
Join us on a podcast journey into the rich and often overlooked world of the Tatars in Poland—a Muslim community with over six centuries of history in the heart of Central Europe.
Hosted by Maurits Berger, professor of Islam and the West at Leiden University, and Ewa Górska, socio-legal researcher at the University of Wrocław, this podcast explores the cultural heritage, everyday lives, and religious practices of Polish Tatars.
Together, we travel across the Polish landscape—from quiet rural settlements to archives and academic institutions—meeting Tatars from different backgrounds and discovering stories that reveal their past and present.
Who are the Tatars of Poland today? How do they maintain their traditions, and what does it mean to be Muslim in a largely Catholic society? In exploring these questions, we also reflect on broader themes of identity, belonging, and the place of Islam within European histories and futures.
Ewa and Maurits met in Kraków during an academic conference in the summer of 2022. They quickly discovered a shared passion for exploring the intersection of law, culture, and religion—and a mutual love of podcasting. That conversation sparked an idea: to create a podcast series about the Polish Tatars, one of Europe’s oldest Muslim communities.
In March 2023, they reunited in Gdańsk and set off on a field trip across northern and north-eastern Poland, visiting towns, villages, mosques, cemeteries, and community centers. Along the way, they recorded stories, conversations, impressions, and reflections—seeking to understand who the Polish Tatars are today, how they live, and how they remember their past.
After months of research, analysis, and editing, they now present this podcast series: an audio journey through the landscapes, voices, and layered histories of Polish Tatars.
The project was made possible with the generous support of Leiden University and the University of Wrocław.The recordings were made in seven locations, mostly Podlasie, in Eastern Poland.
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