Finnish Tatars

The Finnish Tatars ( Tatar: ''финляндия татарлары'', Finnish: ''Suomen tataarit, Swedish: Finländska tatarer'') are an ethnic minority in Finland whose community has approximately 600–700 members. The community was formed between the late 1800s and the early 1900s when Mishar Tatar merchants emigrated from the Nizhny Novgorod Governorate of Russian Empire, and eventually settled in Finland. Tatars have the main building of their congregation in Helsinki. They have also founded cultural associations in different cities. They are the first Islamic community in Finland.

The identity of the Finnish Tatars has had different reference points throughout their history in the country. In the early days, they were known by their religious identity (Muslim). Later in 1900s, while still continuing the religious tradition, they started to emphasize their linguistic identity, and leaned more on to their Turkic roots. During those times, they were also influenced by Turkish culture. Finnish Tatars largely tried to replace the negatively thought of umbrella term "Tatars", either with the generic "Turks", "Northern Turks", or referring to their roots, "Volga Turks". (At times even identifying with Kipchaks). Later on, the name ''Tatar'' has been adopted once again, though not without conflicts inside the community.

The Tatars have maintained their own identity to this day, all the while having been integrated into the Finnish society. A growing sense of worry has emerged however about the future of the community due to increased mixed marriages.

History

The first Muslims in Finland

Before the migration wave of Tatars, many Islamic Turkic peoples were already on Finnish territory during the Russian reign as regular soldiers. Information about these soldiers can be traced back to at least 1836. It is believed that they were mostly Kazan Tatars and Bashkirs, some of whom were also in Cossack units, The Great Northern War, Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743) and Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790).

There were also Mullahs staying on Finnish soil in 1800s; for example Izzätulla Timergali, who was the Mullah in Suomenlinna during 1866–1906.

Migration of Tatar merchants

The migration of Tatars to Finland happened in late 1800s and early 1900s. Tradition tells, that the first Tatar merchant in Finland was the grandfather of Hasan Hamidulla (named Hamidulla), who arrived from Leningrad to Viipuri in 1868. Other Tatar merchants named as the first ones on Finnish soil are Alautdin Salavat and Samaletdin Yusuf. The last Tatar migration wave happened in 1920's, when the merchants who had settled in the country brought their family members in.Suikkanen 2012, p. 21.

These merchants were mostly Mishar Tatars, who originated from neighboring villages in Nizhny Novgorod Governorate, Sergachsky District, Russia. Many of them were from Aktuk.Bedretdin 2011, p. Esipuhe (preface). A few other Turkic peoples came as well, such as Bashkirs and Kazakhs, but they blended in quickly.Halén 1999, pp. 4, 5, 10. At their home villages, Mishars worked as farmers, but eventually they became merchants, due to lack of income. They usually sold fabrics, furs, clothes and soap. Their trips reached Saint Petersburg at first, and eventually, Finland.

Finland (until 1917, Grand Duchy of Finland) therefore in the beginning was just a new territory to do business in. Already in early 1880s, Tatar merchants were seen in the country, many dozens at once. Their trips had become regular especially after the Riihimäki-Saint Petersburg railway completing years before. In 1891, the railroads already reached for example to Oulu and Kemi. At first, they returned to their homes after earning enough, but after it became evident that the business conditions were better on Finnish soil, they started to settle in the country permanently. The relatively good reception of the Finns also helped. Many Tatars settled in Viipuri (Vyborg) at first, but after it was lost to Soviet Union, they moved mainly to Helsinki, Turku and Tampere, where some fellow Tatars had already settled.
Soon, many of them transitioned into selling in halls. For example, in Viipuri halls, they sold cotton products, silk fabrics, carpets and furs. Terijoki municipality (Zelenogorsk) as well was an important place for business before it also was lost to Soviet Union. In Tampere, fabric was often the main product being sold. Many of them also set up their own shops.

Migration of Tatar families

Many Tatars who had settled into Finland started to arrange their family members to the country after the 1917 Russian revolution. This however, was mostly possible only after 1921, because the border of Russia and Finland was closed until the Treaty of Tartu. The relatives of these Tatar merchants had to plead for a visa from the delegations of Moscow or Saint Petersburg. They also got help for example from professor Yrjö Jahnsson, who had connections that assisted them in the migration. The migration was mainly possible until 1929. After that, some who came, came illegally or for big ransom.

Finnish citizenship

While Tatars in Finland started to apply for a Finnish citizenship soon after the country's independence in 1917, still in 1939, as many as half of the community stayed in the country with Nansen passports. One reason for this was that the Finnish government demanded them to prove that they had been in the country for at least five years without leaving, and that they can provide for themselves and their families. These things got easier to prove after the second world war. The first citizenship was granted to a Tatar named Sadik Ainetdin in 1919.

