 | This article mayrequirecleanup to meet Wikipedia'squality standards. The specific problem is:The map to the right is not accurate. For example, the source says France is below 10% but the legend says France is 10% to 20%. The source is also out of date (2016). Please helpimprove this article if you can.(February 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
95–100% | |
90–95% | |
50–55% | |
30–35% | |
10–20% | |
5–10% | |
4–5% | |
2–4% | |
1–2% | |
< 1% |
Islam is thesecond-largest religion inEurope afterChristianity.[2] Although the majority of Muslim communities inWestern Europe formed as a result of immigration,[3] there are centuries-oldindigenous European Muslim communities in theBalkans,Caucasus,Crimea, andVolga region.[4][5][6][7] The term "Muslim Europe" is used to refer to the Muslim-majority countries in the Balkans and the Caucasus (Albania,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Kosovo,Turkey, andAzerbaijan)[8] and parts of countries inCentral and Eastern Europe with sizable Muslim minorities (Bulgaria,Montenegro,North Macedonia,[9] and somerepublics ofRussia) that constitute large populations ofindigenous European Muslims,[4][5][6][8] although the majority aresecular.[4][5][8][10]
Islam expanded into theCaucasus through theMuslim conquest of Persia in the 7th century and enteredSouthern Europe after theUmayyad conquest of Hispania in the 8th–10th centuries; Muslim political entities existed firmly in what is todaySpain,Portugal,Sicily, andMalta during theMiddle Ages.[11] The Muslim populations in these territories were eitherconverted to Christianity or expelled by the end of the 15th century by the indigenous Christian rulers (seeReconquista).[11] TheOttoman Empire further expanded intoSoutheastern Europe and consolidated its political power by invading and conquering huge portions of theSerbian andBulgarian empires, and the remaining territories of the region, including theAlbanian andRomanian principalities, and the kingdoms ofBosnia,Croatia andHungary in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries.[11] Over the centuries, theOttoman Empire gradually lost its European territories. Islam was particularly influential in the territories of Albania, Bosnia and Hercegovina, and Kosovo, and has remained the dominant religion in these countries.[12]
During theMiddle Ages, Islam spread in parts of Central and Eastern Europe through theIslamization of severalTurkicethnic groups,[13][14] such as theCumans,Kipchaks,Tatars, andVolga Bulgars under theMongol invasions and conquests inEurasia,[13][14] and later under theGolden Horde and its successor khanates,[14] with its various Muslim populations collectively referred to as "Turks" or "Tatars".[13] Islam first arrived in the territory of Hungary at the end of the 9th century via theHungarian tribes,[15][16] who arrived from theAsian Steppe. A significant Muslim population remained in the country until the mid-13th century.[17]
Historically significant Muslim populations in Europe include theAzerbaijanis,Ashkali and Balkan Egyptians,Gorani,Torbeshi,Pomaks,Bosniaks,Chechens,Muslim Albanians,Böszörmény,Khalyzians,Ingush,Greek Muslims,Vallahades,Muslim Romani people,Balkan Turks,Turkish Cypriots,Cretan Turks,Yörüks,Volga Tatars,Crimean Tatars,Lipka Tatars,Kazakhs,Gajals, andMegleno-Romanians.[7][10][18]
The Muslim population in Europe is extremely diverse with varied histories and origins.[4][5][6] Today, the Muslim-majority regions of Europe include several countries in theBalkans (Albania,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Kosovo, and theEuropean part ofTurkey), someRussian republics in theNorth Caucasus and theIdel-Ural region, and the European part ofKazakhstan.[4][5][6] These communities consist predominantly of indigenous Europeans of the Muslim faith, whose religious tradition dates back several hundred years to theMiddle Ages.[4][5][6] Thetranscontinental countries ofTurkey,Azerbaijan, andKazakhstan are also majority Muslim.
Inmedieval Albania, the rebellion against the Ottomans had already been smouldering for years before Skanderbeg deserted the Ottoman army.[19] The most notable earlier revolt wasrevolt of 1432–36 led principally byGjergj Arianiti. Although Skanderbeg was summoned by his relatives during this rebellion, he remained loyal to the sultan and did not fight the Ottomans.[20] After this rebellion was suppressed by the Ottomans, Arianiti again revolted against the Ottomans in the region of central Albania in August 1443.
Skanderbeg decided to leave his position of Ottoman sanjakbey and revolt against the Ottomans only after the victoriousCrusade of Varna in 1443.[21] Successes of the crusaders inspired revolt of Skanderbeg and revolt ofConstantine XI Palaiologos in theDespotate of the Morea.[22] In early November 1443, Skanderbeg deserted the forces of Sultan Murad II during the Battle of Nish, while fighting against the crusaders of John Hunyadi.[23] Skanderbeg quit the field along with 300 other Albanians serving in the Ottoman army.[24] He immediately led his men to Krujë, where he arrived on November 28,[25] and by the use of a forged letter from Sultan Murad to the Governor of Krujë he became lord of the city.[26] To reinforce his intention of gaining control of the former domains of Zeta, Skanderbeg proclaimed himself the heir of the Balsha family. After capturing some less important surrounding castles (Petrela, Prezë, Guri i Bardhë, Svetigrad, Modrič and others) and eventually gaining control over more than his father Gjon Kastrioti's domains, Skanderbeg abjured Islam and proclaimed himself the avenger of his family and country.[27] He raised a red flag with a black double-headed eagle on it: Albania uses a similar flag as its national symbol to this day.[28]
Until September 1912, the Ottoman government intentionally kept Albanians divided within four ethnically heterogeneous vilayets to prevent Albanian national unification.[29] The reforms introduced by theYoung Turks provoked theAlbanian Revolt of 1912 which lasted from January to August 1912.[30] In January 1912,Hasan Prishtina,Albanian deputy in theOttoman parliament, publicly warned members of the parliament that the policy of the Young Turks' government would lead to a revolution in Albania.[31] The Albanian revolt was successful and until August 1912 rebels managed to gain control over wholeKosovo vilayet (includingNovi Pazar,Sjenica,Pristina and evenSkopje), a part of theScutari Vilayet (includingElbasan,Përmet andLeskovik),Konitsa inJanina Vilayet andDebar inMonastir Vilayet.[32] TheOttoman government ended the Albanian revolt on 4 September 1912 by accepting all demands related to establishing an unified autonomous system of administration and justice for Albanians within one vilayet—theAlbanian vilayet.[33][34]
Theinternational relations of Albania began to function on astate level after it was proclaimed independent and the first diplomatic efforts of its government were requests for theinternational recognition of the Albanian state.[35] In December 1912, a delegation ofAlbania submitted a memorandum to theLondon Conference of 1913 insisting on the ethnic rights ofAlbanians and requested an international recognition of the independent Albania composed ofKosovo, westernMacedonia includingSkopje andBitola and the whole territory ofEpirus up toArta.[36]
After the fall in 1463,hercegStjepan Vukčić, lord of theHum province in the south of themedieval Kingdom of Bosnia, lived for another three years, long enough to see kingdom's complete demise, for which he blamed his eldest sonVladislav Hercegović. On 21 May 1466, old and terminally ill, the duke dictated his last words, recorded in a testament, and condemned Vladislav by saying that it was him who "brought the great Turk to Bosnia to the death and destruction of us all", after which the duke died the following day.[37]
He was succeeded asherceg by his second and younger sonVlatko Hercegović, who struggled to retain as much of the territory he could. However,Blagaj, Kosača capital, fell in 1466, while Ključ fort between Nevesinje and Gacko was cut off from the main part of his territory, although Vlatko's actions against Ottomans were mostly concentrated around this fort with limited success.Počitelj fell in 1471, however,herceg Vlatko already in 1470 realized that only radical change in his politics could bring him some release, so he pursued and achieved a peace with the Ottomans. In the same year, the Ottomans excluded Hum from theBosnian Sanjak, and established a new, separate sanjak with its seat inFoča,Sanjak of Herzegovina.[37]
