What is it about?
Tatars have appeared in Sweden since the sixteenth century, but mainly in the second half of the twentieth century, larger groups immigrated from Finland and Estonia. Most them are Mishär (western) Tatars, who arrived after World War II from Estonia and Finland, or in the 1970s, mainly job migrants from Finland. Tatars took the initiative to establish the first Muslim congregation in Sweden in 1949, but in the 1960s and 1970s they were ousted by other Muslim immigrants. Today Tatars count less than a hundred persons, who have integrated deeply into Swedish society. There is not much hope to revive the culture, community or language in Sweden, despite more recent Tatar immigration from previous Soviet republics.
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Photo by Sina Saadatmand on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Immigrants of other religious backgrounds than Lutheran Christian was not allowed to settle in Sweden until after 1781. Most immigrants were then Jews or Catholic, while Muslims remained rare for another century. Today Sweden has a substantial Muslim population, but the Tatars-Muslims who founded the first congregation are generally forgotten. Documenting the community of Mishär Tatars, who created vast transnational networks with other Tatars and Muslims globally, and had close ties especially with the larger Mishär communities in Finland, is important for the understanding of migrant and Muslim history in Sweden. Both are intertwined with Swedish history and the formation of Sweden as a pluralistic country with many languages, cultures and religions.
Perspectives
There seems to be no possibility for the Tatar minority to survive in Sweden as a group – they have integrated, intermarried with Swedes or other minorities, and many have lost language, traditions, culture and religion. Documenting a disappearing minority history, especially when the topic is an educated, highly adaptive group like the Tatars, is challenging but also rewarding for a historian. A different migration and integration path is discernible here; it is interesting to follow the adaptation strategies of Tatars while trying to keep their identity in a new environment.
Dr. Sabira Ståhlberg
Independent Scholar
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This page is a summary of: Sweden, January 2016, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/9789004308800_009.
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