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====Eastern Europe====
====Eastern Europe====
[[Image:Banya-bashi-imagesfrombulgaria.JPG|The [[Banya Bashi Mosque]] in [[Sofia]]|thumb|left]]
[[Image:Banya-bashi-imagesfrombulgaria.JPG|The [[Banya Bashi Mosque]] in [[Sofia]]|thumb|left]]
Muslim [[Byzantine–Arab Wars|Arab forces fought the Byzantine Empire]] soon after the establishment of Islam. The [[Muslim conquest of Syria|Syrian]], [[Muslim conquest of Armenia|Armenian, [[Muslim conquest of Egypt|Egyptian]] and [[Umayyad conquest of North Africa|North African]] provinces of the [[Byzantine Empire]] were overrun. [[Siege of Constantinople|Constantinople was besieged]] twice, once in a long blockade [[Siege of Constantinople (674–678)|between 674 and 678]], and once again [[Siege of Constantinople (717–718)|in 717]]. Victory of the Byzantines lead to the re-establishment of their control over most of [[Anatolia]]. This blocked further expansion of the Arab [[Caliphate]] towards Eastern Europe.
Muslim [[Byzantine–Arab Wars|Arab forces fought the Byzantine Empire]] soon after the establishment of Islam. The [[Muslim conquest of Syria|Syrian]], [[Muslim conquest of Armenia|Armenian]], [[Muslim conquest of Egypt|Egyptian]] and [[Umayyad conquest of North Africa|North African]] provinces of the [[Byzantine Empire]] were overrun. [[Siege of Constantinople|Constantinople was besieged]] twice, once in a long blockade [[Siege of Constantinople (674–678)|between 674 and 678]], and once again [[Siege of Constantinople (717–718)|in 717]]. Victory of the Byzantines lead to the re-establishment of their control over most of [[Anatolia]]. This blocked further expansion of the Arab [[Caliphate]] towards Eastern Europe.


The Turkic [[Khazars]] stopped the [[Arab]] expansion into [[Caucasus]] and [[Eastern Europe]] for some time after the [[Khazar–Arab Wars]].
The Turkic [[Khazars]] stopped the [[Arab]] expansion into [[Caucasus]] and [[Eastern Europe]] for some time after the [[Khazar–Arab Wars]].

Revision as of 17:05, 2 December 2008

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This article deals with the history and evolution of Islamic religions in Europe.

History

Early history

Islam came to Europe in various ways, through Muslim conquests, Muslim exploration and trade, and through Arabic manuscripts and scientific research.

Western Europe

A manuscript page of the Qur'an in the script developed in al-Andalus, 12th century.

Muslim forays into Europe began shortly after the religion's inception, with a short lived invasion of Byzantine Sicily by a small Arab force that landed in 652 CE. Islam's first real success in Europe came in 711 with the Umayyad conquest of Hispania. The invaders named their land Al-Andalus, which expanded to include what is now Portugal and Spain except for the northern highlands of Asturias. Al-Andalus has been estimated to have had a Muslim majority in the 10th century.[1] Pelayo, King of Asturias began the Christian counter-offensive known as the La Reconquista after the Battle of Covadonga in 722 and by 1236 practically all that remained of Al-Andalus in Spain was the southern province of Granada.

Muslim forces also pushed into Aquitaine (now in southern France) but suffered a temporary setback when defeated by Eudes (Duke of Aquitaine), at the Battle of Toulouse (721) and were turned back decisively by the Franks under Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours in 732. Rome was attacked in 846.

Sicily and parts of southern Italy were gradually conquered by the Arabs and Berbers commencing in 827 and held until they were expelled by the Norman conquest of the 11th century.[2][3]

Vikings are known to have travelled both East and South, raiding Muslim holdings in Europe on the one hand, and establishing trade on the other. In 884 a Viking raiding expedition reached the then Muslim dominated Iberian peninsula and attacked Lisbon, Cadiz, Algeciras and North Africa. On their way home, the Norsemen sailed along the Guadalquivir River and plundered Seville, destroying the city walls and burning the local mosque. Muslim sources tell of some "mayus" (pagans), who got lost in Spain, and converted to Islam.[4]

Muslim rule endured in the Emirate of Granada, from 1238 as a vassal state of the Christian Kingdom of Castile, until the completion of La Reconquista in 1492.[5] The Moriscos (converts to Christianity) were finally expelled from Spain between 1609 (Castile) and 1614 (rest of Spain), by Philip III.