The very last remnants of Bosnian state territory were these stretches of land held by Vlatko in Hum, while he moved residence to his last capital,Novi.[38]He also gave up his agreement with Ottomans, after just a few years or so, just about the same time when his younger brother, Stjepan, assumed highest office of the Ottoman navy asAhmed Pasha Hercegović (around 1473) inIstanbul. After his marriage in 1474, he reconciled with his older brother Vladislav.[38]Just before death ofSultan Mehmed II, Vlatko tried one more push to the heart of Bosnia, but abandoned by his allies his venture ended in disaster, after which he completely and finitely withdraws to his fortress in Novi. Meanwhile, all this, along with death of Mehmed II, prompted new sultan,Bayezid II, to overtake Novi and its harbor, along with whatever territory remained. In November 1481,Ajaz-Bey of the Sanjak of Herzegovina besieged Novi, however, just before 14 December 1481 Vlatko gave up resisting, and agreed with the Ottomans to move with his family to Istanbul. This signified the ultimate disappearance of what was the last remaining independent point of the Bosnian state.[38][39]
So, the province endured for another fifteen years after Stjepan Vukčić's death, shrinking with time, before it was eventually swallowed by the Ottomans in December 1481, and incorporated into the empire as re-organized territory of already formed and renamed province,Sanjak of Herzegovina.[37]
In November 1481,Ajaz-Bey of the Sanjak of Herzegovina besieged Vlatko's capitalNovi but just before 14 December 1481, Vlatko ceased resisting and agreed with the Ottomans to move with his family to Istanbul. Now the entirety of Herzegovina was reorganized into the already established Sanjak of Herzegovina with the seat in Foča,[40] and later, in 1580, would become one of the sanjaks of theBosnia Eyalet.[41] This signified the disappearance of the last-remaining independent point of the medieval Bosnian state.[42]
Hungarian rulers perceived Bosnia as a countryunder their sovereignty during medieval time. Bosnian rulers acted completely independently in carrying out state and diplomatic affairs, governing the judicial system, granting towns and estates, minting coins, exploiting natural resources, and making trading agreements with other countries and independent cities.[43] As a main trading partner of the Bosnian state, the Ragusa referred to the Bosnian Kingdom as a separate state ("rusag"), for example in a charter issued toSandalj Hranić in November 1405, where they articulated that the Ragusan merchants would be safe across the "Bosnian rusag",[44] or 1451, during the war with Stjepan Vukčić, as a "Holy Kingdom".[45] Ragusans also paid Saint Demetrius an income of 2000Ragusan perpera.Ladislaus of Naples acknowledged the territories of the kingdom on 26 August 1406 at the request of Tvrtko II.[44]
The Ottomans reorganised the Bulgarian territories, dividing them into severalvilayets, each ruled by aSanjakbey or Subasi accountable to theBeylerbey. Significant parts of the conquered land were parcelled out to theSultan's followers, who held it as benefices orfiefs (smalltimar, mediumzeamet and largehass) directly from him, or from the Beylerbeys.[46] This category of land could not be sold or inherited but reverted to the Sultan when the fiefholder died. The lands were organised as private possessions of the Sultan or Ottoman nobility, called "mülk", and also as an economic base for religious foundations, calledvakιf, as well as other people. The system was meant to make the army self-sufficient and to continuously increase the number of Ottoman cavalry soldiers, thus both fuelling new conquests and bringing conquered countries under direct Ottoman control.[47]
From the 14th century until the 19th centurySofia was an important administrative centre in the Ottoman Empire. It became the capital of thebeylerbeylik ofRumelia (Rumelia Eyalet), theprovince that administered the Ottoman lands inEurope (theBalkans), one of the two together with the beylerbeylik ofAnatolia. It was the capital of the importantSanjak of Sofia as well, including the whole ofThrace withPlovdiv andEdirne, and part ofMacedonia withThessaloniki andSkopje.[48] TheDanube Vilayet was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire from 1864 to 1878 with a capital inRuse. In the late 19th century it reportedly had an area of 34,120 square miles (88,400 km2) and incorporated theVidin Eyalet,Silistra Eyalet, andNiš Eyalet.
TheApril Uprising was aninsurrection organised by theBulgarians in theOttoman Empire from April to May 1876. The rebellion was suppressed byirregular Ottomanbashi-bazouk units that engaged in indiscriminate slaughter of both rebels and non-combatants (seeBatak massacre). The April uprising was not successful in itself, but its bloody suppression by the Ottomans caused such outrage across Europe that public opinion, even in Turcophile England, shifted, demanding a reform of the model of Ottoman governance.[49] As a result, theGreat Powers called theConstantinople Conference in December 1876, where they presented the Sultan with a combined proposal that envisaged the creation of two autonomous Bulgarian provinces, largely overlapping with the borders of theBulgarian Exarchate. By splitting the autonomy in two and ensuring extensive international oversight of provincial affairs, the proposal reflected all of theBritish Empire's wishes and allayed its fears that the provinces would become Russian puppets.
Thus, the decades-long Bulgarian struggle for self-governance and freedom appeared to finally bear fruit. And this the Bulgarians had achieved entirely by themselves—through the efforts of both clergy and the young Bulgarian bourgeoisie, which had successfully argued before and succeeded in convincing Grand VizierÂli Pasha in the need for a separateBulgarian church and millet, thus initiating the Bulgarian nation-building process even under foreign rule,[50] and through the blood shed by the hothead revolutionaries who had managed to cause a seismic shift in European public opinion.Bulgaria had been a widely autonomousprincipality since 13 July 1878Congress of Berlin and the end of theRusso-Turkish War (1877–78). Although it was still technically under thesuzerainty of theSublime Porte, this was alegal fiction that Bulgaria only acknowledged in a formal way. It acted largely as ade facto independent state with its own constitution, flag, anthem and currency, and conducted a separate foreign policy. On 18 September [O.S. 6 September] 1885, it hadunified with theBulgarian-majority Ottoman autonomous province ofEastern Rumelia. Thede jureindependence of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire was proclaimed on 5 October [O.S. 22 September] 1908 in the old capital ofTarnovo by PrinceFerdinand of Bulgaria, who afterwards took the title "Tsar".[51][52]
Serious Ottoman attacks on Croatian lands began after the fall ofBosnia to theOttoman Turks in 1463. At this point main Ottoman attacks were not yet directed towards Central Europe, withVienna as its main objective, but towards renaissance Italy with Croatia standing on their way between.[53] As theOttomans launched expansion further into Europe, Croatian lands became a place of permanent warfare. This period of history is considered to be one of the direst for the people living in Croatia. Baroque poetPavao Ritter Vitezović subsequently described this period of Croatian history as "two centuries of weeping Croatia".
Armies of Croatian nobility fought numerous battles to counter theOttomanakinji andmartolos raids.[54] The Ottoman forces frequently raided the Croatian countryside, plundering towns and villages and captured the local inhabitants as slaves. These "scorched earth" tactics, also called "The Small War", were usually conducted once a year with intention to soften up the region's defenses, but didn't result in actual conquest of territory.[54] According to historianJames Tracy, the armies Croatian ban could muster proved too few to counter akinji raids along the long border with the Ottoman Empire. On the other hand, armies of Croatian nobility could never mobilize fast enough to intercept akinji raids "head on", instead, Croatians hoped to intercept Ottoman raiders on their return, as they were slowed down by their booty and hostages.[55]
And after conqueringGreece andBulgaria,Bosnia and Albania, [Turks] flocked onto people of Croatia by sending many armies. Many warlords started frequent battles with Christian people fighting on the fields and in mountain passes and on river fords. That's when all Croatian and Slavonian lands were enslaved all the way toSava river andDrava and evenMons Claudius, all settlements ofCarniola all the way to sea, by enslaving, robbing, burning houses of Lord and crushing Lord's altars. They attacked old people using weapons, young women [...] widows and even squealing children; not only that they took people of God in violent sorrow, shackled in chains, but they also sold people on markets like it is accustomed to do with the cattle.
