Islam in Crimea

According to legend, Islam entered Crimea in the 7th century, but began to develop more widely in the 13th century. Studies on Islam in Crimea have enriched our knowledge of Crimea as a ‘multicultural region’ inhabited by many ethnic groups since the past, and Crimea as the ‘spiritual centre’ not only of Orthodox Christianity during the time of Vladimir I, which resulted in the Christianisation of the Kievan Rus’ Empire, but also the ‘cultural centre’ of the ethnic Tatars living there, who are identified as Crimean Tatars-the Tatars who lived in Crimea under the Crimean Khanate for almost 350 years.

The significance of this book is both academic and practical. Academically, the book enriches existing studies on Islam in the Crimean Peninsula, Crimean Tatar Islam, or what I refer to generally as ‘Islam in Crimea’. Practically speaking, this book is useful as information for the world community about the history and development of Islam in this peninsula region in Eastern Europe.