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Denys Brylov's book (Un)known Islam in Ukraine: The History of Islam in the Territories of Ukraine from the Late 19th to the Early 21st Century has been published by De Gruyter Brill – one of the oldest and most respected academic publishers in the field of Oriental studies. The work is part of the ZMO-Studien series of the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO), Germany's leading research centre for the study of the modern Middle East and broader Orient.
Although Muslim communities have lived on Ukrainian territory for centuries, their history (with the exception of the Crimean Tatars) remains one of the least studied subjects in global academia. (Un)known Islam in Ukraine is the first work, in both Ukrainian and English-language scholarship, to systematically fill this gap. It draws on unique materials from private and state archives – including the private archive of an underground mullah of Kyiv's Muslim community – as well as in-depth interviews with representatives of Muslim communities and government bodies responsible for religious affairs
The monograph traces how Muslim communities preserved, transformed, and transmitted their religious identity – through formal, informal, and often clandestine structures – across 130 years, from the era of the Russian Empire through the Soviet period to independent Ukraine. The author also examines how independent Ukraine became a hub for various Sufi and Islamist movements, and how jihadism unexpectedly emerged as a significant actor in the Russo-Ukrainian war.
The publication of an English-language edition carries particular weight: for decades, Soviet and Russian historiography either suppressed or distorted this subject. As a result, few people are aware that Islam has been – and remains – an important part of Ukraine's cultural and social landscape. Denys's book restores a voice to communities whose history was erased, and does so at precisely the moment when the world is watching Ukraine and seeking to understand it in all its complexity and diversity.
The monograph was first published in Ukrainian in 2023. On 30 April 2025, at the General Assembly of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Denys Brylov was awarded the Ahatanhel Krymsky Prize for the work – a distinction granted for outstanding contributions to Oriental studies. The English-language edition opens this research to a broad international audience and, in the author's own words, aims to inspire further scholarly inquiry into a subject that remains insufficiently studied in global academia.
(Un)known Islam in Ukraine: The History of Islam in the Territories of Ukraine from the Late 19th to the Early 21st Century is available in hardcover and digital formats at this link.
Denys Brylov is a co-founder of the NGO Dialogue in Action, a researcher, analyst, and dialogue facilitator with academic training and numerous publications in psychology, anthropology, and theology. His scholarly specialisation encompasses Islam, political activism in Islam, and transnational Islamic movements.