— The Record of Father Martinac, 15th century Croatian scribe[56]
Meanwhile, after kingMathias Corvinus died in 1490, asuccession war ensued, where supporters ofVladislaus Jagiellon prevailed over those ofMaximilian Habsburg, another contester to the throne of Kingdom of Hungary-Croatia. Maximilian gained many supporters among Croatian nobility and a favourable peace treaty he concluded with Vladislaus enabled Croatians to increasingly turn towards Habsburgs when seeking protections from the Ottoman attacks, as their lawful king Vladislaus turned out unable to protect his subjects in Croatia.[57] On same year, the estates of Croatia also declined to recognizeVladislaus II as a ruler until he had taken an oath to respect their liberties and insisted that he strike from the constitution certain phrases which seemed to reduce Croatia to the rank of a mere province. The dispute was resolved in 1492[58] when according toLujo Margetić, king Vladislaus recognised the authonomy of both Croatia and Slavonia, whose nobility gave a separate confirmation to the succession agreement between Vladislaus and the house of Habsburg, enabling Croatians and Slavonians to have their say in future interregnum periods.[59]
Islam was practiced by a sizeable minority of theconquering Hungarians, who arrived in the territory of present-day Hungary at the end of the 9th century.[60][61][62][63] Muslims in early Hungary were known asBöszörmény,Khalyzians,Saracen andIshmaelites.[64] The biggest Muslim settlement was near the town of present-dayOrosháza in the central part of the Hungarian Kingdom. This settlement, entirely populated by Muslims, was likely one of the biggest settlements of the early Kingdom. This and several other Muslim settlements were all destroyed with their inhabitants massacred during the 1241 Mongol invasion of Hungary.
The country was reintroduced to Islam via the Ottoman Empire, particularly when it was underunder Ottoman rule.
As a result ofBabai revolt, in 1261, one of theTurkomandervishSari Saltuk was forced to take refuge in theByzantine Empire, alongside 40 Turkoman clans. He was settled inDobruja, whence he entered the service of the powerful MuslimMongolemir,Nogai Khan. Sari Saltuk became the hero of an epic, as a dervish andghazi spreading Islam into Europe.[65]
.JPG)
TheOttoman Empirebegan its expansion into Europe by invading the European portions of theByzantine Empire in the 14th and 15th centuries up until thecapture of Constantinople in 1453, establishing Islam as the state religion of the newly-founded empire. TheOttoman Turks further expanded intoSoutheastern Europe and consolidated their political power by invading and conquering huge portions of theSerbian Empire,Bulgarian Empire, and the remaining territories of theByzantine Empire in the 14th and 15th centuries. The empire reached its xenith of territorial expansion in Europe in the 16th century.[11] The Ottoman Empire continued to stretch northwards, taking parts of theKingdom of Hungary in the 16th century, and reaching as far north as thePodolia in the mid-17th century; by the signing of thePeace of Buczacz with thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1672, most of the Balkans was under Ottoman control. Ottoman expansion in Europe ended with their defeat in theGreat Turkish War in 1699. Over the centuries, theOttoman Empire gradually lost almost all of its European territories, until it wasdefeated and eventually collapsed in 1922.[12]
._Bairatdser_(Enseigne)._Ousta_(_Caporal).jpg)
Between 1354 (when the Ottoman Turks crossed into Europe atGallipoli) and 1526, the Empire had conquered the territories of present-dayAlbania,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Bulgaria,Greece,Hungary,Kosovo,Montenegro,North Macedonia,Romania, andSerbia.[67] The Empirelaid siege to Vienna in 1683. The intervention of thePolish King broke the siege, and from then afterwards the Ottomans battled theHabsburg Emperors until 1699, when theTreaty of Karlowitz forced them to surrender theregion of Hungary under Ottoman control and portions of present-dayCroatia,Romania,Slovakia, andSerbia to theHabsburg Empire, which pushed theGreat Migrations of the Serbs to the southern regions of theKingdom of Hungary (though as far in the north as the town ofSzentendre, in which they formed the majority of the population in the 18th century, but to smaller extent also in the town ofKomárom) andHabsburg-ruled Croatia.[67]
Theslave trade in the Ottoman Empire supplied the ranks of theOttoman army between the 15th and 19th centuries.[69] They were useful in preventing both theslave rebellions and thebreakup of the Empire itself, especially due to therising tide of nationalism among European peoples in its Balkan provinces from the 17th century onwards.[69] Along with the Balkans, theBlack Sea Region remained a significant source of high-value slaves for the Ottomans.[70]
Apart from the effect of a lengthy period under Ottoman domination, many of the subject populationswere periodically and forcefully converted to Islam[69][71] as a result of a deliberate move by the Ottoman Turks as part of a policy of ensuring the loyalty of the population against a potentialVenetian invasion. However, Islam was spread by force in the areas under the control of theOttoman sultan through thedevşirme system ofchild levy enslavement,[69][72] by whichindigenous EuropeanChristian boys from theBalkans (predominantlyAlbanians,Bulgarians,Croats,Greeks,Romanians,Serbs, andUkrainians) were taken, levied, subjected toforced circumcision andforced conversion to Islam, and incorporated into theOttoman army,[69][72] andjizya taxes.[69][71][73]
Arab Muslim forays into Europe began shortly afterthe foundation of Islam in the 7th century CE. Soon after thedeath of Muhammad in 632 CE, his community needed to appoint a new leader, giving rise to the title ofcaliph (Arabic:خَليفة,romanized: khalīfa,lit. 'successor'), which was claimed by some ofMuhammad's closest companions (ṣaḥāba) and their descendants over the succession for the role of caliph throughout the centuries.[74][75][76] The four "rightly-guided" (rāshidūn) caliphs who succeeded him oversaw the initial phase of theearly Muslim conquests, advancing throughPersia,the Levant,Egypt, andNorth Africa.[76]
Theearly Muslim conquests expanded westwards, and within less than a century encompassed parts of theEuropean continent. Arab Muslim forces easily prevailed over theByzantine army in the crucial battles of Ajnâdayn (634 CE) and Yarmûk (636 CE),[77] andincorporated the former Byzantine province of Syria, pushing to the north and west. At the same time, consolidation of the hold of Islam by theArab empires inNorth Africa and theMiddle East was soon to be followed by incursions into what is now Europe, as Arab and Berber Muslim armies raided and eventually conquered territories leading to the establishment of Muslim-ruled states on the European continent.
A short-lived invasion ofByzantine Sicily by a smallArab and Berber contingent that landed in 652 was the prelude of a series of incursions; from the 8th to the 15th centuries, Muslim states ruled parts of theIberian Peninsula,[78]southern Italy,[78][79][80]southern France,[78] and severalMediterranean islands,[78][81] while in the East, incursions into a much reduced in territory and weakenedByzantine Empire continued. In the 720s and 730s, Arab and Berber Muslim forcesfought and raided north of the Pyrenees, well into what is now France, reaching as north as Tours, where theywere eventually defeated and repelled by the Christian Franks in 732 to their Iberian and North African territories.[78]
Islam gained its first genuine foothold in continental Europe from 711 onward, with theUmayyad conquest of Hispania. The Arabs renamed the landal-Andalus, which expanded to include the larger parts of what is nowPortugal andSpain, excluding the northern highlands. Arab and Berber Muslim forces established variousemirates in Europe after the invasion of southern Iberia and the foundation of al-Andalus. One notable emirate was theEmirate of Crete, a Muslim-ruled state and center ofMuslim piratical activity that existed on theMediterranean island ofCrete from the late 820s until the Byzantine reconquest of the island in 961, when theByzantine EmperorNikephoros II Phokas defeated and expelled the Muslim Arabs and Berbers from Crete for the Byzantine Empire, and made the island into atheme.[83] The other was theEmirate of Sicily, which existed on the eponymous island from 831 to 1091; Muslim Arabs and Berbers held onto Sicily and other regions of southern Italy until theywere eventually defeated and expelled by the Christian Normans in 1072 to their Iberian and North African territories.[79][80]
The presence of a Muslim majority inNorth Africa and theIberian Peninsula by the foundation of al-Andalus and other Muslim-ruled states in theMediterranean Region between the 7th and 10th centuries CE is debated among scholars and historians; one author claims that al-Andalus had a Muslim majority after most of the local population allegedly converted to Islam on their own will,[84] whereas other historians remark how theUmayyad Caliphate persecuted manyBerber Christians in the 7th and 8th centuries CE, who slowly converted to Islam.[85] Modern historians further recognize that the Christian populations living in thelands invaded by the Arab Muslim armies between the 7th and 10th centuries CE sufferedreligious persecution,religious violence, andmartyrdom multiple times at the hands of Arab Muslim officials and rulers;[86][87][88][89] manywere executed under the Islamic death penalty for defending their Christian faith through dramatic acts of resistance such as refusing to convert to Islam,repudiation of the Islamic religion and subsequentreconversion to Christianity, andblasphemy towards Muslim beliefs.[87][88][89] Themartyrdom of forty-eight Iberian Christians that took place under the rule ofAbd al-Rahman II andMuhammad I in theEmirate of Córdoba (between 850 and 859 CE) has been recorded in historical documents and treatises of the time.[90]
This coincided with theLa Convivencia period of theIberian Peninsula as well as theGolden age of Jewish culture in Spain. InFrancia, the Arab and Berber Muslim forcesinvaded the region ofSeptimania in 719 and deposed the localVisigothic Kingdom in 720;[78][91] after theFrankish conquest of Narbonne in 759, the Muslim Arabs and Berbers were defeated by the Christian Franks and retreated to their Andalusian heartland after 40 years of occupation, and theCarolingian kingPepin the Short came up reinforced.[78][91] The Iberian Christian counter-offensive known as theReconquista began in the early 8th century, when Muslim forces managed to temporarily push intoAquitaine.[78][91] Slowly, the Christian forces began a re-conquest of the fracturedTaifa kingdoms in al-Andalus. There was still a Muslim presence north of Spain, especially inFraxinet all the way intoSwitzerland until the 10th century.[92] Muslim forces under theAghlabidsconquered Sicily after a series of expeditions spanning 827–902, and had notablyraided Rome in 846. By 1236, practically all that remained of Muslim-ruled Iberia was the southern province ofGranada.
