1.
Islam in Europe
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Islam first gained a foothold in continental Europe in 711 with the Umayyad invasion of Hispania. They advanced into France but in 732, were defeated by the Franks at the Battle of Tours, over the centuries the Umayyads were gradually driven south and in 1492 the Moorish Emirate of Granada surrendered to Ferdinand V and Isabella. Islam entered Eastern Europe in what are now parts of Russia and Bulgaria in the 7th and 13th century, following the Muslim conquest of Persia, Islam for the first time penetrated into regions that would later become part of Russia. The Ottoman Empire expanded into Europe taking huge portions of the Byzantine Empire in the 14th and 15th centuries, over the centuries, the Ottoman Empire also gradually lost almost all of its European territories, until the empire collapsed in 1922. However, parts of the Balkans continue to have populations of native. Transcontinental countries, such as Turkey, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have large Muslim populations and this is also the case in a number of regions within the Russian Federation such as the Northern Caucasus, Crimea, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan and the Astrakhan Oblast. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries substantial numbers of non-native Muslims immigrated to Western Europe, by 2010 an estimated 44 million Muslims were living in Europe, including an estimated 19 million in the EU. They are projected to comprise 8% by 2030 and they are often the subject of intense discussion and political campaigns. Such events have also fueled growing debate on Islamophobia, attitudes toward Muslims, Muslim forays into Europe began shortly after the religions inception, with a short lived invasion of Byzantine Sicily by a small Arab and Berber force that landed in 652. Islam gained its first genuine foothold in continental Europe from 711 onward, al-Andalus has been estimated to have had a Muslim majority by the 10th century after most of the local population converted to Islam. This coincided with the La Convivencia period of the Iberian Peninsula as well as the Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain, pelayo of Asturias began the Christian counter-offensive known as the Reconquista after the Battle of Covadonga in 722. Slowly, the Christian forces began a conquest of the taifa kingdoms of al-Andalus. By 1236, practically all that remained of Muslim Spain was the province of Granada. In the 8th century, Muslim forces pushed beyond Spain into Aquitaine, in southern France, in 725 Muslim forces captured Autun in France. From 719 to 759, Septimania was one of the five areas of al-Andalus. The last Muslim forces were driven from France in 759, but maintained a presence, especially in Fraxinet all the way into Switzerland until the 10th century. At the same time, Muslim forces managed to capture Sicily and portions of southern Italy, Sicily was gradually conquered by the Arabs and Berbers from 827 onward, and the Emirate of Sicily was established in 965. They held onto the region until their expulsion by the Normans in 1072, the Christians belonged to the Eastern Rite
2.
Islam in Belarus
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Islam in Belarus has a long history. It was introduced into the lands which now constitute Belarus by Lipka Tatars in the 14th -16th centuries, today, there are 45,000 Muslims in Belarus representing 0. 5% of the total population. In 1994, the First All-Belarusian Congress of Muslims was held, as a result, the Muslim Religious Community of the Republic of Belarus was founded. Ever since it has been headed by Dr. Ismail Aleksandrovich, in 1997 there were 23 communities including 19 of those in the Western regions of Belarus. Belarus is the country in Europe to have jailed a newspaper editor for publishing the Danish cartoons of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. On January 18,2008, Alexander Sdvizhkov was jailed for three years for incitement of religious hatred, today there are mosques in Smilovichi, Ivye, Slonim, and Novogrudok in the Grodno region, in Kletsk in the Minsk region, and in Vidzy in the Vitebsk region. From 1900 to 1902 a mosque was constructed in Minsk, sixty years later it was destroyed by the Communists. On November 11,2016 a replica of the mosque was opened in Minsk, Religion in Belarus Freedom of religion in Belarus Belarusian Cathedral Mosque site Islamic Religion & Culture in Belarus
3.