Wartime

Prisoners of war

After the Winter War in 1940, there were 367 Russian prisoners in Turku central prison. These included Tatars. Some of them; Ibrahim Rahman, Halidulla Utarbai, Zekeriye Abdulla and Salih Zahidulla joined the Tatar congregation after being freed but by the end of the decade they had left Finland. The Finnish State Police made a search warrant for many Muslim soldiers who had not gone back to the Soviet Union.Leitzinger 2006, pp. 137-139.

In January 1945, most of the Muslims who had stayed on Finnish soil after the war returned to the Soviet Union "voluntarily but reluctantly". Some of the few who were able to stay for longer included an Avar named Halid Hamido, who during the war had married a Finnish woman and converted to Christianity. In Finland, the prisoners of war were employed by the Samaletdin and Ainetdin families, Ymär Sali, Zuhur Tahir, Ibrahim Hamidulla, Ibrahim Arifulla and also the two Muslims who themselves had recently emigrated to Finland; a Kazakh Ömmet Kenschahmet and a Lezgin Velibek Alibek. Thirty or so "war migrants" had been in under charge at the Helsinki Tatar congregation from February 1942. A Kazan Tatar, teacher Mahmut Rahim delivered prayers at the Tampere Tatar Congregation during 1942–1944.

Tatars from Estonia

At the turn of the century, five Tatar families lived in Estonia. In the 1920s, more of them had settled in Tallinn, Narva, Jõhvi and Rakvere, after which the number of Tatars was around 200–300. At the end of 1943, many came to Finland on motorboat rides. They registered as political refugees and applied to the Finnish military forces, where three Estonian Tatars, Ibrahim Zarip, Ahmed Haerdinov and Rafik Moks were admitted. Accepted as a sailor at the Turku naval station, Zarip did not return from his evening leave and was later found in New York. Haerdinov, after his service moved to Sweden; Moks on the other hand to Canada. Six Esonian Tatars and their families received residence permit and later on, two families acquired a citizenship. Their recommenders were the Samaletdin family, imam Weli-Ahmed Hakim and merchant Ymär Abdrahim.Leitzinger 1996, pp. 128–129.Leitzinger 2006, pp. 140, 142

Due to the fear of deportation and the uncertain conditions in Finland, many Estonian Tatars who came to Finland continued their journey to Sweden, and especially to the Greater Stockholm area. Before their arrival, only one Tatar, a tanner named Ibrahim Umarkajeff is known to have lived in Sweden. In 1949, the Tatars who had settled in Sweden founded an association that was initially called ''Turk-Islam Föreningen i Sverige för Religion och Kultur'' ('Swedish Turkish-Islamic Religious and Cultural Association'), later shortened to ''Islam Församlingen i Sverige'' ('Swedish Islamic Congregation'). The association maintained a cemetery in the southern part of Stockholm. The Tatars lost their majority in the Islamic association in 1960s and 1970s. In the 1980s, it was estimated that there were about 50 so-called full-blooded and 30 half-blooded Tatars in the country. Didar Samaletdin, a Tatar woman founded a restaurant called ''Djingis Khan'' in Södermalm with her husband in 1983.

Connections to home

By the beginning of the 20th century, Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) had its own Tatar community, largely formed by Mishars from Nizhny Novgorod region. Some of them continued their trip to Finland, others stayed in the city. The Tatars in Finland kept their connections with the Tatar relatives in Leningrad and elsewhere up until 1930's, traveling across the border illegally through 1920's. Their ties were cut after tightened border control. Before this, they had also helped the Tatars in Leningrad by sending them money. They also personally helped theologian Musa Bigiev. When he got arrested in Moscow in 1923, the Finnish Tatar community sent a letter to the Turkish government, asking for help in releasing him. In 1930, the community also tried to bring Bigiev in the country.

As correspondence and travel to the Soviet Union opened in the mid-1950s, it was possible for them to re-establish their broken connections. It wasn't until the turn of the 1960s and 1970s however that contacts with Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan began to strengthen as they received Tatar guests from across the border. They had Bashkir artists as their guests in 1967, a little before the Kazan Tatars. They were able to visit their home villages at the end of the 20th century.

Tatars in Berlin

Berlin served as a kind of meeting place for many Tatars and other Turkic exiles in the early 20th century. The Soviet intelligence agency Joint State Political Directorate was also aware of this; "The Muslims of Kazan, St. Petersburg and Finland maintain very active contacts with Berlin, where the head of the foreign Tatar counter-revolution currently gathers". Finnish professor Yrjö Jahnsson went to Berlin to meet the Bashkir activist Zeki Velidi Togan in 1925. According to him, Jahnsson's aim was to "unite the Finns and the Asian nations captured by the Russians against the Russian colonial interests". A year earlier, Finnish Tatars Zinnetullah Ahsen and Imad Samaletdin had traveled to meet Togan and Tatar activist Ayaz İshaki in the city to discuss their attempts to produce a Finnish translation of the Quran.

