Georgia
Recognizing itself as a European country, Georgia's territory is located in the North Caucasus, both in Southwest Asia and, to some extent, the Middle East, as well as in Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the north, Turkey and Armenia to the south, Russia and Azerbaijan to the east, and the Black Sea to the west. The ethnic distribution of the population is 85% Georgian, 6.5% Azerbaijani, 5.5% Armenian, and 3% Other (Russian, Ukrainian, Ossetian, etc.).
Islam reached Georgia in the first Hijri century and the campaigns in the Caucasus region started during the reign of Hz. Umar continued during the reigns of Hz. Osman, Hz. Ali and the Umayyads. The Emirate of Tbilisi, founded by Arabs in the region in the mid-8th century A.D., existed for nearly four centuries. Although Islam became prevalent in the southern parts of the country, the Russian occupation in the 19th century prevented Islam from spreading. The invasion also forced Muslim Georgians to migrate to Ottoman and Iranian lands.
The Adjarians on the Black Sea coast converted to Islam after the Ottoman conquest of the region in the 15th century. After the 1878 Ottoman-Russian War, a significant part of the population migrated to Anatolia, while those who stayed were severely oppressed and persecuted for their beliefs, especially during the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, the Adjars managed to keep their religious identity. Similarly, the Abkhaz adopted Islam with Ottoman rule in the 16th century, Since the mid-19th century, they migrated to Anatolia like other Caucasian peoples due to the Russian invasion of the region. However, both in the Ottoman Empire and in the Safavid State in Iran, Muslim Georgians took important roles in political, military, scientific, and cultural fields.
Today, in Georgia, where the majority of the population is Orthodox Christian, Muslims make up 10-11% of the country's population. Azeris, Abkhazians, and Adjarians are an important part of the Muslims in the country.