Since they are considered "People of the Book" in theIslamic religion, Christians and Jews under Muslim rule were subjected to the status ofdhimmi (along withSamaritans,Gnostics,Mandeans, andZoroastrians in the Middle East), which was inferior to the status of Muslims.[93][86] Arab Muslims imposed theIslamic law (sharīʿa) in these Muslim-ruled countries; thus, theLatin- andGreek-speaking European Christian populations, as well as theJewish communities of Europe, facedreligious discrimination andpersecution due to being considered religious minorities;[93][86] they were further banned fromproselytising (for Christians, it was forbidden toevangelize or spread Christianity) in thelands invaded by the Arab Muslims on pain of death, they were banned from bearing arms, undertaking certain professions, and were obligated to dress differently in order to distinguish themselves from Arabs.[93] Under theIslamic law (sharīʿa), Non-Muslims were obligated to pay thejizya andkharaj taxes,[93][86] together with periodic heavyransom levied upon Christian communities by Muslim rulers in order to fund military campaigns, all of which contributed a significant proportion of income to the Islamic states while conversely reducing many Christians to poverty, and these financial and social hardshipsforced many Christians to convert to Islam.[93] Christians unable to pay these taxes were forced to surrender their children to the Muslim rulers as payment who wouldsell them as slaves to Muslim households where theywere forced to convert to Islam.[93]
Overthrown by the Abbasids, the deposed Umayyad caliphAbd al-Rahman I fled the city ofDamascus in 756 and established an independentEmirate of Córdoba in al-Andalus. His dynasty consolidated the presence of Islam in al-Andalus. By the time of the reign ofAbd al-Rahman II (822–852),Córdoba was becoming one of the biggest and most important cities in Europe.Umayyad Spain had become a centre of theMuslim world that rivaled the Muslim cities of Damascus andBaghdad. "The emirs of Córdoba built palaces reflecting the confidence and vitality of Andalusi Islam, minted coins, brought to Spain luxury items from the East, initiated ambitious projects of irrigation and transformed agriculture, reproduced the style and ceremony of the Abbasid court ruling in the East and welcomed famous scholars, poets and musicians from the rest of the Muslim world".[95] But, the most significant impact of the Emirate was its cultural influence over the Non-Muslim local populations.An "elegant Arabic" became the preferred language of the educated—Muslim, Christian, and Jewish, the readership of Arabic books increased rapidly, and Arabic romance and poetry became extremely popular.[96] The popularity of literary Arabic was just one aspect of theArabization of the Christian and Jewish populations of the Iberian Peninsula, which led contemporaries to refer to the affected populations as "Mozarabs" (mozárabes in Spanish;moçárabes in Portuguese; derived from the Arabicmusta’rib, translated as "like Arabs" or "Arabicized")."[97]
Arabic-speaking Iberian Christian scholars preserved and studied influentialpre-Christian and pre-Islamic Greco-Roman texts, and introduced aspects ofmedieval Islamic culture,[98][99][100] including thearts,[101][102][103]economics,[104]science, andtechnology.[105][106] (See also:Latin translations of the 12th century andIslamic contributions to Medieval Europe). Muslim rule endured in theEmirate of Granada, from 1238 as avassal state of the ChristianKingdom of Castile until the completion ofLa Reconquista in 1492.[107] TheMoriscos (Moorish in Spanish) were finally expelled fromSpain between 1609 (Castile) and 1614 (rest of Iberia), byPhilip III during theSpanish Inquisition.
European kingdoms began establishing embassies and diplomatic missions to theOttoman Empire between the 15th and 16th centuries in order to create closer, and more friendly, relationships with theOttoman Turks (see also:Franco-Ottoman alliance).[108][109] The fear ofOttoman expansion and its implications onreligion in Europe finally dissipated by the 17th century.[108][110] By this time in history, the Ottoman Empire was perceived by Western Europeans as a perplexing and exotic land that they referred to as "the Orient";Orientalism, as it pertains to the Ottomans, was a method employed by Westerners to attempt to understand life in the Ottoman Empire.[110] Thelast hundred years of the Ottoman Empire brought about the period in which the rest of European countries looked upon it as the "Sick man of Europe", as it was widely held thatthe Ottoman Empire was a stagnant nation and incapable of modernizing.[108] This thesis was used throughout most of the 20th century as the basis of both Western andRepublican Turkish[111] understanding ofOttoman history. However, by 1978, historians had begun to reexamine the fundamental assumptions of the Ottoman decline thesis.[112]
Throughout the 16th to 19th centuries, theBarbary States sentpirates to raid nearby parts of Europein order to capture Christian slaves to sell atslave markets in theMuslim world, primarily inNorth Africa and theOttoman Empire, throughout theRenaissance andearly modern period.[113] According to historian Robert Davis, from the 16th to 19th centuries, Barbary pirates captured 1 million to 1.25 million Europeans as slaves, although these numbers are disputed.[113][114] These slaves were captured mainly from the crews of captured vessels,[115] from coastal villages inSpain andPortugal, and from farther places like theItalian Peninsula,France, orEngland, theNetherlands,Ireland, theAzores Islands, and evenIceland.[113] For a long time, until the early 18th century, theCrimean Khanate maintained amassive slave trade with the Ottoman Empire and the Middle East.[116] The Crimean Tatars frequently mounted raids into theDanubian Principalities,Poland–Lithuania, andRussia to enslave people whom they could capture.[117]
TheLipka Tatars in present-dayBelarus,Lithuania, andPoland are aTurkicethnic group who originally settled in theGrand Duchy of Lithuania at the beginning of the 14th century.[118][119][120][121][122] Traditionally, the material of theirmosques is wood.[123] Lithuanian Tatars, who are descendants of immigrants from theCrimean Khanate, are considered an ethnic group ofCrimean Tatars.[124]
The first Tatar settlers tried to preserve theirTurco-Mongol shamanistic religion and sought asylum amongst thepre-Christian Lithuanians.[125] Towards the end of the 14th century, another wave of Tatars—this time,IslamizedTurks, were invited into the Grand Duchy byVytautas the Great. These Tatars first settled inLithuania proper aroundVilnius,Trakai,Hrodna, andKaunas.[125]
The Lipka Tatar origins can be traced back to the descendant states of theGolden Horde, theCrimean Khanate, andKazan Khanate. They initially served as a noble military caste but later they became urban-dwellers known for their crafts, horses, and gardening skills. Throughout centuries, they resistedassimilation and kept their traditional lifestyle. While they remained very attached to their religion, over time they lost their originalTatar language, from theKipchak group of theTurkic languages and for the most part adoptedBelarusian,Lithuanian, andPolish.[126][127] There are still small groups of Lipka Tatars living in Belarus, Lithuania, and Poland, as well as their communities in theUnited States.