Young Muslim emigrants also went to study in Berlin. In 1918, under the leadership of theologian Alimcan Idris, the "Assistance Society for Russian Muslim Students" was founded there, the purpose of which was to help students maintain connections with their homeland and bring new students to the city. In a 1972 interview with a Finnish sociologist Pertti Rautio, the Tatar couple Semiulla and Mahruse Wafin, who themselves had studied in Berlin described Tatar students in Germany as follows: "Many of them became scientists, teachers at the universities of Istanbul and Ankara. Most of them were Turkologists. Others were doctors, chemists, those who had attended the University of Economics and Business and these received employment in their field in Turkey and usually they were professors there."

Religious formation

The first registered Tatar and at the same time the first Islamic formation in Finland was founded in 1915. It was called "''Helsingin musulmaanien hyväntekeväisyysseura"'' ("The Charity Club of Helsinki Moslem's"). During that time, terms like ''Moslem'' and ''Mohammedan'' were used, rather than ''Muslim'' or ''Islamic''. An actual congregation they founded in 1925, after the Finnish laws had approved of given practices in 1922. Finland therefore became the first western country that gave Muslims official recognition. The congregation was at first named "''Suomen muhamettilainen seurakunta"'' ("The Finnish Mohammedan Congregation") and later, from 1963 forwards, The Finnish-Islamic Congregation. They didn't get the right to wed their community members until 1932 however, because the authorities believed that it would lead to polygamy, even though it was not practiced among the Tatars.Leitzinger 1996, pp. 159–162.

Elsewhere in Finland there were also religious formations, such as The Tampere Islamic Congregation, founded in 1942. During the same year, a wooden mosque was built in Järvenpää by the community members.

The first pilgrimage to Mecca done by the community happened in 1920s.

Cultural formation

In order to conserve and develop their culture in Finland, Tatars have established their own cultural associations. For example, in 1935, they established a Helsinki-based "''Suomen turkkilaisten seura''" (The Association of Finnish Turks) and "''Tampereen Turkkilainen Yhdistys''" ( The Tampere Turkish Society), and two years later, "''Turun Turkkilais-Tataarilainen Yhdistys"'' (''The Turku Turko-Tatar Association'').Halén 1999, p. 24. These formations have mainly focused on organizing their own cultural events and publishing. They, and their religious congregation both have also arranged language teaching to their children. In Helsinki, they had their own school, "''Turkkilainen kansakoulu''" (''Turkish Volksschule''), which was shut down in 1969 after lack of students.

Identity in Finland

Background

The Tatar diaspora in Finland has always been very connected with each other, their roots leading mostly to the same areas. Yet, there has been conflict among them when it comes to their identity. These disagreements have mostly focused on their ethnonym, ''Tatars'', some preferring to be called "Turks" rather. (Note: there is no distinction between terms "Turk/Turkish" and "Turkic" in the Finnish language; ''Turkkilainen'' can technically mean both).Leitzinger 1996, pp. 194–206. This conversation was going on already in at least early 1800s, when for example the English linguist Arthur Lumley Davids thought it would be best to replace the umbrella term "Tatars", with "Turks".

Even though the term is an ancient one, it has been at the same time thought of as a Russian epithet with a negative connotation. Originally all the Turkic peoples living in the Russian Empire were named Tatars, while these groups themselves did not use such a term. Volga Tatars identified either as Bolgars (''bolğarlar''), or generally as Muslims (''möselmanlar''). Some of the Mishar Tatars were known to have used a term "Nugay” (нугай), before adopting the name "Tatars" from Russians.Leitzinger 1996, pp. 194–206; Halén 1999, p. 10.

The most well known defender of a "Turkish identity" among the Finnish Tatars was entrepreneur Zinnetullah Ahsen Böre. He preferred to call himself a "Volga Turk", or just simply a Turk. He eventually became a citizen of Turkey, and hoped that the rest of the community in Finland would also join "the Great Turkic nation". Cultural figure Ibrahim Arifulla in his 1933 lecture in Helsinki, named "Features of the freedom struggle of the Volga Turks", wrote for example the following: "''This writing focuses on the history of the Turks living in Volga-Ural region, peoples which in our everyday language are referred to with the shameful Russian epithet, Tatars".'' He encouraged the Finns to call all Turkic peoples simply ''Turks.'' Imam Weli-Ahmed Hakim also avoided using the term ''Tatars'' when referring to his community. In a Finnish magazine called ''Seura'' (Company), a known member of the community, Sadri Arifullen stated that they are Kipchaks, and also used a general term "Northern Turks". (The origins of Volga Tatars have differing opinions among academics, though many of them do indeed confirm the theory that one way or another they originate from the Turkic Kipchaks and/or Bolgars).