Islam in Hungary
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Islam in Hungary has a long history that dates back to at least the 10th century. The influence of Sunni Islam was especially pronounced in the 16th century during the Ottoman period in Hungary, in the old form of the Hungarian language, Muslims were called Böszörmény, a term preserved as both a family name, and as that of the town Hajdúböszörmény. The Spaniard Muslim traveler Abu Hamid al Garnati wrote of two types of Muslims in Hungary, the first being the Böszörmény of the Carpathian Basin, in the 11th century, St. Ladislaus and later Coloman passed laws against the non-Christians. These laws subdued Islam by coercing Muslims to eat pork, go to Church and intermarry, §47 We command all Ismaelite villages to build a church and finance it. After the church is built the village should move and settle elsewhere in order to become similar to us in living together and also in Christ. The Turks entered Hungary after the Battle of Mohács in 1526, from 1541 they started to control the central part directly and organized five vilayets, Buda, Kanije, Eğri, Várad and Temesvár. In the 16th century, during the Ottoman rule, numerous Muslim personalities were born in Hungary, most Islamic studies in Hungary were taught at the Hanafi madhhab or school of Sunni Islam. In the 19th century, after the collapse of the revolution of 1848-9, more than 6,000 emigrated Poles, among them were such Hungarian officers such as Richard Guyon, György Kmety and Maximilian Stein. These personalities were afterwards raised to the post of General, the council of Újbuda has given permission for Muslim community in Hungary, to build the first Islamic centre in Budapest. The new Islamic centre will hold a library containing 50,000 volumes, in 2013 Hungarian Islamic Council requested for the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina Husein Kavazović to also become Grand Mufti of Hungary. Hungarys new Law on the Right to Freedom of Conscience and Religion, Islam is not included in this list and Muslims have to apply to get official recognition under the new law. On 27 February 2012, Hungarys parliament amended the countrys law on religious organizations to expand the list of officially recognized the Hungarian Islamic Council. According to the 2011 Hungarian census, there were 5,579 Muslims in Hungary, of these,4,097 declared themselves as Hungarian, while 2,369 as Arab by ethnicity. In Hungary people can more than one ethnicity, so some people declared Hungarian. According to the Magyarországi Muszlimok Egyháza there are c.32,000 Muslims in Hungary, Islam History in Hungary History of Islam in Hungary
4.
Islam in Lithuania
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Islam in Lithuania, unlike many other northern and western European countries, has a long history. The medieval Grand Duchy of Lithuania of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, stretching from Baltic to Black seas, a few Muslims migrated to ethnically Lithuanian lands, now the current Republic of Lithuania, mainly under rule of Grand Duke Vytautas. The Tatars, now referred to as Lithuanian Tatars, lost their language over time and now speak Lithuanian, however, in Lithuania, unlike many other European societies at the time, there was religious freedom. Lithuanian Tatars settled in places, such as around Raižiai. Much of the Lithuanian Tatar culture, mosques, graveyards and such were destroyed by the Soviet Union after it annexed Lithuania, after restoration of Lithuanian independence however the government supported the promotion of Lithuanian Tatar culture among those Lithuanian tatars who lost it. That mosque is called Vytautas Didysis Mosque after the Grand Duke Vytautas, in the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, however, no mosque remains, as Russians destroyed the Lukiškės Mosque which was there. The Lithuanian Tatar community is trying to rebuild the mosque, but faces various problems, currently, only several thousand Lithuanian Tatars remain, making up an estimated 0. 1% of the countrys population. However, with the restoration of Lithuanian independence, they are experiencing a kind of revival with evidence to suggest there are several hundred non-Tartar converts to Islam. Halal meat in the remains difficult to obtain, with more observant Muslims slaughtering animals themselves
5.