TheFinnish Tatars are aTatar ethnic group and minority inFinland whose community has approximately 600–700 members. The community was formed between the late 1800s and the early 1900s, whenMishar Tatarmerchants emigrated from theNizhny Novgorod Governorate of theRussian Empire, and eventually settled in Finland. Tatars have the main building oftheir congregation inHelsinki. They have also founded cultural associations in different cities. They are theoldest Muslim community in Finland.
The identity of the Finnish Tatars has had different reference points throughout their history in the country. In the early days, they were known by their religious identity (Muslims). Starting from the establishment of theRepublic of Turkey, localTurkic Tatars began associating themselves as "Turks".[a] During those times they were also influenced byTurkish culture and for exampleadopted the Latin alphabet, which replaced the previously used Arabic one. Nowadays, they once again identify as Tatars and are very connected toTatarstan and especially its capital,Kazan.
In the mid-7th century AD, following theMuslim conquest of Persia, Islam spread into areas that are today part ofRussia as a result of theRusso-Persian Wars.[128] There are accounts of thetrade connections between Muslims and theRus', apparently people from theBaltic region who made their way towards theBlack Sea throughCentral Russia.
TheMongols began theirinvasion of Rus', ofVolga Bulgaria, and of theCuman-Kipchak Confederation (parts of present-day Russia andUkraine) in the 13th century. After theMongol Empire fractured into four separate khanates, the eastern European section became known as theGolden Horde. Although not originally Muslim, the western Mongols adopted Islam as their religion in the early-14th century underBerke Khan, and laterUzbeg Khan established it as the official religion of the state. Much of the mostly Turkic-speaking population of the Horde, as well as the small Mongol aristocracy, becameIslamized as well (if they were not already Muslim, like the Volga Bulgars), and were known toRussians and other Europeans as the "Tatars".
Islam piqued interest among European scholars, setting off the movement ofOrientalism. The founder of modern Islamic studies in Europe wasIgnác Goldziher, who began studying Islam in the late 19th century. For instance, SirRichard Francis Burton, 19th-century English explorer, scholar, and orientalist, and translator ofThe Book of One Thousand and One Nights, disguised himself as a Pashtun and visited both Medina and Mecca during the Hajj, as described in his bookA Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Medinah and Meccah.
Islamic architecture influenced European architecture in various ways (for example, theTürkischer Tempel synagogue inVienna). During the 12th-century Renaissance in Europe, Latin translations ofArabic texts were introduced.
The exact number of Muslims in Europe is unknown but according to estimates by thePew Forum, the total number of Muslims in Europe (excludingTurkey) in 2010 was about 44 million (6% of the total population), including 19 million (3.8% of the population) in theEuropean Union.[129] A 2010Pew Research Center study reported that 2.7% of the world's Muslim population live in Europe.[130]
Turkish people form the largest ethnic group in theEuropean border of present-day Turkey (as well as theRepublic of Turkey as a whole) andNorthern Cyprus. They also form centuries-old minority groups in otherpost-Ottoman nation states within theBalkans (i.e. theBalkan Turks), where they form the largest ethnic minority inBulgaria and the second-largest minority inNorth Macedonia. Meanwhile, in the diaspora, the Turks form the largest ethnic minority group inAustria,Denmark,Germany, and theNetherlands.[131] In 1997, there was approximately 10 million Turks living inWestern Europe and theBalkans (i.e. excludingNorthern Cyprus andTurkey).[132] By 2010, up to 15 million Turks were living in theEuropean Union (i.e. excluding Turkey and several Balkan and Eastern European countries which are not in the EU).[133] According tosociologist Araks Pashayan 10 million "Euro-Turks" alone were living inGermany,France, theNetherlands, andBelgium in 2012.[134] In addition, substantial Turkish communities have been formed in theUnited Kingdom,Austria,Sweden,Switzerland,Denmark,Italy,Liechtenstein,Finland, andSpain. Meanwhile, there are over one million Turks still living in the Balkans (especially inBulgaria,Greece,Kosovo,North Macedonia, andDobruja),[135] and approximately 400,000Meskhetian Turks in the Eastern European regions of thePost-Soviet states (i.e.Azerbaijan,Georgia,Kazakhstan,Russia, andUkraine).[136]
Estimates of the percentage ofMuslims in Russia (the biggest group of Muslims in Europe) vary from 5[137] to 11.7%,[129] depending on sources. It also depends on if only observant Muslims or all people of Muslim descent are counted.[138] The city ofMoscow is home to an estimated 1.5 million Muslims.[139][140][141]
50.7% of the population inAlbania adheres to Islam, making it the largest religion in the country. The majority of Albanian Muslims aresecular Sunnīs with a significantBektashiShīʿa minority.[142] The percentage of Muslims is 93.5% inKosovo,[143] 39.3% inNorth Macedonia[144][145] (according to the 2002 Census, 46.5% of the children aged 0–4 were Muslim in Macedonia)[146] and 50.7% inBosnia and Herzegovina.[147] In transcontinental countries such asTurkey andAzerbaijan, 99% and 93% of the populations from the respective countries are initially registered by the state as Muslims.[148] According to the 2011 census, 20% of the total population inMontenegro are Muslims.[149]
"Non-denominational Muslims" is anumbrella term that has been used for and by Muslims who do not belong to a specific Islamic denomination, do not self-identify with any specific Islamic denomination, or cannot be readily classified under one of the identifiableIslamic schools and branches.[150][151][152] A quarter of theworld's Muslim population are non-denominational Muslims.[130] Non-denominational Muslims constitute the majority of the Muslim population in eight countries, and a plurality in three others:Albania (65%),Kyrgyzstan (64%),Kosovo (58%),Indonesia (56%),Mali (55%),Bosnia and Herzegovina (54%),Uzbekistan (54%),Azerbaijan (45%),Russia (45%), andNigeria (42%).[130] They are found primarily inCentral Asia.[130]Kazakhstan has the largest number of non-denominational Muslims, who constitute about 74% of the population.[130]Southeastern Europe also has a large number of non-denominational Muslims.[130]
In 2015, Darren E. Sherkat questioned inForeign Affairs whether some of the Muslim growth projections are accurate as they don't take into account the increasing number ofnon-religious Muslims.[153] Quantitative research is lacking, but he believes the European trend mirrors that from North America: statistical data from theGeneral Social Survey in the United States show that 32% ofthose raised Muslim no longer embrace Islam in adulthood, and 18%hold no religious identification[153] (see also:Ex-Muslims).
