Finnish-Islamic Congregation

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The Finnish-Islamic Congregation
Suomen Islam-seurakunta
Finlandiya İslam Cemaati
The "Islam house" (İslam yortı) of the Congregation, in Fredrikinkatu, Helsinki.
Religion
AffiliationSunni Islam
SectHanafi
Location
LocationHelsinki, Finland
60.163546°N, 24.938476°E
Map
Architecture
Date established1925
Website
https://tatar.fi

The Finnish-Islamic Congregation (Finnish: Suomen Islam-seurakunta, Tatar: Finlandiya İslam Cemaati[a]) is an Islamic congregation of the Tatar people in Finland. It was founded in 1925 as the first Islamic congregation in Finland. The congregation has activity in Helsinki, Järvenpää, Kotka and Turku. Its headquarters is located in Helsinki.

The Imam of the congregation since 2004 is Doctor of Philosophy, Ramil Belyaev. He was born in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast.[1]

Many international politicians have visited the congregation. These include the head of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, and the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.[2][3]

History

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The first Muslim people in Finland were Tatars. They arrived between the late 1800s and early 1900s as merchants from the Russian Empire. They were mainly Mishar Tatars, but some other Turkic peoples came as well, such as Bashkirs and Kazakhs. They blended in quickly because the first generation tended to identify themselves mostly through their religion (möselman).[4][5]

After settling in the country, they shortly felt the need to organize officially. The predecessor to the congregation was created in 1915, and its name was Helsingin musulmaanien hyväntekeväisyysseura (The Charity Club of Helsinki Moslems). They often held their services at the house of Weli-Ahmed Hakim, who would also become a founding member and long-time imam of the congregation.[4][6]

Due to laws at the time, these Muslim merchants could not establish an actual congregation in the beginning, but after the freedom of religion law was passed in 1922, it was possible. The congregation was officially registered in 1925.[4][5]

The name of the congregation was at first Suomen muhamettilainen seurakunta (The Finnish Mohammedan Congregation). It was changed in 1963 to its current version. The first administration consisted of following people; Weli Ahmed Hakim, Ymär Abdrahim, Nur-Muhammed Ali, Ismael Arifulla and Imad Samaletdin. Imam-Hakim also became the first chairman of the congregation. He has later been named an honorary member.[4][5][7]

During those times, the congregation was not yet officially only for Tatars, but back then, there were almost no other Muslims in the country.[8]

Facilities

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Tatar Cemetery in Helsinki, Hietaniemi.

At first, In 1941, the congregation acquired a house from the Helsinki street Fredrikinkatu. In 1948, it bought a wooden house located on the same street. In its place the current building was built between 1958 and 1961, designed by a Finnish man, Armas Lahtinen. The cost was 170 million Finnish Marks, and it was funded with loans and donations. The congregation received five million marks from Pakistan and Turkey, and 600,000 marks from Morocco. The congregation owns the entire building, though only a couple of floors are in use and the rest is rented. The Finnish Islamic Congregation is fairly wealthy and therefore does not require taxes from its members.[9] In addition to the main building in Helsinki, the congregation owns the Järvenpää Mosque and also chapels in Turku and Kotka. The Tatars in Tampere have their own congregation. The Finnish-Islamic Congregation has cemeteries in Hietaniemi (Helsinki) and Turku. Before losing the area, Viipuri (now Vyborg) also had a space for the deceased Muslims.[9][10][11]

Orientation

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The Tatar people practice Hanafi Sunni Islam.[12][13] Many of the younger generation of Tatars are secularized, while the older generations are more devout.[10] The congregation is heavily tied to the Tatar ethnic identity; it does not try to convert others and only accepts Tatars and their spouses (after a three-year trial) as its members. Other Muslims can however come and pray during services.[14][10]

