Belarus and Russia are parties to the Treaty on the Establishment of the Union State of December 8, 1999, aimed at creating a single economic space. The goal is achieved in stages, based on the convergence of the countries' legislation in various areas. In 2008, the Commissioner for Religious and National Affairs of the Republic of Belarus approved the Regulation "On the Consultative Interfaith Council under the Commissioner for Religious and National Affairs". By that time, similar structures were already operating in the Russian Federation, for example, the Council for Interaction with Religious Associations under the President of Russia. The Belarusian structure included representatives of Christian denominations, Jews and Muslims.
Half of the Muslims of Belarus are Tatars: Volga-Ural, Siberian, Crimean and, of course, Belarusian, in the majority. In 2022, Minsk celebrated the 625th anniversary of the settlement of the Tatars, who appeared on the territory of Belarus at the end of the 14th century. In honor of this event, in the cathedral mosque of the capital of the republic was held an international scientific conference "The History of the Tatars as a Living History of Islam". Muslim Tatars also played a significant role in Belarusian history. Their settlement in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - the distant predecessor of the Republic of Belarus - took place in the context of relations with the Golden Horde and the Crimean Khanate. Tatars already participated in the battle of 1319 with the Teutonic Order, who made up a significant part of the army of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas.
The Grand Dukes of Lithuania invited Tatars to their lands, who were forced to leave their native lands due to various circumstances. In the 14th-16th centuries, Tatar settlers preserved their language and traditions almost unchanged. Over the following centuries, Belarusian Tatars succumbed to assimilation processes and gradually began to lose their language. In the 17th-19th centuries, a significant number of the Tatar population used Belarusian or Polish in everyday life. However, in order to preserve religion and traditions, they translated liturgical books into these languages. The Tatars used the Arabic alphabet known to them to convey the sounds of the Belarusian language in writing.
Despite the tendency towards assimilation, the Tatars have carried their religion through the centuries – Sunni Islam of the Hanafi madhhab. By the time Belarus became part of the Russian Empire, local Muslim communities were independent, but in 1831 they submitted to the Tauride Muslim Spiritual Administration. On the eve of World War I, more than a dozen generals from Belarusian Tatars served in the Russian army, and colonels, majors and lower-ranking officers numbered in the hundreds. All of them were graduates of Russian military educational institutions and were therefore considered the most loyal to the authorities.
After 1917, most Tatars found themselves in Western Belarus. Subsequently, the policy of the Soviet government towards Muslims was within the framework of an atheistic orientation. The revival of the religious, social and cultural life of Muslim Tatars occurred in the 1980s. It can be stated that by this time a unique community of citizens of Belarus had formed – Belarusian Tatars who profess Islam. They became the core of the Muslim community: in 1994, was formed the Muslim Religious Association in the Republic of Belarus, and in 2002 another organization – the Religious Board of Muslims.
Since the early 1990s, preachers from Arab countries have been flocking to Belarus. The missionaries began to convince young Muslims that they were practicing Islam incorrectly: they read the Quran poorly, did not pray according to the canons, and made mistakes. This is how radical Muslims, mostly young, emerged, irritating the older generation. The breakaway adherents planned to found their own youth movement in Belarus. But the state intervened: the preachers were deported, and the radical youth were dispersed and calmed down. Today, the shortage of mentors and teachers has already been compensated by clergy from Tatarstan; these are mainly graduates of the Russian Islamic University and the Kazan madrasah "Muhammadiya".
Islam is a traditional religion for the Belarusian lands. The first article of the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On Freedom of Religion and Religious Organizations" emphasizes that this norm "... defines the legal basis for the creation and activities of religious organizations based on ... the inseparability of Islam from the common history of the people of Belarus". But the wording refers to Islam brought by its bearers - mainly Tatars - who, together with the rest of the people, went through a difficult path in the process of establishing Belarusian statehood.
Belarus is experiencing an influx of migrants from countries where Islam is traditionally practiced. The state closely monitors the activities of national diasporas and independent religious associations. "The Tatar-Muslim family has been replenished with representatives of thirty-two nations and peoples. Islam unites us together", the mufti of Belarus and chairman of the Muslim Religious Association, Sheikh Abu- Bakir Shabanovich noted back in the 2010s. At the same time, the leader of Belarusian Muslims acknowledged that there is sometimes a certain misunderstanding between traditional representatives of the local Islamic world and newcomers.
A set of measures aimed at supporting migrants has been developed and is being actively implemented in the Republic of Belarus. The measures have been legally enshrined in migration legislation (the “Concept of Migration Policy for 2024-2028”). These steps were taken in response to the 2021 crisis – since then, migration flows through the country have increased significantly. Thus, the humanistic policy of the Republic of Belarus seeks to provide attractive conditions for foreigners with professional qualifications, while trying to minimize possible negative aspects and, above all, ensure national security.
In shaping the image of refugees during the migration crisis of 2021, Belarusian media resorted to strategies of empathy and solidarity with all concerned. In reality, the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation have not only a common history and border, but also a worldview that fits into the quality inherent in all traditional civilizations: peaceful coexistence of different peoples and nationalities, cultures and traditions, languages and religions, aimed at achieving universal well-being. In this light, the union of Russia and Belarus, as well as the latter's application to join BRICS, is absolutely logical.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Zedlik/Creative Commons 3.0