A survey conducted by Pew Research Center in 2016 found that Muslims make up 4.9% of all Europe's population.[154] According to the same study,conversion does not add significantly to the growth of the Muslim population in Europe, with roughly 160,000more people leaving Islam than converting into Islam between 2010 and 2016.[154]
| Country | Estimated % of Muslims among total population in 2016[154][needs update] |
|---|---|
 Cyprus | 25.4 |
 Bulgaria | 11.1 |
 France | 8.8 |
 Sweden | 8.1 |
 Belgium | 7.6 |
 Netherlands | 7.1 |
 Austria | 6.9 |
 United Kingdom | 6.3 |
 Germany | 6.1 |
 Switzerland | 6.1 |
 Norway | 5.7 |
 Greece | 5.7 |
 Denmark | 5.4 |
 Italy | 4.8 |
 Slovenia | 3.8 |
 Luxembourg | 3.2 |
 Finland | 2.7 |
 Spain | 2.6 |
 Croatia | 1.6 |
 Ireland | 1.4 |
By 2010, an estimated 44 million Muslims were living inEurope (6%), with around 19 million in theEuropean Union (3.8%).[129] They are projected to increase to 58 million (8%) by 2030,[129] in part due to a modest rise from conversions to Islam.[155] APew Research Center study, published in January 2011, forecast an increase of Muslims in European population from 6% in 2010 to 8% in 2030.[129] The study also predicted that Muslimfertility rate in Europe would drop from 2.2 in 2010 to 2.0 in 2030. On the other hand, the non-Muslim fertility rate in Europe would increase from 1.5 in 2010 to 1.6 in 2030.[129] Another Pew study published in 2017 projected that in 2050 Muslims will make 7.4% (if all migration into Europe were to immediately and permanently stop - a "zero migration" scenario) up to 14% (under a "high" migration scenario) of Europe's population.[156] Data from the 2000s for the rates of growth of Islam in Europe showed that the growing number of Muslims was due primarily to immigration and higherbirth rates.[157]
In 2017, the Pew Research Center projected that the Muslim population of Europe would reach a level between 7% and 14% by 2050. The projections depend on the level of migration. With no net migration, the projected level was 7%; with high migration, it was 14%. The projections varied greatly by country. Under the high migration scenario, the highest projected level of any historically non-Muslim country was 30% inSweden. By contrast,Poland was projected to remain below 1%.[158]
In 2006, the conservative Christian historianPhilip Jenkins, in an article for theForeign Policy Research Institute thinktank, wrote that by 2100, a Muslim population of about 25% of Europe's population was "probable"; Jenkins stated this figure did not take account of growing birthrates amongst Europe's immigrant Christians, but did not give details of his methodology.[159] In 2010,Eric Kaufmann, professor of politics atBirkbeck, University of London said that "In our projections for Western Europe by 2050 we are looking at a range of 10-15 per cent Muslim population for most of the high immigration countries – Germany, France, the UK";[160] he argued that Islam was expanding, not because of conversion to Islam, but primarily due to the religion's "pro-natal" orientation, where Muslims tend to have more children.[161] Other analysts are skeptical about the accuracy of the claimed Muslim population growth, stating that because many European countries do not ask a person's religion on official forms or in censuses, it has been difficult to obtain accurate estimates, and arguing that there has been a decrease in Muslim fertility rates inMorocco, theNetherlands, andTurkey.[162]
| Country | Muslims (official) | Muslims (estimation) | % of total population | % of World Muslim population | Community origin (predominant) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Albania | 1,217,362 (2023)[163] | 2,601,000 (Pew 2011) | 50.67 (2023)[163] | 0.1 | Indigenous (Albanians) |
 Andorra | N/A | < 1,000 (Pew 2011) | < 0.1 | < 0.1 | Immigrant |
| Austria | N/A | 700,000 (2017 study)[164] | 8[164] | < 0.1 | Immigrant |
 Belarus | N/A | 19,000 (Pew 2011) | 0.2 | < 0.1 | Indigenous (Lipka Tatars) and Immigrant |
| Belgium | N/A | 781,887 (2015 est.)[165] | 5.9[166]–7[165] | < 0.1 | Immigrant |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1,790,454 (2013 census) | 1,564,000 (Pew 2011) | 50.7;[167] 41.6 (Pew 2011) | 0.1 | Indigenous (Bosniaks,Romani,Croats) |
| Bulgaria | 638,708 (2021)[168] | 1,002,000 (Pew 2011) | 9.8 (2021)[168] | < 0.1 | Indigenous (Pomaks) |
| Croatia | 50,981 (2021)[169] | 56,000 (Pew 2011) | 1.32[170] | < 0.1 | Indigenous (Bosniaks,Croats) and Immigrant |
| Cyprus | N/A | 200,000 (Pew 2011) | 22.7 (Pew 2011) | < 0.1 | Indigenous (Turks) |
 Czech Republic | N/A | 4,000 (Pew 2011) | < 0.1 | < 0.1 | Immigrant |
| Denmark | N/A | 226,000 (Pew 2011) | 4.1 (Pew 2011) | < 0.1 | Immigrant |
 Estonia | 1,508 | 2,000 | 0.1 (Pew 2011) | < 0.1 | Immigrant |
 Faroe Islands | N/A | < 1,000 (Pew 2011) | < 0.1 | < 0.1 | Immigrant |
| Finland | N/A | 42,000 (Pew 2011) | 0.8 (Pew 2011) | <0.1 | Indigenous (Finnish Tatars) and Immigrant |
| France | N/A | 5,720,000[171] | 7.5 (Pew 2011) | 0.3 | Immigrant |
| Germany | N/A | 5,300,000-5,600,000 (BAMF 2021)[172] 4,119,000 (Pew 2011); 4,700,000 (CIA)[173] | 5 (Pew 2011) | 0.2 | Immigrant |
| Greece | N/A | 527,000 (Pew 2011) | 4.7 (Pew 2011) | <0.1 | Indigenous (Muslim minority of Greece) and Immigrant |
 Hungary | 5,579[174] | 25,000 (Pew 2011) | 0.3 (Pew 2011) | <0.1 | Immigrant |
 Iceland | 770[175] | < 1,000 (Pew 2011) | 0.2[175] | <0.1 | Immigrant |
| Ireland | 81,930 (2022 census) | 43,000 (Pew 2011) | 1.6[176] | <0.1 | Immigrant |
| Italy | N/A | 1,583,000 (Pew 2011) | 2.3;[177] 2.6 (Pew 2011) | 0.1 | Immigrant |
 Kosovo | N/A | 1,584,000 (CIA);[178] 2,104,000 (Pew 2011) | 95.6 | 0.1 | Indigenous (Albanians,Bosniaks,Gorani) |
 Latvia | N/A | 2,000 (Pew 2011) | 0.1 | <0.1 | Immigrant |
 Liechtenstein | N/A | 2,000 (Pew 2011) | 4.8 (Pew 2011) | <0.1 | Immigrant |
 Lithuania | N/A | 3,000 (Pew 2011) | 0.1 (Pew 2011) | <0.1 | Indigenous (Lipka Tatars) |
| Luxembourg | N/A | 11,000 (Pew 2011) | 2.3 (Pew 2011) | <0.1 | Immigrant |
 Malta | N/A | 1,000 (Pew 2011) | 0.3 (Pew 2011) | <0.1 | Immigrant |
 Moldova | N/A | 15,000 (Pew 2011) | 0.4 (Pew 2011) | < 0.1 | Immigrant |
 Monaco | N/A | < 1,000 (Pew 2011) | 0.5 (Pew 2011) | < 0.1 | Immigrant |
 Montenegro | 124,668 (2023)[179] | 116,000 (Pew 2011) | 19.99 (2023)[179] | < 0.1 | Indigenous (Bosniaks,Albanians, "Muslims") |
| Netherlands | N/A | 914,000 (Pew 2011) | 5[180] – 6[54] | 0.1 | Immigrant |
 North Macedonia | 590,878 (2021) | 713,000 (Pew 2011) | 32[181][182] | <0.1 | Indigenous (Albanians,Romani,Torbeši) |
| Norway | N/A | 106,700–194,000 (Brunborg & Østby 2011);[183] | 2–4[183] | < 0.1 | Immigrant |
 Poland | 2,209[184] | 20,000 (Pew 2011) | 0.01 (official);[185] 0.1 (Pew 2011) | < 0.1 | Indigenous (Lipka Tatars) and Immigrant |
 Portugal | 36,480[186] | 65,000 (Pew 2011) | 0.42 (official);[187] 0.6 (Pew 2011) | < 0.1 | Immigrant |
 Romania | N/A | 73,000 (Pew 2011) | 0.3 (Pew 2011) | < 0.1 | Indigenous (Tatars) |
 Russia | N/A | 16,379,000 (Pew 2011) | 11.7 (Pew 2011); 10−15 (CIA)[188] | 1.0 | Indigenous |
 San Marino | N/A | < 1,000 (Pew 2011) | < 0.1 | < 0.1 | Immigrant |
 Serbia | 278,212 (2022) | 280,000 (Pew 2011) | 4.2 (Census 2022) | < 0.1 | Indigenous (Bosniaks, "Muslims",Romani,Albanians,Gorani,Serbs) |
 Slovakia | 10,866 | 4,000 (Pew 2011) | 0.1 (Pew 2011) | < 0.1 | Immigrant |
| Slovenia | 73,568 | 49,000 (Pew 2011) | 2.4 (Pew 2011) | < 0.1 | Immigrant and Indigenous |
| Spain | 1,887,906 | 1,021,000 (Pew 2011) | 4.1[189] | 0.1 | Immigrant |
| Sweden | N/A | 450,000–500,000 (2009DRL);[190] 451,000 (Pew 2011) | 5[190] | < 0.1 | Immigrant |
| Switzerland | N/A | 433,000 | 5.7 (Pew 2011) | < 0.1 | Immigrant |