The Finnish Tatar community, who for the most part tried to get rid of the term "Tatars", and whose roots to their home villages had been cut off, found a kind of reference point to their identity from The Republic of Turkey (1923) – which was the first independent Turkic nation they had seen. Though, they attached themselves to Turkey also because the term "Tatars" of course was connected to Russia, and they were afraid of being sent back to the then-Soviet Union.Leitzinger 1999, p. 44 (Tugan Tel)

Not everyone was as exited about this connection to Turkey. Some of them still stayed hopeful, that the Tatars in Russia would be able to establish an independent nation, which momentarily had been Idel-Ural State (1918). This interest had been sparked by the Idel-Ural figures visiting in Finland and also by Finnish activists who were knowledgeable about Turkic peoples. Tatar activists Sarif Daher and Hasan Kanykoff were founding members of the association called "Etuvartiokansojen klubi", which purpose was to help the minority peoples in Russia and create cooperation with them and independent Finland.

The influence of Turkey was at its strongest during the lives of second generation Finnish Tatars. The first generation had originally identified themselves as Muslims. (''First generation'' means the ones who settled in Finland, ''second generation'' their children, which were either born in Finland or brought there).

Impact on culture

The influence of Turkey had impact on the names of their establishments, personal names and language. Associations used name "Turkish", instead of "Tatar". Referring to their language, they called it "Turkish". In their personal names, the most noticeable change was the letter Ä, which was replaced with Turkish E (for example: Ahsän ''→ Ahsen).'' In the footsteps of Atatürk's reforms, the Finnish Tatars replaced the previously used Arabic script for a Latin script. Turkish language was appreciated among the community and they partly tried to pronounce and write according to it.

Current day

These Turks of Volga are nowadays known as ''Volga Tatars'', though some still identify as ''Bolgars''. Some other Turkic peoples who were previously known as Tatars do not use the term anymore, such as Nogays ("Nogay Tatars"), or Karachays and Balkars ("Mountain Tatars").

The Tatar community in Finland is also now officially recognized as "Tatars". A new connection to their roots started to solidify from late 1960s onwards, when Tatar artists from Russia came visiting the community. Possibility to travel to their home villages and Kazan for example also had an impact.

In 1970s, after a long time, the term ''Tatar'' was used in Finnish press by the community. The decision to start using given term however was met with fierce disagreements among the community; some of them still don't want to use it.

Tatars during Finnish wars

In total, 156 members of the Finnish Tatar community took part in the Winter War and the Continuation War on the side of Finland. Ten of them died while serving. In addition, 26 were wounded, 7 of them permanently. 21 Tatar women operated at the Lotta Svärd organization.

In 1987, the names of the fallen Tatar soldiers were carved on a memory plate, which was placed inside on their congregation's main building wall. They have also been honored at the Islamic cemetery in Helsinki.

The reception of Tatars in Finland

The Tatar merchants who came to Finland were at times accused of trading without license and avoiding paying taxes. In general, however, Tatars were better thought of in Finland than in Russia, which is believed to have been their main reason for settling in the country.

Two more serious attacks against the community are known in Finland: In 1942, soldier Siadetdin Samlihan, during his free time, was shot to death in Helsinki, while walking on the street with his friend. The shooter was never reached. Motivation was speculated as such that maybe the shooter thought they spoke Russian and therefore were Russian spies. The second incident was in Tampere during 1990s, when a firebomb was thrown into a Tatar home. Otherwise, according to individual interviews, the community has not experienced any discrimination beyond sometimes being called names at school.

Political refugees in the community

After their failed pursuits of independence in 1918, many leaders of the Idel-Ural state began to settle in Finland. Their names were as follows; Yusuf Akçura, Ayaz Ishaki, Musa Bigiev, Zeki Velidi Togan, Sadri Maksudi Arsal, Alimcan Idris, Abdullah Battal Taymas, and the former imam of Saint Petersburg, Lutfi Ishaki. Idris and Battal stayed in the country for longer, due to operating as teachers and cultural influencers among the community, but the others shortly continued elsewhere, such as Germany, France or Turkey. Some of them however returned to Finland later, for example Ayaz Ishaki, for whom the Tatar community of Tampere organized a three-day celebration in February 1937. Ishaki in return organized a 20-year memory celebration of Idel-Ural state in Warsaw in 1938, where seven Finnish Tatars were present.

In addition to Idel-Ural politicians, refugees among the Finnish Tatar community included also for example the later-theosophist and mason, Amina Syrtlanoff, who took part in establishing local Tatar congregation and made presentations on Islam.

Academic interest of Tatars in Finland

Tatars have been a subject of interest to many Finnish linguists. Researchers focused especially on Mishar Tatars are Martti Räsänen and Heikki Paasonen. Other curious ones include Mathias Alexander Castren, August Ahlqvist and Gustaf John Ramstedt.