Islam in Malta
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Today, the main organizations represented in Malta are the Libyan World Islamic Call Society and the minority Ahmadiyya. Prior to Muslim rule, Eastern Christianity had been prominent in Malta during the time of Greek-Byzantine rule, the thesis of a Christian continuity in Malta during Arab rule, despite popular, is historically unfounded. However, it has also argued that the islands were occupied by Muslims earlier in the 9th. The Aghlabids established their capital in Mdina, the old Roman fortification, later to become Fort St Angelo, was also extended. As recognised by the acclaimed Maltese historial Godfrey Wettinger, the Arab conquest broke any continuity with previous population of the island, Malta returned to Christian rule with the Norman conquest in 1127. It was, with Noto on the tip of Sicily. The Arab administration was kept in place and Muslims were allowed to practise their religion freely until the 13th century. The Normans allowed an emir to remain in power with the understanding that he would pay a tribute to them in mules, horses. As a result of favourable environment, Muslims continued to demographically and economically dominate Malta for at least another 150 years after the Christian conquest. In 1122 Malta experienced a Muslim uprising and in 1127 Roger II of Sicily reconquered the islands. In 1224, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, sent an expedition against Malta to establish royal control, the conquest of the Normans would lead to the gradual Latinization and subsequent firm establishment of Roman Catholicism in Malta, after previous respective Eastern Orthodox and Islamic domination. In 1266, Malta was turned over in fiefdom to Charles of Anjou, brother of France’s King Louis IX, eventually, during Charless rule religious coexistence became precarious in Malta, since he had a genuine intolerance of religions other than Roman Catholicism. However, Maltas links with Africa would still remain strong until the beginning of Spanish rule in 1283, by the end of the 15th century all Maltese Muslims would be forced to convert to Christianity and had to find ways to disguise their previous identities. Wettinger goes on to say there is no doubt that by the beginning of Angevin times no professed Muslim Maltese remained either as free persons or even as serfs on the island. During the period of rule under the Knights Hospitaller, thousands of Muslim slaves, in the mid-18th century, there were around 9000 Muslim slaves in Hospitaller-ruled Malta. They were given an amount of freedom, being allowed to gather for prayers. Although there were laws preventing them from interacting with the Maltese people, some slaves also worked as merchants, and at times were allowed to sell their wares in the streets and squares of Valletta. A mosque was built in 1702 during the Order of St John for Turkish slaves within a building of which neither ruins nor description of its architecture now remain
6.
Monaco
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Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city-state and microstate, located on the French Riviera in Western Europe. France borders the country on three sides while the other side borders the Mediterranean Sea, Monaco has an area of 2.02 km2 and a population of about 38,400 according to the last census of 2015. With 19,009 inhabitants per km², it is the second smallest, Monaco has a land border of 5.47 km, a coastline of 3.83 km, and a width that varies between 1,700 and 349 m. The highest point in the country is a pathway named Chemin des Révoires on the slopes of Mont Agel, in the Les Révoires Ward. Monacos most populous Quartier is Monte Carlo and the most populous Ward is Larvotto/Bas Moulins, through land reclamation, Monacos land mass has expanded by twenty percent, in 2005, it had an area of only 1.974 km2. Monaco is known as a playground for the rich and famous, in 2014, it was noted about 30% of the population was made up of millionaires, more than in Zürich or Geneva. Monaco is a principality governed under a form of constitutional monarchy, although Prince Albert II is a constitutional monarch, he wields immense political power. The House of Grimaldi have ruled Monaco, with brief interruptions, the official language is French, but Monégasque, Italian, and English are widely spoken and understood. The states sovereignty was recognized by the Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861. Despite Monacos independence and separate foreign policy, its defense is the responsibility of France, however, Monaco does maintain two small military units. Economic development was spurred in the late 19th century with the opening of the countrys first casino, Monte Carlo, since then, Monacos mild climate, scenery, and gambling facilities have contributed to the principalitys status as a tourist destination and recreation center for the rich. In more recent years, Monaco has become a major banking center and has sought to diversify its economy into services and small, high-value-added, the state has no income tax, low business taxes, and is well known for being a tax haven. It is also the host of the street circuit motor race Monaco Grand Prix. Monaco is not formally a part of the European Union, but it participates in certain EU policies, including customs, through its relationship with France, Monaco uses the euro as its sole currency. Monaco joined the Council of Europe in 2004 and it is a member of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. Monacos name comes from the nearby 6th-century BC Phocaean Greek colony, according to an ancient myth, Hercules passed through the Monaco area and turned away the previous gods. As a result, a temple was constructed there, the temple of Hercules Monoikos, because the only temple of this area was the House of Hercules, the city was called Monoikos. It ended up in the hands of the Holy Roman Empire, an ousted branch of a Genoese family, the Grimaldi, contested it for a hundred years before actually gaining control
7.