List of chairmen

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  • Gölten Bedretdin (2020–present)
  • Atik Ali (2012–2020)
  • Okan Daher (1988–2012)
  • Abdullah Ali (1982–1988)
  • Osman Ali (1961–1982)
  • Zuhur Tahir (1929–1961)
  • Ismail Arifulla (1928–1929)
  • Kemal Baibulat (1926–1928)
  • Weli-Ahmed Hakim (1926–1926) [15][16]

List of imams

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  • Ramil Belyaev (2004–present)
  • Enver Yıldırım
  • Abdurrahman Kaya
  • Ahmet Naim Atasever
  • Weli-Ahmed Hakim (1925–1962) [17]

Yıldırım, Kaya and Atasever were from Turkey.[17]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Finnish Tatars have had a lot of influence from Turkish culture and thus, the Tatar language name of the congregation is spelled in Turkish. In Standard Tatar, it would be Finləndiyə İslam Cəmğiyəte, Финляндия Ислам Җәмгияте.

References

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  1. ^ Беляев, Рамиль: Татары Финляндии – история, интеграция, сохраненне идентичности. Казань, 2019. ISBN 978-5-6043753-3-4 (preface)
  2. ^ "Рустам Минниханов на встрече с татарами Финляндии: Мы всегда ставим вас в пример". 2018.
  3. ^ "Turkish Prime Minister Meets Tatar Diaspora Leaders In Finland". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d Suikkanen, Mikko (April 2012). "Yksityinen Susi" (PDF).
  5. ^ a b c "Historia - Suomen Islam-seurakunta".
  6. ^ Halen, Harry (February 2001). "Hakim, Weli-Ahmed (1882 - 1970)". Kansallisbiografia.
  7. ^ Leitzinger, Antero (1996). Mishäärit - Suomen vanha islamilainen yhteisö. Helsinki: Kirja-Leitzinger. p. 162. ISBN 952-9752-08-3.
  8. ^ Leitzinger, Antero (2006). Suomen tataarit. East-West Books Helsinki. p. 172. ISBN 952-99592-2-2.
  9. ^ a b Leitzinger 2006, p. 174
  10. ^ a b c Salminen, Pietarinen, Reetta & Eetu (2015). "Tataarimoskeija: Suomalaistunutta muslimiyhteisöä eivät rahahuolet paina". Yle.
  11. ^ Baibulat, Muazzez (2004). Tampereen islamilainen seurakunta: juuret ja historia (in Finnish, Tatar, and English). Gummerus Kirjapaino Oy. ISBN 952-91-6753-9.
  12. ^ Marjamäki, Marja-Leena (1980). Suomen Tataarimusiikki (in a book: Tugan Tel - Kirjoituksia Suomen Tataareista, reporter: Kadriye Bedretdin, 2011.). Helsinki: Suomen Itämainen Seura. p. 356. ISBN 978-951-9380-78-0.
  13. ^ Karimova, Lilya. "" Islam as a Pillar " : Muslim Tatar Women's Narratives on Tatars' Identity and the Future".
  14. ^ Leitzinger 2006, p. 171
  15. ^ Evren Küçük. Türkiye-Finlandiya ilişkileri (1917-1980). Ankara: Atatürk Kültür , Dil ve Tarih Yüksek Kurumu, Atatürk Araştırma
  16. ^ Vasantola, Satu (2020). "Ensimmäinen nainen". Helsingin Sanomat.
  17. ^ a b Беляев, Рамиль: Татары Финляндии – история, интеграция, сохраненне идентичности. pp. 166, 169-170, 171, 173. Казань, 2019.ISBN 978-5-6043753-3-4

Further reading

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  • Kadriye Bedretdin (reporter): Tugan Tel - Kirjoituksia Suomen Tataareista. Suomen Itämainen Seura, Helsinki 2011. ISBN 978-951-9380-78-0.
  • Muazzez Baibulat: The Tampere Islamic Congregation: the roots and history. Gummerus Kirjapaino Oy, Jyväskylä 2004. ISBN 952-91-6753-9.
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