Culture

Religion

Tatars also in Finland are according to old tradition Sunni Muslims. They practice their religion at their own congregation, The Finnish-Islamic Congregation, which has its so called main building in Fredrikinkatu, Helsinki. The congregation also owns a wooden mosque in Järvenpää. The Tatars in Tampere have their separate congregation, which has its space in Hämeenkatu.Baibulat 2004, p. 30. The congregations accept only Tatars as their members.

In Finland, Tatars are known as an Islamic minority who keeps a low profile. They usually don't speak publicly about timely topics regarding Islam in the country.

The Finnish Tatar community has been making pilgrimages to Mecca since the 1920s.

The international relations of the community have been deemed impressive. Visitors include people such as Habib Bourguiba, Rustam Minnikhanov and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In the congregation there has also been imams from abroad, such as the Crimean Tatar Abdurrahman Kaya and Turkish Enver Yıldırım. In 2020, the imam of the congregation is Russian-born Ramil Belyaev (Bilal) and the chairman of the board economist Gölten Bedretdin, who at the same time is the first female in given position.

During the 1900s, The Tampere Tatar congregation also had a wide variety of guests as well. These include for example theologian Musa Bigiev, Idel-Ural president and refugee Sadri Maksudi Arsal, Muftis Talgat Tadjuddin from Ufa and Rawil Gaynetdin from Moscow, Turkologist Reşit Rahmeti Arat and professor of Medina university, Abdullah Ahmed Zadri. Musicians include Haydar Bigichev. Chairman in 2020 is entrepreneur Vahit Wafin.

Language

The native language of Finnish Tatars is the Tatar language, more specifically its western dialect, Mishar. It differs a little bit from the dialect of the Kazan Tatars, also known as the Literary Tatar. The Finnish Tatar language differs also from the language of Mishars in Russia by them speaking with a Finnish accent and also for example not using the letter X, only soft H.

The Tatars in Finland at first wrote with the Arabic alphabet. From 1930s forwards, they started to transition to the Latin alphabet. Reasons for this were mainly the influence of Turkish culture that saturated the community at that time (Turkey had begun using the Latin alphabet in 1928), and at the same time, the similar movement called the '' Yanalif movement,'' which was happening in Soviet Union among the Tatars. By 1950s, the publications of Finnish Tatars had mostly switched to the Latin alphabet. Before this, during the transition period, both were still used. In the teaching of the community's children, they changed to the Latin alphabet during 1960s. The Tatars in Russia use the Cyrillic alphabet nowadays.

Example of Finnish Tatar language in the Latin alphabet:

Names

Tatar names are mostly influenced by Arabic, Persian and Turkic history. Tatars who settled in the country usually adopted their patronymic as a surname. (Example: Hakimov = ''Son of Hakim''.) However, Tatars who traveled together with their father adopted their father's patronymic; in other words, their grandfather's name. Due to this, brothers who traveled at a different time might have ended up using a different surname. These Russian suffixes were mostly removed from their names during the time of Finnish independence (1917). It is speculated that with this, they tried to avoid the negative attitudes the Finns had towards Russians at the time. In Russia, some Tatars have used their surname without such a suffix as well, though usually in unofficial terms, such as an artist name. (Ğabdulla Tuqayev – Ğabdulla Tuqay).

Until early to mid 1900s, given names were often two part (Hamidulla, Gölbanu), or in general were Quranic (Ahmed, Hamide).

Later (second half of 1900s and into the 2000s), names are often either Turkish (Erkan, Meral), or Turkic-Persian/Arabic hybrids (Ildar, Aynur).Baibulat 2004, p. 208

The sound æ.html"_;"title="Near-open_front_unrounded_vowel.html"_;"title="nowiki/>Near-open_front_unrounded_vowel">æ">Near-open_front_unrounded_vowel.html"_;"title="nowiki/>Near-open_front_unrounded_vowel">æ_which_is_abundant_in_Tatar_language,_appears_often_marked_with_either_A_or_E_in_Finland._(Schwa_(Cyrillic).html" ;"title="ear-open_front_unrounded_vowel">æ.html" ;"title="Near-open_front_unrounded_vowel.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Near-open front unrounded vowel">æ">Near-open_front_unrounded_vowel.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Near-open front unrounded vowel">æ which is abundant in Tatar language, appears often marked with either A or E in Finland. (Schwa (Cyrillic)">Cyrillic Ә in Russia - Latin script: Ä or Ə). In general, the spelling of Tatar names in the country varies a lot.

Art

Music

The musical tradition, which is largely based on old folk songs, originates from Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, where the first generation was born. Often in Tatar folk music, there's a longing for home and relatives left behind. Musical style called "dance song" (''tanssilaulu'' in Finnish) however is described as "rhythmic, brisk and happy". Modern Tatar music in Finland has been represented by the local ensemble ''Başkarma,'' whose frontman Deniz Bedretdin has founded two other bands in Kazan and in 1968 in Helsinki established the "first Tatar rock band" called ''The Sounds of Tsingiskhan''.Halén 1999, p. 25.Marjamäki ja Kolehmainen 1980, pp. 361-363, 368, 372.