Islam in Poland
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A continuous presence of Islam in Poland began in the 14th century. From this time it was associated with the Tatars, many of whom settled in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth while continuing their traditions. The first significant non-Tatar groups of Muslims arrived in Poland in the 1970s, currently the total number of Muslims in Poland is estimated at around 31,000, most of whom are Sunni. Poland had little prolonged contact with Islam until the 14th century with the advent of the first Tatar settlers, in the 14th century, the first Tatar tribes settled in the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Skilled warriors and great mercenaries, their settlement was promoted by the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, among them Gediminas, Algirdas, the Tatars who settled in Lithuania, Ruthenia and modern-day eastern Poland were allowed to preserve their Sunni religion in exchange for military service. The initial settlements were temporary and most of the Tatars returned to their native lands after their service expired. However, in the late 14th century Grand Duke Vytautas and his brother King Władysław Jagiełło started to settle Tatars in the Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic borderlands, the Lipka Tatars, as they are known, migrated from the lands of the Golden Horde and in large part served in the Polish-Lithuanian military. The largest of groups to arrive to the area was a tribe of Tokhtamysh. The Tatars under his command were all granted szlachta status, a tradition that was preserved until the end of the Commonwealth in the 18th century. In the 16th and 17th centuries, additional Tatars found refuge in the lands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, mostly of Nogay, after then until the 1980s, the Muslim faith in Poland was associated primarily with the Tatars. It is estimated that in the 17th century there were approximately 15,000 Tatars in the Commonwealth of a population of 8 million. The most notable military clans were granted with Coats of Arms and szlachta status, while other families melted into the rural. The first Tatar settlements were founded near the towns of the Commonwealth in order to allow for fast mobilization of troops. Apart from religious freedom, the Tatars were allowed to marry Polish and Ruthenian women of Catholic or Orthodox faith, finally, the May Constitution granted the Tatars with a representation in the Polish Sejm. Perhaps the only moment in history when the Lipka Tatars fought against the Commonwealth was during the so-called Lipka Rebellion of 1672, the Deluge and the ensuing period of constant wars made the szlachta of central Poland associate the Muslim Lipkas with the invading forces of the Ottoman Empire. The Polish–Ottoman Wars fed into the atmosphere against them and led to anti-Islamic writings. Although King John Casimir of Poland tried to limit the restrictions on their religious freedoms and the erosion of their ancient rights and privileges, the gentry opposed. Although the Lipkas initially fought for the victorious Turks, soon their camp was divided onto the supporters of the Turks, all the Tatars were pardoned by Sobieski and most of them took part in his campaign against Turkey resulting in the brilliant victory in the battle of Vienna
8.