 Ukraine | N/A | 393,000 (Pew 2011) | 0.9 (Pew 2011) | < 0.1 | Indigenous (Crimean Tatars)[191] |
| United Kingdom | 3,106,368 | 2,869,000 (Pew 2011) | 4.6 (Pew 2011) | 0.2 | Immigrant |
 | 0 | 0 (Pew 2011) | 0 (Pew 2011) | 0 | None |
According to an article published on the German public broadcasterDeutsche Welle, communities of Muslim immigrants remain strongly religious in someWestern-European countries, in a trend which continues across generations. In theUnited Kingdom, 64% identify as "highly religious", followed by 42% inAustria, 33% inFrance, and 26% inSwitzerland.[192]
A 2005 survey published by theUniversité Libre de Bruxelles estimated that only 10% of theMuslim population in Belgium are "practicing Muslims".[193] In 2009, only 24% ofMuslims in the Netherlands attended mosque once a week according to another survey.[194]
According to the same 2004 survey, they found that the importance of Islam in the lives ofDutch Muslims, particularly of second-generation immigrants was decreasing. According to a survey, only 33% ofFrench Muslims who were interviewed said they were religious believers. That figure is the same as that obtained by the INED/INSEE survey in October 2010.[195]
In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, large numbers of Muslimsimmigrated to Western Europe.[3][197] By 2010, an estimated 44 million Muslims were living in Europe (6%), including an estimated 19 million in the EU (3.8%).[129] They are projected to comprise 8% or 58 million by 2030.[129] Islam in Europe is often the subject of intense discussion and political controversies sparked by events such asIslamist terrorist attacks in European countries,[198][199][200][201]The Satanic Verses controversy,[202] thecartoons affair in Denmark,[200] debates overIslamic dress,[202] and growing support forright-wing populist movements and parties that view Muslims as a threat toEuropean culture andliberal values.[201][202] Such events have also fueled ongoing debates regarding the topics ofglobalization,multiculturalism,nativism,Islamophobia,relations between Muslims and other religious groups, andpopulist politics.[197][201][202][203]
In Europe, a variety of Islamic organizations serve to represent the diverse interests of Muslim communities and promote Islamic teachings, encourageInterfaith harmony and cultural contributions.
The Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE) an umbrella organization that represents more than 30 Muslim organizations in Europe. Its mission is to represent the interests of Muslims, and to foster dialogue and cooperation between Muslims and non-Muslims in Europe.[204] FIOE subsequently created theEuropean Council for Fatwa and Research, a pan European Muslim Brotherhood organisation which provides guidance to Muslims in Europe.[204] TheMuslim Council for Cooperation in Europe (MCCE) is a representative body of European citizens of Muslim faith before the EU administration for advice, representation andintra-European collaboration.[205] In 1997, the MCCE has joined the initiative "A Soul for Europe" in the framework of "Dialogue with religions, churches and humanism" as part of the Group of Policy Advisors in theEuropean Commission.[206]
In the context ofIslamic dress in Europe, there are diverse perspectives regarding the wearing of face-covering veils and other traditional clothing among Muslim communities. Various European countries have implemented laws and regulations that pertain to religious clothing, including face-covering veils such as the burka or thehijab. These laws have generated considerable debate and criticism within and outside Muslim communities.[207][208][209] Those who argue for the restrictions say they are in favor of security, or secularism. However, critics of such laws express concerns about infringements on individual freedom and religious expression, arguing that these restrictions have unintended consequences, including isolating and stigmatizing Muslim communities.[210][207][209] Additionally, it has been noted by some observers that these dress bans have raised concerns about fuelingIslamophobia across Europe.[211][212][213]
The prevailing perspective supports the right of Muslim women to wear religious clothing that does not cover their face, with a smaller proportion advocating for restrictions on all forms of religious clothing. On a regional average, around 25% hold a more permissive view, asserting that Muslim women should be allowed to wear the religious clothing of their choice according toPew Research Center.[214]
The stance on clothing restrictions is not the same in every country. For example, about six-in-tenPortuguese adults who hold positive feelings toward Muslims support no restrictions on religious clothing. Overall, most people in Western Europe say they accept religious minorities – Muslims included. For example, a median of 66% of non-Muslim adults in the region say they would accept a Muslim as a member of their family, according to a separate question in a survey.[214]
A 2013 study conducted byWissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB) found thatIslamic fundamentalism was widespread amongMuslims in Europe. The study conducted a poll amongTurkish immigrants to six European countries:Germany,France, theNetherlands,Belgium,Austria, andSweden. In the first four countries alsoMoroccan immigrants were interviewed.[215] Fundamentalism was defined as: the belief that believers should return to the eternal and unchangeable rules laid down in the past; that these rules allow only one interpretation and are binding for all believers; and that religious rules have priority over secular laws. Two thirds of Muslims the majority responded that religious rules are more important than civil laws and three quarters rejecting religious pluralism within Islam.[216] Of the respondents, 44% agreed to all three statements. Almost 60% responded that Muslims should return to the roots of Islam, 75% thought there was only one possible interpretation of the Quran.[215]
The conclusion was that religious fundamentalism is much more prevalent among European Muslims than among Christian natives. Perceived discrimination is a marginal predictor of religious fundamentalism.[215] The perception that Western governments are inherently hostile towards Islam as a source of identity is prevailing among some European Muslims. However, a recent study shows that this perception significantly declined after the emergence of ISIS, particularly among the youth, and highly educated European Muslims.[217] The difference between countries defies a "reactive religious fundamentalism", where fundamentalism is viewed as a reaction against lacking rights and privileges for Muslims. Instead, it was found that Belgium which has comparatively generous policies towards Muslims and immigrants in general also had a relatively high level of fundamentalism. France and Germany which have restrictive policies had lower levels of fundamentalism.[215]
In 2017, the EU Counter-terrorism CoordinatorGilles de Kerchove stated in an interview that there were more than50000 radicals and jihadists in Europe.[218] In 2016, French authorities stated that15000 of the20000 individuals on thelist of security threats belong toIslamist movements.[219] In the United Kingdom, authorities estimate that23000 jihadists reside in the country, of which about 3000 are actively monitored.[220] In 2017, German authorities estimated that there were more than10000 militant salafists in the country.[221] European Muslims have also been criticized fornew antisemitism.[222]
The extent of negative attitudes towards Muslims varies across different parts of Europe.