Tatars in Finland have had their own choirs. Talented singers among the community have been especially Hamit Hairedin, Zeituna Abdrahim, Naim Sadik, Hamdurrahman Hakimcan, Aliye Hakimcan, Hamide Çaydam, Dina Abdul and Betül Hairetdin. Musicians include Halid Kurbanali, Batu Alkara and Ädhäm Kanykoff. (who was a close friend of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius).

Ever since the 1960s, Russian Tatar musicians have performed among the community. First ones to come were Röstäm Yäxin, İlham Şakirov, Venera Şäripova, Ayrat Arslanov, Marat Äxmätov and Mars Makarov. The trip was arranged by cultural worker Ymär Daher. Together they performed in Helsinki and Tampere and during this time met Finnish president Urho Kekkonen.

Poetry

Mishar poetry is often described as wistful. Most prominent Finnish Tatar poet was Sadretdin "Sadri" Hamid (1905–1987), who's speciality was humorous and rhyming chronicles. Female poet Gäühär Tuganay (1911–1998) was known for her nature-themed poetry. Aisa Hakimcan wrote often about his longing for home village Aktuk. Imam Habiburrahman Shakir and publisher Hasan Hamidulla expressed themselves through poetry as well.Kadriye Bedretdin / Sabira Stahlberg: Journal of Endangered Languages, 2021.

Fazile Nasretdin's ''Tuksan tugız haiku'' ('''''Ninety-nine haiku''), the first ever Tatar language haiku collection (according to researched Sabira Stahlberg) was published for free on website ''Aybagar'' in 2022. It includes an English version as well.

The national Volga Tatar poet Ğabdulla Tuqay (''Abdulla Tukay'' for Mishars) is held in high regard among the community. Yearly celebrations in his name are held, a cultural association named after him established and publications honoring him published.

Theater

The community in Finland has organized their own theater plays. The most active period was during the 1900s in Helsinki and Tampere. Some of the more larger shows were especially in The Tampere Theater, to where at best, over 300 Finnish Tatars per show were invited. Political refugees such as Musa Bigiev and Ayaz Ishaki were present at times as well.

The first Tatar play in the country was in 1930. It was ''Ğäliyäbanu'' by playwright Mirxäydär Fäyzi (known as ''Mir-Hayder Feyzi'' and ''Aliye-Banu'' in Finland). Other plays include for example Fäyzi's ''Asıl Yar, Zöleyha'' by Ayaz Ishaki'', Bülek öçın, Bırınçı teater and Behıtsız Yıgıt'' by Ğäliäsğar Kamal. The Tatars of Helsinki performed Molière's ''The Miser'' in Tampere during 1950s. The community has also performed abroad, such as in Estonia, Russia (Kazan), and New York. Russian Tatar artist Luara Şakircanova directed plays in Helsinki during 1990s. Kazan Tatar Saniye İffet (Сания Гыйффәт, Saniyä Ğiffät; 1899–1957) wrote some plays while living in Finland in late 1930s.Nisametdin 1995, pp. 240–242

Design

Design artists among the community include jewelry designer Ildar Wafin (b. 1995), whose earrings the spouse of the president of Finland Jenni Haukio wore during the Independence Day Reception in 2018. Architect Pervin Imaditdin is known especially for her hotel and restaurant designs. Visual and textile designer Niran Baibulat was awarded in 2007 for her work.Hovi, Piia & Seppälä, Marketta: ''Samaa maata 1''. Porin taidemuseo, 1997. Porin taidemuseon Julkaisuja 40.

Cuisine

The cuisine tradition of Finnish Tatars consists mainly of different types of soups, meat based foods, sweet and savory dough based foods, pies, pilaf and porridges. The most known Tatar food in Finland is the spicy pastry called pärämäç (''pärämätsi'' among the Finns). It was commercialized by a Finnish Tatar chef/hockey player Mönäyvär Saadetdin in Tampere during the 1960s.

A traditional cuisine among the Finnish Tatars is also for example a sausage made from horsemeat, named ''kazı''.

Publishing

Publishing work among the relatively small community of Tatars has been abundant. Given activity can be divided as such: history, memoirs, biographies, poetry, proverbs, music, religious literature, Tatar language textbooks, children's books and magazines.

The most active Finnish Tatar publisher is considered Hasan Hamidulla. He wrote a historic on his home village Aktuk.

Entrepreneur Zinnetullah Ahsen Böre published the first Finnish language Quran.

In 2016, a Tatar-Finnish-dictionary was published by cultural influencer Okan Daher and a Finnish researcher Arto Moisio.

Celebrations

Traditional celebrations among the Tatar community include an every spring celebration of poet Abdulla Tukay named ''Balalar Bäyräme'' (Children's celebration), where the children and teenagers of the community perform songs, poems and stories. During the summer, camps are held for the young. For a long time, until 2020, the location was Kirkkonummi. In the early days the camps lasted a month, today it's ten days. The camp ends in the Tatar festival '' Sabantuy''.

