A continuous presence of Islam in Belarus began in the 14th century. From this time it was primarily associated with the Lipka Tatars, many of whom settled in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth while continuing their
traditions and religious beliefs. The Lipka Tatars themselves did not call themselves that. They preferred to be called Belarusian Muslims, as they considered themselves more educated and religious than the nomadic Tatars. That is why the Turkic languages spoken by other Tatars did not take root among the Belarusian Tatars. The Belarusian Muslims spoke Old Belarusian, which was the state language in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. But they wrote in Arabic letters. This is how the Arabic script of the Belarusian language appeared. In the 16th century, Circassians came here, in the 19th century (after the Russo-Turkish War) there were many captured Turks here.