The Muslims of Ukraine: Empires, Mystics, and Manuscripts

In libraries all across the Muslim world, old manuscripts survive by scholars whose names end with al-Qirimi: ‘The Crimean.’ Discussing all manner of religious topics, these texts form just part of the rich heritage of Muslims from regions in the east of Europe and to the north of the Black Sea that eventually became part of Ukraine. In this episode, we’ll learn how these manuscripts help reveal the long history of Islam in both western and eastern Ukraine, along with the changing forms of religious leadership that emerged under the rule of such different states as the Crimean Khanate, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Ottoman Empire, and the Soviet Union. From the cities of Bakhchysarai and Akkerman, we’ll follow the trail of Qirimi mystics and scholars to trace the impact of Ukrainian Tatars on such distant places as Arabia and Indonesia. Nile Green talks to Mykhaylo Yakubovych, author of “A Neglected Ottoman Sufi Treatise from 16th Century: Mawahib al-Rahman fi bayan Maratib al-Akwan by Ibrahim al-Qirimi,” The Journal of Ottoman Studies 45 (2015).