TheEuropean Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia reports that the Muslim population tends to sufferIslamophobia all over Europe, although the perceptions and views of Muslims may vary.[224]
In 2005 according to theSociaal en Cultureel Planbureau annual report, half the Dutch population and half the Moroccan and Turkish minorities stated that the Western lifestyle cannot be reconciled with that of Muslims.[225]
A 2015 poll by thePolishCentre for Public Opinion Research found that 44% of Poles have anegative attitude towards Muslims, with only 23% having a positive attitude towards them. Furthermore, a majority agreed with statements like "Muslims are intolerant of customs and values other than their own." (64% agreed, 12% disagreed), "Muslims living in Western European countries generally do not acquire customs and values that are characteristic for the majority of the population of that country." (63% agreed, 14% disagreed), "Islam encourages violence more than other religions." (51% agreed, 24% disagreed).[226]
A February 2017 poll of 10,000 people in 10 European countries byChatham House found on average a majority were opposed to further Muslim immigration, with opposition especially pronounced in Austria, Poland, Hungary, France and Belgium. Of the respondents, 55% were opposed, 20% offered no opinion and 25% were in favour of further immigration fromMuslim-majority countries. The authors of the study add that these countries, except Poland, had in the preceding years suffered jihadist terror attacks or been at the centre of a refugee crisis. They also mention that in most of the polled countries the radical right has political influence.[227]
According to a study in 2018 byLeipzig University, 56% of Germans sometimes thought the many Muslims made them feel like strangers in their own country, up from 43% in 2014. In 2018, 44% thought immigration by Muslims should be banned, up from 37% in 2014.[228]
Based off U.S. State Department records in 2013, there were about 226 Anti-Muslim attacks in France, which was more than an 11% increase from the year previous. Examples of the attacks included a bomb in an Arab restaurant, and grenades thrown at mosques. In more recent years, the aftermath of terrorist attacks in France have led to huge amounts of anti-Islamic rhetoric and increasing amounts of hate crimes.[229] The French government has also acted upon the Muslim population of France in recent years, with the lower house passing an anti-radicalism bill and increasing checks in places of worship.[230][231][232]
As of October 2023, Slovakia is the onlyEU member state that does not have a mosque due legislation that has barred Islam from gaining state recognition.[233]
Research indicates that factors such as background, religiosity, and perceiveddiscrimination among others, contribute to approximately 40% of the employment gap between Muslims and non-Muslims. Additionally, perceived group discrimination is closely linked to higher unemployment rates among second-generation Muslims.[234] According to aWZB report,Muslims in Europe generally have higher levels of unemployment due to language barriers, weak social ties, and restrictive gender roles. Discrimination from employers caused a small part of the unemployment.[235]
A recent study found that poor employment outcomes for Muslims in Britain are not due to sociocultural attitudes or religious practices but are linked to significant Islamophobic discrimination. The research, based on data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, revealed that factors like religiosity and gender attitudes have minimal impact on theemployment gap. Instead, perceived Muslimness and country of origin play a more significant role, highlighting the need to address multidimensional Islamophobia to reduce these disparities.[236][237]
In Albania, where rebellion had been smouldering for several years, the heroic Skanderbeg (George Castriota) revolted and under ...
In 1432 Andrew Thopia revolted against his Ottoman overlords ... inspired other Albanian chiefs, in particular George Arianite (Araniti) ... The revolt spread ... from region of Valona up to Skadar ... At this time, though summoned home by his relatives ... Skanderbeg did nothing, he remained ... loyal to sultan
One result of the victorious campaign of 1443 was the successful revolt of Albanians under George Castriota
The crusaders' successes inspired two other major revolts, ... the revolt of Skanderbeg in Albania...
Ottoman government, although purposely keeping Albanians administratively divided into separate, ethnically non-homogeneous vilayets, in order to prevent any unification and national development...
It was provoked by the laws passed by the new regime that claimed to loyally implement the old fiscal policy on the extremely impoverished population, impose new heavy taxes upon people, forcefully recruit Albanians for the Turkish army, continue the process of the entire population disarmament, extend its absolute power all over Albania, even over those regions that had always enjoyed certain privileges.
At a parliamentary session in January 1912, ... Albanian deputy Hasan Prishtina warned that the reactionary policy of the Young Turks' government was going to lead to a revolution in Albania.
... ustanici su uspeli da ... ovladaju celim kosovskim vilajetom do polovine avgusta 1912, što znači da su tada imali u svojim rukama Prištinu, Novi Pazar, Sjenicu pa čak i Skoplje... U srednjoj i južnoj Albaniji ustanici su držali Permet, Leskoviku, Konicu, Elbasan, a u Makedoniji Debar...
Therefore, with only final point being ignored, on September 4, 1912 the government accepted proposals and the Albanian revolt was over
After the proclamation of independence on 28 November 1912 and the establishment of the national government, the international relations of Albania began to be instrumentalized in a state form. The first diplomatic acts of the government were efforts for its recognition and the recognition of the Albanian state... European diplomacy did not regard the government of Vlora as an important element of the Albanian state... The legitimate requests of the new Albanian state were not taken in consideration.
Albanska delegacija je konferenciji u Londonu u decembru dostavila memorandum u kome se insistira na etničkim pravima. Ta Velika Albanija bi zahvatala Metohiju, Kosovo, zapadnu Makedoniju sa Skopljem i Bitoljem, na jugu čitav Epir do Arte. .... Delegation of Albania submitted to the London conference in December a memo in which they insist on the rights of ethnic Albanians. That Great Albania would encompass Kosovo, western Macedonia with Skopje and Bitola, and on the south the whole Epirus up to Arta.
(...) овоме су ејалету одмах припојени санџаци: херцеговачки, (...)
Санџак Софија Овај је санџак основан око г. 1393. (English:Sandžak Sofia This sandžak was founded around the year 1393.)
Declaration of Independence.....
It was in the Near and Middle East and North Africa that the old traditions of teaching and learning continued, and where Christian scholars were carefully preserving ancient texts and knowledge of the ancient Greek language.
It is difficult to establish exactly when Islam first appeared in Russia because the lands that Islam penetrated early in its expansion were not part of Russia at the time, but were later incorporated into the expanding Russian Empire. Islam reached the Caucasus region in the middle of the seventh century as part of the Arabconquest of the Iranian Sassanian Empire.
There are about 10 million Turks living in the Balkan area of southeastern Europe and in Western Europe at present.
This is not all of a sudden, says expert at the Center for Ethnic and Political Science Studies, Boris Kharkovsky. "These days, up to 15 million Turks live in the EU countries...
There are around 10 million Euro-Turks living in the European Union countries of Germany, France, the Netherlands and Belgium.
One-fifth of the Turkish population is estimated to have Balkan origins. Additionally, more than one million Turks live in Balkan countries, constituting a bridge between these countries and Turkey.
Anyone who has travelled to Central Asia knows of the non-denominational Muslims – those who are neither Shiites nor Sounites, but who accept Islam as a religion generally.
The appalling and catastrophic pictures of the so-called new extremist Isis Jihadist group made me think about someone who can say I am a Muslim of a non-denominational standpoint, and to my surprise/ignorance, such people exist. Online, I found something called the people's mosque, which makes itself clear that it's 100 per cent non-denominational and most importantly, 100 per cent non-judgmental.
Although many Iranian hardliners are Shi'a chauvinists, Khomeini's ideology saw the revolution as pan-Islamist, and therefore embracing Sunni, Shi'a, Sufi, and other, more nondenominational Muslims.
Muslims from immigrant families maintain a strong religious commitment which continues across generations. Sixty-four percent of Muslims living in the UK describe themselves as highly religious. The share of devout Muslims stands at 42 percent in Austria, 39 percent in Germany, 33 percent in France and 26 percent in Switzerland.
As one of the few mosques in Britain permitted to broadcast calls to prayer (azan), the mosque soon found itself at the center of a public debate about "noise pollution" when local non-Muslim residents began to protest.
The term "Islamism/Islamist" has come into increasing use in recent years to denote the views of those Muslims who claim that Islam, or more specifically, the Islamic sharīʿah, provides guidance for all areas of human life, individual and social, and who therefore call for an "Islamic State" or an "Islamic Order." [...] Today it is one of the recognized alternatives to "fundamentalist", along with "political Islam" in particular. [...] Current terminology usually distinguishes between "Islam," [...] and "Islamism", referring to the ideology of those who tend to signal openly, in politics, their Muslim religion. [...] the term has often acquired a quasi-criminal connotation close to that of political extremism, religious sectarianism, or bigotry. In Western mainstream media, "Islamists" are those who want to establish, preferably through violent means, an "Islamic state" or impose sharīʿah (Islamic religious law)—goals that are often perceived merely as a series of violations of human rights or the rights of women. In the Muslim world, insiders use the term as a positive reference. In the academic sphere, although it is still debated, the term designates a more complex phenomenon.
Muslim Brotherhood organisations in the UK –including charities –are connected to counterparts elsewhere in Europe. MAB are associated with the Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe (FIOE), established by the Muslim Brotherhood in 1989. FIOE subsequently created the European Council for Fatwa and Research, another pan European Muslim Brotherhood body, intended to providereligious and social guidance to Muslims living in Europe.
With the exception of Poland, these countries have either been at the centre of the refugee crisis or experienced terrorist attacks in recent years.
