Islam in Europe in the context of "Islam in Cyprus"

Play Trivia Questions online!

or

Skip to study material about Islam in Europe in the context of "Islam in Cyprus"

Ad spacer

⭐ Core Definition: Islam in Europe

Islam is the second-largest religion in Europe after Christianity. Although the majority of Muslim communities in Western Europe formed as a result of immigration, there are centuries-old indigenous European Muslim communities in the Balkans, Caucasus, Crimea, and Volga region. The term "Muslim Europe" is used to refer to the Muslim-majority countries in the Balkans and the Caucasus (Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Turkey) and parts of countries in Central and Eastern Europe with sizable Muslim minorities (Bulgaria, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and some republics of Russia) that constitute large populations of indigenous European Muslims, although the majority are secular.

Islam expanded into the Caucasus through the Muslim conquest of Persia in the 7th century and entered Southern Europe after the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in the 8th–10th centuries; Muslim political entities existed firmly in what is today Spain, Portugal, Sicily, and Malta during the Middle Ages. The Muslim populations in these territories were either converted to Christianity or expelled by the end of the 15th century by the indigenous Christian rulers (see Reconquista). The Ottoman Empire expanded into Southeastern Europe and consolidated its political power by invading and conquering huge portions of the Serbian and Bulgarian empires, and the remaining territories of the region, including the Albanian and Romanian principalities, and the kingdoms of Bosnia, Croatia, and Hungary between the 14th and 16th centuries. Over the centuries, the Ottoman Empire gradually lost its European territories. Islam was particularly influential in the territories of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo, and has remained the dominant religion in these countries.

↓ Menu

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
In this Dossier

Islam in Europe in the context of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the center of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about 2,150,000 km (830,000 sq mi), making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the largest in the Middle East, and the twelfth-largest in the world. It is bordered by the Red Sea to the west; Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait to the north; the Persian Gulf, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the east; Oman to the southeast; and Yemen to the south. The Gulf of Aqaba in the northwest separates Saudi Arabia from Egypt and Israel. Saudi Arabia is the only country with a coastline along both the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, and most of its terrain consists of arid desert, lowland, steppe, and mountains. The capital and largest city is Riyadh; other major cities include Jeddah and the two holiest cities in Islam, Mecca and Medina. With a population of almost 32.2 million, Saudi Arabia is the fourth most populous country in the Arab world.

Pre-Islamic Arabia, the territory that constitutes modern-day Saudi Arabia, was the site of several ancient cultures and civilizations; the prehistory of Saudi Arabia shows some of the earliest traces of human activity outside Africa. Islam emerged in what is now Saudi Arabia in the early seventh century. Islamic prophet Muhammad united the population of the Arabian Peninsula and created a single Islamic religious polity. Following his death in 632, his followers expanded Muslim rule beyond Arabia, conquering territories in North Africa, Central, South Asia and Iberia within decades. Arab dynasties originating from modern-day Saudi Arabia founded the Rashidun (632–661), Umayyad (661–750), Abbasid (750–1517), and Fatimid (909–1171) caliphates, as well as numerous other Muslim states in Asia, Africa, and Europe.

↑ Return to Menu

Islam in Europe in the context of Cultural Muslims

Cultural Muslims, also known as nominal Muslims, non-practicing Muslims or non-observing Muslims, are people who identify as Muslim but are not religious. They may variously be non-observing, secular, irreligious, or individuals who still identify with Islam due to belief, sprituality, family backgrounds, personal experiences, ethnic and national heritage, or the social and cultural environment in which they grew up.

Cultural Muslims can be found across the world, but especially in the Balkans, Central Asia, Europe, the Maghreb, various countries in South Asia and West Asia, Russia, Turkey, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the United States. In several countries and regions, self-reported Muslims practice the religion at low levels, and for some, their "Muslim" identity is associated with cultural or ethnic or national heritage, rather than merely religious faith.

