oficjalna strona Muzułmańskiego Związku Religijnego w RP | http://www.mzr.pl/index.php?nr=27 | accessdate=February 23 | accessyear=2006] .During and after
World War II , the Tatar communities of Poland suffered the fate of all the civilian populations of the new German-Soviet and later Polish-Soviet borderlands. The Tatarintelligentsia was in large part murdered in theAB Action , while much of the civilian population was targeted by post-war expulsions. After the war the majority of Tatar settlements were annexed by theSoviet Union and only three remained in Poland (Bohoniki ,Kruszyniany andSokółka ). However, a considerable number of Tatars moved across to the Polish side of the border and settled in several locations in eastern Poland (esp. in Białystok and nearby towns) as well as in western and northern Poland (esp. in Gdańsk and Gorzów Wielkopolski). Nowadays not more than 400 -4,000 Muslims of Tatar origin lives in Poland and a much larger and active Tatar community lives in Belarus and also in Lithuania. In 1971 the Muslim Religious Association was reactivated and since 1991 the Society of Muslims in Poland is also active. The following year also the Association of Polish Tatars was restored.The 2002 census showed only 447 people declaring Tatar nationality. [http://www.mswia.gov.pl/portal/pl/61/37/ Mniejszości narodowe i etniczne w Polsce] pl icon]
Changes in recent years
Apart from the traditional Tatar communities, since the 1970s Poland has also been home to a small but growing immigrant Muslim communityFact|date=September 2008.
In the 1970s and 1980s Poland attracted a number of students from many socialist-aligned Arabic-speaking states of the
Middle East andAfrica . Many of them decided to stay in Poland. In the late 1980s this community became more active and better organized. They have built mosques and praying houses inWarsaw ,Białystok ,Gdańsk (built by the Tatar community),Wrocław ,Lublin andPoznań . There are also praying rooms inBydgoszcz ,Kraków ,Łódź ,Olsztyn ,Katowice andOpole cite web | title=Polskie Organizacje Muzułmańskie | work= | url=http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/9192/kontakty.html | accessdate=February 23 | accessyear=2006] .Since the overthrow of Communism in 1989, other Muslim immigrants have come to Poland. A relatively prominent group are Turks and Muslims from the
former Yugoslavia . There are also smaller groups of immigrants fromPakistan ,Afghanistan , and from other countries, as well as a small refugee community coming fromChechnya (about 1,000 persons).The exact number of Muslims living is Poland remains unknown as the last all-national census held by the Central Statistical Office in 2002 did not ask for religion.
There are two contemporary Polish Muslim religious leaders:
Tomasz Miśkiewicz andJakub Szynkiewicz .Footnotes
References
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*ee also
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Lipka Tatars
*Islam by country
*Islam in Russia External links
* [http://www.islam-in-poland.org/ Main Islamic portal in Poland]
* [http://www.tatarzy.tkb.pl/ Polish Tatars web portal]
* [http://www.gaumina.lt/totoriai/english/index.html Lithuanian Tatars]
* [http://www.planetaislam.com/poland/index.html Islam, Muslims, Mosques, Koran in Poland]
* [http://commonwealth.pl Commonwealth of Diverse Cultures: Poland's Heritage]
* [http://www.mzr.pl/index.php Muslim Religious Association of Poland]
* [http://kobieta.gazeta.pl/poradnik-domowy/1,63125,2675317.html Article on muslims in contemporary Poland in Gazeta Wyborcza]
* [http://taarafu.islamonline.net/English/artculture/2005/04/article03.shtml Tartar Muslims of Poland]
* [http://www.arabia.pl/english/ Polish orientalists web portal]
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