Tatars

[pirwany]

Tennis star Dinara Safina describes her religion as Tartar. Is she a muslim or a Christian or of a different religion altogether?

[Octavius]

Primarliy it is an ethnic group.

The name Tatars was originally applied to both the Turkic and Mongol tribes which invaded Europe six centuries ago, and gradually extended to the Turkic tribes mixed with Mongolian or Uralic-speaking peoples in Siberia. It is used at present in two senses:

Quite loosely, to designate any of the Muslim tribes whose ancestors may have spoken Uralic or Altaic languages. Thus some writers talk of the Manchu Tatars.

and....

In a more restricted sense, to designate Muslim Turkic-speaking tribes, especially in Russia, who never formed part of the Seljuk or Ottoman Empire, but made independent settlements and remained more or less cut off from the politics and civilization of the rest of the Islamic world.

Dinara is a Russian of Tatar ethnicity.

[123everton]

Tatar is also the patron saint of dentists.
Forgive me, it's the change in the weather, I may have sun stroke.

[Octavius]

Really?

Not the patron saint of saying goodbye then?

[squarebear]

I thought it was something that went nicely with fish?

[123everton]

Lol

[Clanad]

...and there's me thinking it's a severely undercooked steak...

[pirwany]

Thank you everyone for your time and trouble to answer my question, including the funny ones.