Islam in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

is a minority religious affiliation with

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abra ...

representing around 0.9% of the total population as of 2016. The religion has a long history in Ukraine dating back to Berke Khan of the Ulug Ulus (Golden Horde) in the 13th century and the establishment of the

Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate ( crh, , or ), officially the Great Horde and Desht-i Kipchak () and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary ( la, Tartaria Minor), was a Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the long ...

in the 15th century.

History

Crimean Muslims were subjected to mass deportation in 1944 when

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

accused them of collaborating with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. More than 200,000 Crimean Tatars were deported to

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former ...

, primarily the

Uzbek SSR Uzbekistan (, ) is the common English language, English name for the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR; uz, Ўзбекистон Совет Социалистик Республикаси, Oʻzbekiston Sovet Sotsialistik Respublikasi, ...

. It is estimated that more than 100,000 deportees died of starvation or disease due to the deportation.

Ukrainian Muslims today

Sunni Islam of the

Hanafi The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named ...

school is the largest non-Christian religion in Ukraine, and the majority of Ukrainian Muslims are

Crimean Tatars , flag = Flag of the Crimean Tatar people.svg , flag_caption = Flag of Crimean Tatars , image = Love, Peace, Traditions.jpg , caption = Crimean Tatars in traditional clothing in front of the Khan's Palace ...

. Other

Turkic peoples The Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West Asia, West, Central Asia, Central, East Asia, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose memb ...

indigenous to Ukraine, predominantly found in South and south-east Ukraine, practice other forms of Islam. These include

Volga Tatars The Volga Tatars or simply Tatars ( tt-Cyrl, татарлар, tatarlar) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the Volga-Ural region of Russia. They are subdivided into various subgroups. Volga Tatars are Russia's second-largest ethnicity after th ...

Azeris Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most nu ...

, North Caucasian ethnic groups and

Uzbeks The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asia, Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to ...

. There is also a smaller community of Turks in Ukraine, although due to language convergence and cultural assimilation they are often included as part of the Crimean Tatar minority. In 2012 an estimated 1,500,000 of Muslims lived in Ukraine.

Population

Muslims in

have 445 communities, 433 ministers, and 160 mosques, with many more mosques currently being built. Estimates of the Ukrainian Muslim population vary. Muslims make up only approximately 0.9% of the Ukrainian population, but as much as 12% in Crimea. According to the 2000 census Ukraine was home to 248,193 Crimean Tatars, 73,304

, 45,176

, 12,353

, 8,844

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

, 6,575

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

and 5,526

Kazakhs The Kazakhs (also spelled Qazaqs; Kazakh: , , , , , ; the English name is transliterated from Russian; russian: казахи) are a Turkic-speaking ethnic group native to northern parts of Central Asia, chiefly Kazakhstan, but also part ...

. The 2012 Freedom Report estimated a Muslim population of 500,000 in Ukraine, including 300,000 Crimean Tatars. A 2011 Pew Forum study estimated a Ukrainian Muslim population of 393,000, but the Clerical Board of Ukraine's Muslims claimed there were two million Muslims in Ukraine as of 2009. According to Said Ismagilov, the mufti of

Ummah ' (; ar, أمة ) is an Arabic word meaning "community". It is distinguished from ' ( ), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. Thus, it can be said to be a supra-national community with a common history. It is a synonym for ' ...

, in February 2016 one million Muslims lived in Ukraine. Due to the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea and the

War in Donbass War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, which is fought near Donetsk and Luhansk, 750,000 Muslims (including half-million Crimean Tatars) are living in territory no longer controlled by Ukraine.Ukrainian Muslims root for Ukraine

Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is the oldest English-language newspaper in Ukraine, founded in October 1995 by Jed Sunden. History American Jed Sunden founded the ''Kyiv Post'' weekly newspaper on Oct. 18, 1995 and later created KP Media for his holdings. ...

(11 February 2016) (According to figures as stated by Sheikh Ahmad Tamim, the mufti of Religious Administration of Muslims of Ukraine "DUMU".)

Gallery

Image:Hansaray1.jpg,

Bakhchisaray Palace The Khan's Palace ( tr, Han Sarayı) or Hansaray is located in the town of Bakhchysarai, Crimea. It was built in the 16th century and became home to a succession of Crimean Khans. The walled enclosure contains a mosque, a harem, a cemetery, liv ...

Image:Hansaray Fountain Tears 1.jpg, Fountain of Tears is known as the embodiment of love of one of the last Crimean Khans, Qırım Giray Khan for his young wife a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

girl in his

harem Harem ( Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A har ...

. Despite his battle-hardened harshness, he was grievous and wept when she died.Johnstone, Sarah. ''Ukraine''. Lonely Planet, 2005. File:Özbek Han Mosque (1314), Eski Kirim, Crimea, Ukraine.JPG, Mosque of

Öz Beg Khan Öz is a Turkish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Doğan Öz (1934–1978), Turkish prosecutor assassinated during his investigation of the Turkish deep state. * Emanuel Öz Emanuel Öz (born 1979) is a Swedish politician, l ...

built in

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...

in 1314. File:Ливадийский дворец 010.jpg, Ancient Column with Persian inscription, at the Livadiya Palace in Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine. File:Ливадийский дворец 221.jpg, Crimean Tatar patio and garden courtyard, at the Livadiya Palace, Crimea, Ukraine. File:Мечеть Муфти-Джамі.jpg, Mosque in Ukraine File:Sheikh_Ahmad_Tamim.jpg, alt=Mufti of Ukraine Sheikh Ahmad Tamim, none, Mufti of Ukraine Sheikh Ahmad Tamim

References

External links

http://risu.org.ua/en/index
(Religious information service of Ukraine)
http://www.islam.in.ua
(News & publicist site about Islam & Muslim in Ukraine)
https://web.archive.org/web/20090131210406/http://islamyat.org/ Clerical Board of Ukraine's Muslims
website
Crimean Tatar Internet Resources

Ukrainian translations of the Meanings of the Glorious Qur'an: Problems and Prospects. An article by Mykhaylo Yakubovych
* Yakubovych, Mykhaylo 'Islam and Muslims in Contemporary Ukraine: Common Backgrounds, Different Images','' Religion, State and Society'', September 2010, 38:3, 291 - 304 {{Ukraine topics Religion in Ukraine History of religion in Ukraine