Muslims in Christian Turkic Republic of Chuvashia Need Larger Mosque

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Oct. 11 – The Chuvash of the Middle Volga are often referred to as the Christian Turks because a majority of them have converted from Islam and animistic faiths to Russian Orthodox Christianity. But a significant minority of them remain Muslim, and the total number of Muslims there is increased by the Tatar minority and immigrants from Muslim areas.

            At present, the Muslim Spiritual Directorate of the Republic of Chuvasia unites 44 local organizations which have a total of more than 40 mosques and count some 40,000 believers, including both ethnic Chuvash, Tatars and immigrant groups (milliard.tatar/news/musulmane-cuvasii-prosyat-o-pomoshhi-mecet-bulgar-ne-vmeshhaet-zelayushhix-nuzny-dengi-na-pristroi-6304).

            Relations between Christianity and Islam in Chuvashia have been relatively good in recent years, but a new issue has arisen that may change that: the single mosque in the republic’s capital of Cheboksary is too small. It holds only 250 worshippers, and on Fridays, more than twice that number show up.

            The overflow is forced to pray outside the building, something believers feel is highly offensive; and the Muslim community is seeking to raise funds to expand the mosque, turning not only to Chuvashia’s own Muslims but also to Islamic communities in the Republic of Tatarstan.

            To date, this effort has not roiled interethnic and interreligious feelings in the republic or in its neighbors; but if it goes on for some time, there is a risk of that happening, especially if Moscow seeks to exploit it to weaken the influence of Kazan on Cheboksary and to undercut efforts to promote a broader Idel-Ural identity.

            Moscow is especially likely to try to do that because of fears that the US, under the terms of the 1959 Captive Nations Week resolution, recognizes Idel-Ural as a national community under Moscow’s rule, a position Ukraine has now picked up and promoted as well (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2024/07/bidens-2024-captive-nations-week.html and windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2023/07/captive-nations-week-marked-for-first.html).