Religion in San Marino
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San Marino is a small landlocked country with an area of about 61.2 km2 on a rocky promontory at an elevation of 657 meters in central Italy. It is the third smallest country after Vatican and Monaco and it was founded as a Republic in 600 AD and recognized by the Papacy in 1631, and became a member of the United Nations in 1992. As of 2009, it had a population of 31,500, the ethnic composition is about 84. 95% Sammarinese,14. 6% Italians and others. The country does not provide exact statistics of the affiliations of its people. However, it is inferred that at least 95% of the people are Roman Catholics, as in Italy, there are other small groups, including Jehovahs Witnesses, Baháís, Muslims, and Waldensians. San Marinos schools are all public and financial support is provided by the State, the oath of loyalty as prescribed in 1903 demanded that it is to be sworn on the Holy Gospel. Those rules were changed in 1993 to give Parliamentarians the choice to replace the phrase of Holy Gospel to on my honor and this legal formulation has been upheld by the European Court of Human Rights. The traditional formulation is still mandatory for other offices like that of the Captain regent and government minister, San Marino is a predominantly Catholic state, over 97% of the population profess the Catholic faith, but it is not the established religion. Approximately half of those who profess to be Catholic practice the faith, there is no Episcopal see in San Marino. Historically, the parishes in San Marino were divided between two Italian dioceses, mostly in the Diocese of Montefeltro, and partly in the Diocese of Rimini. In 1977, the border between Montefeltro and Rimini was readjusted so that all of San Marino fell within the diocese of Montefeltro, the bishop of San Marino-Montefeltro resides in Pennabilli, in Italy. However, there is a provision under the Income tax rules that the tax payers have the right to request the allocation of 0. 3% of their tax to the Catholic Church or to other charities. The Churches include the two groups of the Waldensians and Jehovahs Witnesses. The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Marino-Montefeltro was until 1977 the historic diocese of Montefeltro and it is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia. The current diocese includes all the parishes of San Marino, the earliest mention of Montefeltro, as Mona Feretri, is in the diplomas by which Charlemagne confirmed the donation of Pepin. The first known bishop of Montefeltro was Agatho, whose residence was at San Leo, under Bishop Flaminios Dondi the see was again transferred to San Leo, but later it returned to Pennabilli. The historic diocese was a suffragan of the archdiocese of Urbino, there are also several convents and monasteries such as the San Francesco convent of Friars, Convent of the Friars Minor Capuchin, Monastery Santa Maria dei Servi, and Monastery Santa Chiara. It is dedicated to the patron of the city and the state of San Marino, the church is built in the neoclassical style, and has a porch of eight Corinthian columns
9.
Islam in Ukraine
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Islam is the fourth-largest religion in Ukraine, representing 0. 6%–0. 9% of the population. The religion has a history in Ukraine dating back to the establishment of the Crimean Khanate in the 15th century. Sunni Islam of the Hanafi school is the largest non-Christian religion in Ukraine, other Turkic peoples indigenous to Ukraine, predominantly found in South and south-east Ukraine, practice other forms of Islam. These include Volga Tatars, Azeris, North Caucasian ethnic groups, in 2012 an estimated 500,000 Muslims lived in Ukraine, including 300,000 Crimean Tatars. In February 2016 Said Ismagilov, the mufti of Ummah, counted one million Muslims in Ukraine, the major Islamic institutions supporting communities are found in Kiev, Crimea, Simferopol and Donetsk. Independent Salafi communities are found in Kiev and Crimea, as well as Shia communities in Kiev, Kharkiv. While ethnic Ukrainians are predominantly Orthodox and Uniate Christians, Muslims have lived in the territory makes up modern Ukraine for centuries. Muslim settlements are concentrated in the southern half, particularly in Crimea. The history of Islam in Ukraine is associated with the Crimean Tatars and they established the Crimean Khanate in southern Ukraine in the 15th century. The Khanate soon lost its sovereignty and fell under the influence of the Ottoman Empire, from the 15th to the 18th centuries, Crimean Tatars frequently raided Eastern Slavic lands to capture their inhabitants, enslaving an estimated three million people, predominantly Ukrainians. The Khanate ended after growing Russian influence led to its annexation into the Russian Empire after the Russo-Turkish Wars in the late 18th century, the Crimean Tatars were Sunnis, and their mufti was regarded as the highest religious figure. Tatar communities were led and represented by local imams, at the time the Khanate was annexed by Russia, its capital of Bakhchysarai had at least 18 mosques along with several madrassas. However, the Russian Empire began persecuting the Muslim population, at the time of the Russian Revolution in 1917, Muslims constituted one-third of Crimeas population. Nearly all major cities in Crimea had significant Muslim populations, Crimean Muslims were subjected to mass deportation in 1944 when Joseph Stalin accused them of collaborating with Nazi Germany. More than 200,000 Crimean Tatars were deported to Central Asia and it is estimated that more than 100,000 deportees died of starvation or disease due to the deportation. The property and territory abandoned by Crimean Tatars was appropriated by the mostly ethnic Russians who were resettled by the Soviet authorities, since the Ukrainian independence in 1991, the return of Crimean Tatars to Crimea has increased compared to the Soviet era. Although Ukraines Muslim population consists of ethnic groups, the majority are of Tatar origin. There has also been a small settlement of Muslim Chechen refugees in Crimea
10.