Population

Finnish Tatars are officially one of the seven national minority groups in the country.

Ethnic Composition

The Finnish Tatars are Mishars, and thus, Volga Tatars. The ethnic formation of Mishar Tatars has no consensus and their culture has been influenced by for example Russian and Mordvan tradition. The Mishars in Finland were also influenced by Turkish culture during the 1900s. Researchers such as Antero Leitzinger and Alimdzhan Orlov have stated, that while features of many different so called foreign influences can be found in Mishar culture, are they still one of the "purest representatives" of ancient Turkic Kipchaks today.

As of 2020, the community consists approximately 600700 members. Most Tatars live in the cities of Helsinki, Tampere, Turku and Järvenpää.

The Tatars themselves generally think they have conserved their cultural identity very well, but at the same time, worries of its future have been raised. Some anonymous quotes from the members of the community;
* ''"Our identity has remained due to language and religion. We have our cultural association, congregation, sports team. The interaction is rather active".''
* "''We have a very strong and different culture compared to for example the Finns. It has been conserved due to us having knowledge of our roots and the possibilities to cherish our own habits. Finland has been a good country to live in, and its citizens have been kind to us''".
* "''Mixed marriages lessen the meaning of our language. The meaning of our religion also lessens when this minority blends in with the rest of the population''".
* ''"I feel terribly sad when I listen to our music. Like, why am I here, among other people, and we don't even have our own homeland. And then you look at how we mix with the Finns”.''
* "''Until recently, we had been able to prevent mixed marriages with the authority of the parents, religion, and the pressure from the community. But now, it's different. The old patriarchs are dead. The children are more daring, they marry the Finns. Our culture, our identity, it's falling apart".''
The first generation of Finnish Tatars (born in late 1800s on average) consisted of approximately 160 families, of which two thirds married within their people. Already among the earliest generation there were mixed marriages between Finnish women and Tatar men. These women converted to Islam and usually learned to communicate in Tatar. Such cases were accepted as exceptions though, since traditionally mixed marriages are thought of negatively among the community, so much so that during the 1900s, it might have left the child without parental inheritance. Some Tatar men have found a wife among the Russian Tatars, but most marriages are between the Finns now. The younger generations have expressed having difficulties finding a spouse among the small community.

Sports

Tatars have been represented in different professional sports in Finland, especially in ice hockey. They have also established their own sports teams. Originally, the first generation encouraged their children to take part in sports at their new environment. Sports had been an important part of their every summer '' Sabantuy'' -celebrations in their home villages.

Among the more meritorious Tatar athletes are footballer Atik Ismail, ice hockey players Lotfi Nasib and Räshid Hakimsan.

Brothers Feyzi, Murat, Zeyd and Vasif Ahsen-Böre all played ice hockey in 1930s and 1940s. Ali and his brother Mönäyvär Saadetdin played for Ilves, as did the brother of Lotfi Nasib, Naim, and his son, Erkan Nasib.

More recent Tatar athletes include basketball player Meral Bedretdin (b. 1993).

Finnish Tatar establishments

Some of the following most likely don't exist anymore, but due to lack of information, only the formation year is mentioned.
* Helsingin musulmaanien hyväntekeväisyysseura (1915)
* Suomen muhamettilainen seurakunta (1925, later The Finnish-Islamic Congregation, Finlandiya Islam Cemaatı)
* Suomalais-turkkilaisen kansakoulun kannatusyhdistys (Fin-Türk halkmektebin himaye cemiyeti, 1930)
* Suomen turkkilaisten seura (Finlandiya Türkleri Bırlıgı, 1935)
* Tampereen Turkkilainen Yhdistys (Tampere Türkleri Bırlıgı, 1935)
* Tampereen Islamilainen Yhdistys (1935)
* Tampereen Islamilainen Seurakunta (1943, Tampere Islam Mahallesı)
* Turun Turkkilais-Tataarilainen Yhdistys (1938, later. Turun turkkilainen yhdistys)
* Jalkapalloseura Altın Orda (Golden Orda)
* Urheiluseura Yolduz (Yolduz = Star, 1945)
* Turkkilaisen kansakoulun kannatusyhdistys (1948, Türk Halk Mektebi Himaye Kurumu)
* Abdulla Tukain kulttuuriseura (1968)Halén 1996, p. 330.

Connections to Turkey

The Finnish Tatar community has maintained their relationship with Turkey ever since 1920s. The community has been visited for example by Turkish president (Prime Minister at the time) Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who during his trip conveyd how impressed he was that such a small Turkic community had been able to conserve their tradition. Previous president of Turkey, Abdullah Gül paid a visit before this as well. In the congregation there has also been some imams from Turkey.

