Jan III Sobieski przywilejem z 12 marca 1679 r. nadał Tatarom ziemie w ekonomii brzeskiej. Otrzymali oni dobra w Studziance, Lebiedziewie i Małaszewiczach. Osadnictwo kontynuowali kolejni królowie. Wyznawcy islamu mieszkali m.in. w Połoskach, Małaszewiczach Wielkich i Małych, Trojanowie, Worońcu, Ossowie, Wólce Kościeniewickiej, Koszołach, Ortelu (dawnym Wortelu), Bokince (zwanej tatarską), Kościeniewiczach. Skupieni byli wokół Studzianki gdzie do 1915 roku funkcjonował meczet. Założyli także dwa cmentarze tatarskie w Studziance i Zastawku, które przetrwały do dzisiaj. W świetle adnotacji ksiąg metrykalnych z lat 1798-1911 w parafii w Studziance zawarto 131 małżeństw. Związki małżeńskie były zawierane w różnych miejscowościach. Duchowny tatarski jeździł z posługami do swoich wiernych, udzielając im ślubów. Pełnił niejako rolę urzędnika stanu cywilnego w terenie. Imamowie zapisywali księgi w języku polskim. Jedynie w latach 1800-1801,1803-1805 dokonywali wpisów po łacinie, a od 1867 roku zapisywali je po rosyjsku.
EN
On 12 March 1679, king Jan III Sobieski of Poland, issued an edict settling the Tatars on Crown Estates in Studzianka, Lebiedziew and Małaszewicze in the province of Brest. Under later Polish rulers, Tatars lived in Połoski, Małaszewicze Wielkie and Małe, Trojanów, Woroniec, Ossowo, Wólka Kościeniewiecka, Koszoły, Ortel (former Wortel), Bokinka Tatarska and Kościeniewicze. Their largest community was in Studzianka and its environs. They had a mosque in Studzianka, active until 1915, and cemeteries in Studzianka and Zastawek, still existing today. In the parish registers 1798-1911 in Studzianka there are 131 entries for Tatar marriages. They were contracted in different villages. An imam would go from place to place to perform the rites. The marriage entries are in Polish, Latin (for the years 1800-1801 and 1803-1805) and Russian (from 1867 onwards).
Symbolic interactionism, applied in the context of Muslim clerics, suggests that society is constructed based on lived experiences and shared symbolic meanings where people see themselves and the social environment through the eyes of others. For this study, data collected from in-depth interviews were examined to investigate the viewpoints and occupational pathways of American born imams. Thus, this study explored the responsibilities assigned to imams and their communal objectives. Overall, this study found several challenges that imams experienced, professional and organizational. Utilizing symbolic interactionism, these issues were explicated, and the following overarching themes were generated: imams received inadequate training as religious leaders in their communities, relationships between the mosque board and an imam can directly reinforce or mitigate a challenging work environment, and it is most advantageous for American communities to hire American-born imams over foreign-born imams. The findings indicate that organizational support extended to imams from mosque boards leads to not only an amicable relationship but more productive community engagement.
At the end of the 19th century, activities were initiated in the Ottoman State to increase the knowledge of the Muslims and Ehl-i Perde (those with a Muslim name but who do not fulfill the requirements of Islam) Kıptis (Roma) in various fields, particularly in religion. Imams were appointed to their settlement areas. Schools were opened. In the meantime, they were also recruited into the army where they received education/training in many aspects. The aim of this article is to examine the adaptation of the Roma into the Muslim society during the discussed period.
Researchers of Islam in the West have noticed that imams working since the 1950s in Western Europe or the United States assume far more responsibilities than their counterparts in traditional Muslim societies. Consequently, further research had to identify and specify the types of imams who perform their service in the West – their most complete typology is the one developed by Niels Valdemar Vinding. However, besides Finland where the Muslim Tatars have lived since the nineteenth century, the classification does not include imams from areas inhabited by the indigenous Muslims. This study is an attempt to check if the Polish-Lithuanian Tatars living in Poland who have had their imams for centuries would fit into Vinding’s typology and if this typology also would work in a diachronic perspective. Literature on the subject was the basis for the research into the situation of imams in the past. Interviews with representatives of particular Muslim organizations served as the basis for the research into the present-day situation.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.