Orthodox Georgian leadership and Muslim minorities

Abstract

Under current conditions Orthodox Georgians, Mingrelians, Svans and Lazs make up the majority of the population of Georgia.  The second largest group consists of Turks from Borcha, Adjara, and Akhiska, and Kists / Chechens, members of the Hanafi and Shiite Muslim sects.  A third large group includes Tatars, Avars, Abkhazians, Ossetians, Kabardins, Armenians, Kurds, Russians, Ukrainians, Assyrians, Chinese, Greeks, Zaza and Georgian Jews who retain their ethnic and religious (Islam, Christianity, etc.) identity.  The fact that the country's population consists of communities with different ethnic, linguistic, religious and historical concepts makes it difficult to create a unitary state. For more than 30 years the supremacy of the Orthodox Georgian identity in the basic policy of the authorities of the country has been opposed by other cultural identities. This puts the authorities in the framework of the practice of improving the rights of ethno-religious minorities throughout the country. Our study addresses the demographic structures, geographic sites, and religious activities (religious education and places of worship) of various ethno-religious groups throughout the country. Discriminatory policies toward ethno-religious groups across the country are examined. Assesses practical solutions that are designed to improve the rights of Muslim minorities in the area of religious activities.