Turkish network TRT filmed a documentary on the Finnish Tatar community in 2005 called "Finlandiya Tatarları".

Notable Finnish Tatars

* Abdullah Ali - businessman, leader
* Ymär Abdrahim - merchant, shopkeeper
* Hasan Abdrahim - speed skater
* Zinnetullah Ahsen Böre - merchant, publisher
* Feyzi Ahsen-Böre - hockey player
* Niran Baibulat - visual and textile designer
* Deniz Bedretdin - musician, composer, producer, manager
* Meral Bedretdin - basketball player
* Ramil Belyaev - imam
* Hamide Çaydam - Tatar language teacher
* Ymär Daher - cultural worker, deputy judge, doctor of philosophy, docent of Turkology
* Okan Daher - honorary president of The Finnish-Islamic Congregation, cultural worker
* Aisa Hakimcan - artist, leader, publisherBaibulat 2004, p. 146.
* Räshid Hakimsan - hockey player, referee
* Weli-Ahmed Hakim - imam
* Hasan Hamidulla - writer, publisher, businessman
* Jasmin Hamid - actress, politician,investor
* Sadri Hamid - poet, publisher
* Pervin Imaditdin - architect
* Adil Ismail - footballer, handball player
* Atik Ismail - footballer
* Hasan Kanykoff - merchant, political activist
* Halid Kurbanali - musician
* Gibadulla Murtasin - teacher, leader, artist
* Lotfi Nasib - hockey player
* Fazile Nasretdin - poet, translator
* Räshid Nasretdin - photographer
* Ismail Neuman - baseball player
* Cemile Nisametdin - artist, musician, actress
* Ymär Sali - merchant, shopkeeper, businessman, leader, entrepreneur
* Mönäyvär Saadetdin - hockey player, commercializer of peremech in Finland
* Batu Samaletdin - publisher
* Habiburrahman Shakir - imam, theologian, publisher
* Sabira Ståhlberg - writer, researcher
* Gäühär Tuganay - poet
* Vahit Wafin - entrepreneur, chairman of Tampere Tatar Congregation
* Tinet Wafin - entrepreneur (carpet shop ''Mattocenter'' with husband Vahit)
* Ildar Wafin - jewelry designer
* Semiulla Wafin - shopkeeper, leader, publisher, teacherBaibulat 2004, p. 41.

See also

* Tatars
* Volga Tatars
* Mishar Tatars
* Mishar Tatar dialect
* Tatar language
* Tatar alphabet
* Tatar name
* Turks in Finland
* The Finnish-Islamic Congregation
* The Tampere Islamic Congregation
* Järvenpää mosque
* List of first generation Finnish Tatar names

Sources

* Asikainen, Johannes: ''Tataareja, kasakoita, vai muslimeja?''. Tampere: Tampereen Yliopisto, 2017
Trepo
* Bedretdin, Kadriye (editor): ''Tugan Tel – Kirjoituksia Suomen Tataareista''. Helsinki: Suomen Itämainen Seura, 2011. .
* Baibulat, Muazzez: ''Tampereen Islamilainen Seurakunta: juuret ja historia''. Jyväskylä: Gummerus Kirjapaino Oy, 2004. .
* Halikov, A. H.: ''Tataarit, keitä te olette?''. Suom. Lauri Kotiniemi. Abdulla Tukain kulttuuriseura, 1991. .
* Leitzinger, Antero: ''Mishäärit – Suomen vanha islamilainen yhteisö''. (Sisältää Hasan Hamidullan "Yañaparin historian", suomentanut ja kommentoinnut Fazile Nasretdin). Helsinki: Kirja-Leitzinger, 1996. .
* Leitzinger, Antero: ''Suomen tataarit - Vuosina 1968-1944 muodostuneen muslimiyhteisön menestystarina''. East-West Books, Helsinki 2006.
* Suikkanen, Mikko: ''Yksityinen susi – Zinnetullah Ahsen Bören (1886–1945) eletty ja koettu elämä''. Historian pro gradu -tutkielma. Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto, 2012
Trepo

* Tervonen, Miikka & Leinonen Johanna (editor.): Vähemmistöt muuttajina - Näkökulmia suomalaisen muuttoliikehistorian moninaisuuteen. Painosalama Oy, Turku 2021. .

References

External links

Finnish Tatar music

Finnish Tatar magazine Mähallä Habärläre.

Documentary about the Finnish Tatar community (in Tatar language)

Izge Miras – documentary on the Tatar community of Järvenpää city

Imam Ramil Belyaev at The Finnish-Islamic Congregation

The "Tatar Way" of Understanding and Practising Islam in Estonia

Horsemeat in the culinary traditions of the Mishär Tatar diaspora in the eastern Baltic Sea region: cultural and historical aspects

{{Turkic topics

Tatars
Muslim communities in Europe
Volga Tatars
Volga Tatar diaspora
Turkic peoples
Turkic peoples of Europe