Islam in Italy
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Muslim presence in Italy dates back to the 9th century, when Sicily came under control of the Abbasid Caliphate. There was a large Muslim presence in Italy from 827 until the XII century, the Norman conquest of Sicily led to a gradual decline of Islam, due to conversions and emigration of Muslims toward Northern Africa. A small Muslim community however survived at least until 1300, thereafter, until the 20th century, Islam was virtually non-existent in Italy. During the 20th century, the first Somali immigrants from Italian Somaliland began to arrive, in more recent years, there has been migration from Albania, Morocco, Egypt, and Tunisia. Islam is not formally recognised by the state, such recognition does not merely depend on the number of followers of a given religion, and it requires congruence between the proposing religion principles and the Constitution. Official recognition gives an organised religion a chance to benefit from a national religion tax, in 2005, a council composed of Muslim people, the Council for Italian Islam, was founded by the Italian Minister of the Interior. Strong disagreement between Council members slows its work, the Italian island of Pantelleria was conquered by the Arabs in 700. The Arabs had earlier raided Roman Sicily in 652,667 and 720 A. D, according to some sources, the conquest was spurred by Euphemius, a Byzantine commander who feared punishment by Emperor Michael II for a sexual indiscretion. After a short-lived conquest of Syracuse, he was proclaimed emperor but was compelled by forces to flee to the court of Ziyadat Allah in Africa. The latter agreed to conquer Sicily, with the promise to leave it to Euphemius in exchange for a yearly tribute, Palermo fell to them in 831, followed by Messina in 843, Syracuse in 878. In 902 the Ifriqiyan magistrate himself led an army against the island, Reggio Calabria on the mainland fell in 918, and in 964 Rometta, the last remaining Byzantine toehold on Sicily. Under the Muslims, agriculture in Sicily prospered and became export oriented, arts and crafts flourished in the cities. Palermo, the Muslim capital of the island, had 300,000 inhabitants at that time and these conquered people were afforded a limited freedom of religion under the Muslims as dhimmi, but were subject to some restrictions. The dhimmi were also required to pay the jizya, or poll tax, and the kharaj or land tax, the conquered population could avoid this subservient status simply by converting to Islam. Whether by honest religious conviction or societal compulsion large numbers of native Sicilians converted to Islam, however, even after 100 years of Islamic rule, numerous Greek-speaking Christian communities prospered, especially in north-eastern Sicily, as dhimmi. This was largely a result of the Jizya system which allowed co-existence and this co-existence with the conquered population fell apart after the reconquest of Sicily, particularly following the death of King William II of Sicily in 1189. By the mid-11th century, Muslims made up the majority of the population of Sicily, from Sicily, the Muslims launched attacks on the mainland and devastated Calabria. In 835 and again in 837, the Duke of Naples was fighting against the Duke of Benevento, in 840 Taranto and Bari fell to the Muslims, and in 841 Brindisi
11.
