Polish Muslims

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http://youtube.com/watch?v=kQqPf6Dm1NI

______________________________SUBSCRIBE • ...... • http://commonwealth.pl/ • . • The Lipka Tatars (also known as Lithuanian Tatars, Belarusian Tatars, Lipkowie or Muślimi) are a group of Tatars living on the lands of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania since the 14th century. They followed Sunni branch of Islam and their origins can be traced back to the descendant states of the Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan - the White Horde, the Golden Horde, the Crimean Khanate and Kazan Khanate. In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth they initially served as a noble military caste but later they became urban-dwellers known for their crafts, horses and gardening skills. Throughout centuries they resisted assimilation and kept their traditional lifestyle. There are still small groups of Lipka Tatars living in today's Belarus, Lithuania, Ukraine and Poland. • • Towards the end of the 14th century, these Tatars were granted asylum and given noble status and land in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by Vytautas the Great and settled in the lands of present-day Belarus and Lithuania. From the very beginning of their settlement in Lithuania they were known as the Lipkas. While maintaining their Islamic religion they united their fate with that of the mainly Christian Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. From the Battle of Grunwald onwards the Lipka Tatar light cavalry regiments participated in every significant military campaign.

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