Identification and Promotion of Muslim Heritage in Central Europe

Context

In December 2019, the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Belarus informed UNESCO that an international conference on “The Muslim Heritage of Central Europe” is being planned and requested UNESCO to provide its advisory assistance.

To date, the State List of Historical and Cultural Values of the Republic of Belarus includes 3 movable objects of the Muslim heritage. This is mainly the heritage of Tatars - an ethnic religious group that developed on the territory of the former medieval state - the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 14-16 centuries and has retained its originality until now, continuing to exist on the territory of modern countries - Belarus, Lithuania and Poland. In addition, more than 200 monuments of Tatar book culture are registered in the collections of libraries and museums in Belarus.

All these properties are under the state protection, stipulated by the legislation of the Republic of Belarus. Many of the monuments, such as mosques, mizars, have retained their previous functions, are in good condition and continue to be used by local communities. However, an inventory of Muslim heritage in Belarus is far from complete. A great number of monuments are still waiting for their study as well as many aspects of the European Muslim history and culture also need in more deep research. Unfortunately, the history and culture of small groups for a long time did not attract enough attention of researchers and related support.

Given the historical, cultural and typological commonality of the Muslim heritage of Belarus, Lithuania and Poland, it is necessary to combine efforts for researching and inventorying it, at least in the territory of these states, involving representatives of Muslim communities themselves, as well as, if possible, researchers from other interested countries. A preliminary discussion of this topic has already been held by the Republic of Belarus in the frameworks of a series of bilateral meetings with Poland and Lithuania.

Bringing together on the international, regional and national levels for studying the Muslims' cultural heritage potential of Central Europe will help respond to take concrete measures for its preservation and effective use with a view to the sustainable development of Muslim communities and their integration into the common European space.

UNESCO is deeply committed to assisting States Parties in their efforts to protect heritage in all its forms. This proposal is fully in line with UNESCO’s mandate, as well as relevant Decisions adopted by the World Heritage Committee. The activity will be implemented within the framework of the UNESCO Initiative on Heritage of Religious Interest and in line with the Global Strategy for a Representative, Balanced and Credible World Heritage List, aiming to ensure that the List reflects the world's cultural and natural diversity of outstanding universal value.