Islam in Serbia
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Islam spread to Serbia during the five centuries of Ottoman rule. The Muslims in Serbia are mostly ethnic Bosniaks, Albanians and minor but significant part of Roma people as well as members of the ethnic groups Muslims by nationality. According to 2011 census, there were 228,658 Muslims in Serbia, Bosniaks and Muslims by nationality, mostly living in the Sandžak region, Albanians in south Serbia. Romani, including Serbian-speaking groups from southern Serbia as well as Albanian-speaking groups, in 2012, the reis-ul-ulema Mustafa Cerić of Bosnia published a fatwa against Adem Zilkić, leader of the Islamic Community of Serbia, categorizing his actions as Masjid al-Dirar. The Islamic Community of Serbia, with seat in Belgrade, is administered by reis-ul-ulema Adem Zilkić, Islamic Community in Vojvodina or Muftiship of Novi Sad, with seat in Novi Sad, administered by mufti Fadil Murati. Islamic Community in Preševo Valley or Muftiship of Preševo, with seat in Preševo, Islamic Community in Central Serbia or Muftiship of Belgrade, with seat in Belgrade. Religion in Serbia Islamic community of Serbia Islamic community in Serbia Publishing house of ICinS Faculty of Islamic studies in Novi Pazar
12.
Islam in Sweden
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Among Muslim residents of Sweden, as of 2014,110,000 are registered as member of, or regularly served by, a Muslim faith community. Out of the roughly 500,000 Swedish residents with roots in countries and areas dominated by Muslims, others are cultural Muslims, apostates or converts to other religions. Other sources set the figure at around 6% of the total Swedish population, the first registered Muslim groups in Sweden were Finnish Tatars who emigrated from Finland and Estonia in the 1940s. Islam began to have a presence in Sweden with immigration from the Middle East beginning in the 1970s. Most Muslims in Sweden are either immigrants or descendants of immigrants, the majority are from the Middle East, in particular Iraq and Iran. However,5 out of 6 Iranians in Sweden consider themselves secular rather than Muslim and are in opposition to the Islamic Republic regime in their ancestral home. Most Iranians and Iraqis fled as refugees to Sweden during the Iran–Iraq War from 1980 to 1988, the second-largest Muslim group consists of immigrants or refugees from former Yugoslavia, most of them are Bosniaks, who number 12,000. There is also a community of Somalis, who numbered 40,165 in 2011. Sweden has a number of mosques providing the Muslim communities in Sweden places of worship, the first mosque in Sweden was the Nasir Mosque, built in 1976. It was followed by the Malmö Mosque,1984, and later, more mosques were built during the 2000s, including the Stockholm Mosque, the Umeå Mosque and the Fittja Mosque, among others. The governments of Saudi Arabia and Libya have financially supported the constructions of some of the largest Mosques in Sweden, as of the year 2000, an estimated 300,000 to 350,000 people of Muslim background lived in Sweden, or 3. Regardless of personal religious convictions. ), of whom about 100,000 were second-generation immigrants, in Sweden registration by personal belief is not common and is normally against the law, thus only figures of practising Muslims belonging to an Islamic community can be reported. In 2009, the Muslim Council of Sweden reported 106,327 registered members, in 2007 a documentary film, Aching Heart was released, documenting Muslim Swedes. Pew Research Center estimates the number of Muslims in Sweden at 451,000 for the year 2010 and they project this to increase to 993,000 by the year 2030. Although there are no statistics of Muslims in Sweden, estimates count 200, 000—250,000 people of Muslim background in 2000. Swedish estimates are rather 350,000, including nominal Muslims, sander re-stated in 2004 that we do not think it unreasonable to put the figure of religious Muslims in Sweden at the time of writing at close to 150,000. Professor Mohammad Fazlhashemi at Umeå University estimates a good 100,000, about 25,000 are regarded as devout Muslims, visiting Friday prayers and practising daily prayers. Muslims in Sweden most often originate from Iraq, Iran, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo and they are followed by Muslim refugees from Syria and Somalia, two very rapidly growing groups
This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/.
