Tomasz Miśkiewicz (born 9 July 1977) is the

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 ...

mufti A Mufti (; ar, مفتي) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatwas'' played an important rol ...

of the ''Muzułmański Związek Religijny'' (Muslim Religious Union).

Biography

Tomasz was born in

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...

in 1977 but was raised in

Suchowola Suchowola (; lt, Suchovola, be, Сухаволя ''Suchavolja'') is a town in north-eastern Poland in Sokółka County, located on both banks of the Olszanka River. It is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously be ...

. From 1991 to 1993, Tomasz studied Arabic in Syria and Sudan. He continued his education further from 1993 to 2000 studying Arabic, Islamic theology, and Islamic Law at the

Islamic University of Medina The Islamic University of Madinah ( ar, الجامعة الإسلامية بالمدينة المنورة) was founded by the government of Saudi Arabia by a royal decree in 1961 in the Islamic holy city of Medina. Many have associated the univer ...

. In 2000 Tomasz was appointed as the imam of the Muslim Religious Union (MRU) of Białystok and then elected as a chairman for the Board of Imams of the MRU of Poland. In 2004, Tomasz became the mufti of Poland and chairman of the Highest Board of the MRU.

Decorations

In 2006, he received the Silver

Cross of Merit (Poland) The Cross of Merit () is a Polish civil state decoration established on 23 June 1923, to recognize services to the state. History At the time of its establishment in 1923, the Cross of Merit was the highest civilian award in Poland. It was awa ...

for the work with minorities and ecumenical work. In 2011, he received the Golden Cross of Merit for the work with the Muslim minorities and for the interfaith dialogue.

Literature

*Piotr Borawski; Aleksander Dubiński (1986). ''Tatarzy polscy''. Warsaw: Iskry. p. 270. . *Piotr Borawski (1986). ''Tatarzy w dawnej Rzeczypospolitej''. Warsaw: Ludowa Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza. p. 317. . *Jan Tyszkiewicz (1989). ''Tatarzy na Litwie i w Polsce''; studia z dziejów XIII-XVIII w. Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe. p. 343. . *Ryszard Saciuk (1989). ''Tatarzy podlascy''. Białystok: Regional Museum of Białystok. p. 36.

References

20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam 1977 births Living people Lipka Tatars of Poland Polish imams Polish Muslims Polish Sunni Muslims 21st-century imams Islamic University of Madinah alumni Grand Muftis {{poland-reli-bio-stub