National Museum Opens Window to Belarusian Tatar Heritage

A manuscript can be more than a book. Between its pages, it can preserve a language, carry a faith across generations and quietly tell the story of a community determined not to lose its identity.
That story sits at the heart of a new exhibition at the National Museum, where centuries of Belarusian Tatar heritage have arrived in Oman through manuscripts written in an unexpected combination of languages and script.

The National Museum, in cooperation with the National Library of Belarus, opened The Book Culture of Belarusian Tatars on Wednesday, presenting a selection of manuscripts from the Belarusian library's collections. Held under the auspices of Dr Mohammed bin Said al Maamari, Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, the exhibition runs until November 6 and offers a glimpse into a lesser-known chapter of Islamic and European history: that of the Belarusian Tatars, a Muslim community deeply integrated into Belarusian society while retaining its religious and cultural roots.
'The written heritage of the Belarusian Tatars represents one of the most valuable and significant parts of Belarusian history', said Vadzim Hihin, Director General of the National Library of Belarus. 'This exhibition not only showcases these heritage treasures, but also serves as a symbol of the growing ties between the Republic of Belarus and the Sultanate of Oman, reflecting our shared respect for history and our commitment to safeguarding cultural heritage'.

The most striking feature of the collection is its writing system. Quranic manuscripts and other works were written in Arabic script, yet their contents could appear in Arabic, Turkish, Belarusian or Polish, a tradition that allowed even the Belarusian language to be recorded using Arabic letters. Among the manuscripts on display is a Quranic copy transcribed by Zdanovich Yakub, alongside kitabs bearing the names of their copyists, including Ibrahim Khasinevich and Hasan Mishutovich, along with the towns where each was produced.
For Krystsina Yermak, Head of the Scientific Research Department of Historical and Cultural Heritage at the National Library of Belarus, these manuscripts are more than old books. Speaking during a lecture accompanying the exhibition, she described them as 'testimony of preserving culture' and as bridges between countries and peoples, including between the Muslim and Orthodox worlds.

Hihin added that the exhibition marks only one part of a broader partnership. 'We express our deep gratitude to the National Archives and Records Authority and the National Museum of the Sultanate of Oman for their pioneering initiative to launch a specialised training programme for conservators from the National Library of Belarus', he said. 'This cooperation represents a bridge between our two countries, linking the past with the future and contributing to the protection and study of the rich Islamic book culture'.
The Muslim identity of the Belarusian Tatars took shape centuries ago and developed further during the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 14th and early 15th centuries. Living among Polish, Lithuanian and Belarusian cultures, the community underwent significant linguistic and social change, yet its religious foundations survived intact.

The manuscripts on display bear that out. They include Quranic manuscripts from the early 19th to early 20th century, alongside commentaries, handwritten kitabs and small prayer books known as khamails, produced in cities such as Slonim and Minsk. The collection extends beyond religion too, including a medical text written in Belarusian and Polish using Arabic script, showing how the writing system entered everyday knowledge as well as faith.

Yermak also pointed to places such as Iwye, in Belarus's Grodno region, which remains an important centre of Muslim culture and drew a parallel between Belarus's history as a meeting point of cultures and Oman's own experience of coexistence, a connection that gives the exhibition particular resonance in Muscat.
As these manuscripts leave their shelves for public view, their significance grows beyond the ink and paper that hold them. They are reminders that identity does not always survive through monuments or declarations. Sometimes, it survives quietly, one handwritten page at a time.