↑ Return to Menu

Islam in Europe in the context of Muslim

Muslims (Arabic: المسلمون, romanizedal-Muslimūn, lit.'submitters [to God]') are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraham (or Allah) as it was revealed to Muhammad, the last Islamic prophet. Alongside the Quran, Muslims also believe in previous revelations, such as the Tawrat (Torah), the Zabur (Psalms), and the Injeel (Gospel). These earlier revelations are associated with Judaism and Christianity, which are regarded by Muslims as earlier versions of Islam. The majority of Muslims also follow the teachings and practices attributed to Muhammad (sunnah) as recorded in traditional accounts (hadith).

With an estimated population of almost 2 billion followers, Muslims comprise around 26% of the world's total population. In descending order, the percentage of people who identify as Muslims on each continental landmass stands at: 45% of Africa, 25% of Asia and Oceania collectively, 6% of Europe, and 1% of the Americas. Additionally, in subdivided geographical regions, the figure stands at: 91% of the Middle East–North Africa, 90% of Central Asia, 65% of the Caucasus, 42% of Southeast Asia, 32% of South Asia, and 42% of sub-Saharan Africa.

↑ Return to Menu

Islam in Europe in the context of Islam in the Netherlands

Islam is the second largest religion in the Netherlands, after Christianity, and is practised by 6% of the population according to 2023. estimates. The majority of Muslims in the Netherlands belong to the Sunni denomination. Many reside in the country's four major cities: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.

The early history of Islam in the Netherlands can be traced back to the 16th century, when a small number of Ottoman merchants began settling in the nation's port cities. As a result, improvised mosques were first built in Amsterdam in the early 17th century. In the ensuing centuries, the Netherlands experienced sporadic Muslim immigration from the Dutch East Indies, during their long history as part of the Dutch overseas possessions. From the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire after the First World War until the independence of Indonesia, the Dutch East Indies contained the world's second largest Muslim population, after British India. However, the number of Muslims in the European territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was very low, accounting for less than 0.1% of the population.

↑ Return to Menu

Islam in Europe in the context of Moors

The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate primarily the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages.

Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defined people. Europeans of the Middle Ages and the early modern period variously applied the name to Arabs, Berbers, Muslim Europeans, and black peoples. The term has been used in a broad sense to refer to Muslims in general, especially those of Arab or Berber descent, whether living in al-Andalus or North Africa. Related terms such as English "Blackamoor" were also used to refer to black Africans generally in the early modern period. The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica observed that the term "Moors" had "no real ethnological value." The word has racial connotations and it has fallen out of fashion among scholars since the mid-20th century.

↑ Return to Menu

Islam in Europe in the context of Muslim Europe

The term "Muslim Europe" refers to the predominantly Muslim countries of Europe, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, Kosovo, and Azerbaijan. (Islam has had a historical stronghold in the Balkans since the Ottoman wars in Europe.) It also includes Muslim-majority regions in other European nations, including western parts of North Macedonia, the Sandžak region within Serbia and Montenegro, the Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria, and many Muslim-majority republics within Russia. "Muslim Europe" can also be used to describe the Muslim community in Europe.

As of 2012, the number of Muslims in Europe was estimated at 45 million, or 6% of the total population of Europe.

↑ Return to Menu

Islam in Europe in the context of Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Islam is the most popular religion in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was introduced to the local population in the 15th and 16th centuries as a result of the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Muslims make the largest religious community in Bosnia and Herzegovina at around 51% of the population.

↑ Return to Menu

Islam in Europe in the context of Islam in Montenegro

Islam in Montenegro refers to adherents, communities and religious institutions of Islam in Montenegro. It is the second largest religion in the country, after Christianity. According to the 2011 census, Montenegro's 118,477 Muslims make up 19.11% of the total population. Montenegro's Muslims belong mostly to the Sunni branch. In 2023, Montenegro's 124,668 Muslims made up 19.99% of the total population.

↑ Return to Menu