Eastern Europe

The Banya Bashi Mosque in Sofia

Muslim Arab forces fought the Byzantine Empire soon after the establishment of Islam. The Syrian, Armenian, Egyptian and North African provinces of the Byzantine Empire were overrun. Constantinople was besieged twice, once in a long blockade between 674 and 678, and once again in 717. Victory of the Byzantines lead to the re-establishment of their control over most of Anatolia. This blocked further expansion of the Arab Caliphate towards Eastern Europe.

The Turkic Khazars stopped the Arab expansion into Caucasus and Eastern Europe for some time after the Khazar–Arab Wars.

In 824 CE, Byzantine Crete fell into the hands of Arabs, who established an emirate on the island (see Al-Hakam I). In 960 Nicephorus Phocas reconquered Crete for the Byzantines.

In the early 10th century in what is now part of European Russia, the Volga Bulgarians under Almış accepted Islam as the state religion. Ibn Fadlan was dispatched by the Abbasid Caliph al-Muqtadir in 922/3 to establish relations and bring qadis and teachers of Islamic law (sharia) to Volga Bulgaria, as well as help in building a fort and a mosque.

There are accounts of the trade connections between the Muslims and the Rus, apparently Vikings who made their way East towards current day Russia. On his way to Volga Bulgaria Ibn Fadlan brought detailed reports of the Rus, claiming that some had converted to Islam. "They are very fond of pork and many of them who have assumed the path of Islam miss it very much." The Rus also relished their nabidh, a fermented drink Ibn Fadlan often mentioned as part of their daily fare.[4]

The Golden Horde began its conquest of present day Russia and Ukraine in the 13th century. Despite the fact that they weren't Muslim at the time, the western Mongols adopted Islam as their state religion in the early 14th century. More than half[6] of the European portion of Russia and Ukraine, were under suzerainty of Muslim Tatars and Turks from the 13th century to the 15th century. The Crimean Khanate became a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire in 1475 and subjugated what remained of the Great Horde by 1502. The Khanate of Kazan was conquered by Ivan the Terrible in 1552.

The Ottoman Empire began its conquest of the European portion of the Byzantine Empire in the 14th century and in 1453 captured Constantinople, establishing Islam as a major religion in the region. The Ottoman Empire continue to stretch northwards, taking Hungary in the 15th century, and reaching as far north as the Podolia in the mid-17th century (Peace of Buczacz). Ottoman control in Europe ended with the Ottoman defeat in the Great Turkish War. In the Treaty of Karlowitz (1699), the Ottoman empire lost most of its conquests in Central Europe. The Crimean Khanate was annexed by Russia in 1783.[7]

Modern history

The Great Mosque of Paris, built after the first World War.

During the late 19th century and into the 20th century numerous European countries colonized countries with a majority-wise or large Muslim populations. This brought the European population into contact with Muslim populations, both as the army and civil administration in these new colonies, and with Muslim immigrants who came to the colonizing country in order to study and learn about the new European methods.

After the colonies achieved independence the European countries enabled immigration from their former colonies. In the 1960s and early 1970s guest workers were brought over by the governments of France, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Scandinavia. Once the European countries imposed an immigration ban, the type of immigration shifted. Today most Muslim immigrants come either as asylum seekers or as part of family reunification. Many of the second generation migrants marry spouses from their former homeland. Some countries have tried to cut down on such immigration by passing strict laws, such as the Danish 24 year rule.

Islam in European culture

Islam perked interest among European scholars, setting off the movement of Orientalism. The founder of modern Islamic studies in Europe was Ignác Goldziher, who started studying Islam in the late 19th century. For instance, sir Richard Francis Burton, 19th-century English explorer, scholar, and orientalist, and translator of 'The Arabian Nights' The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, in 1853 disguised as a Pashtun visited Medina and Mecca during the Hajj, as described in his book The Pilgrimage to Al-Medinah and Meccah

Islamic architecture influenced European architecture in various ways (for example, the Türkischer Tempel synagogue in Vienna). During the 12th century Renaissance in Europe, Latin translations of Arabic texts were introduced. As a result, the Qur'an was also translated (for example, Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete).

Muslim populations in Europe

See also: Muslims in Western Europe

According to the German Central Institute Islam Archive, the total number of Muslims in Europe in 2007 was about 53 million, including 16 million in the European Union.[8]

The Muslim population in eastern Europe is extremely diverse with varied histories and origins. Today, the Muslim-majority regions of Europe are Azerbaijan, Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, and some Russian regions in Northern Caucasus and the Volga region. The Muslim-dominated Sandžak of Novi Pazar is divided between Serbia and Montenegro. They consist predominantly of indigenous Europeans of the Muslim faith whose religious tradition dates back several hundred years. The transcontinental countries of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan also are Muslim majority.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimated that of the Albanian people, 70% of those in Albania are Muslim, 91% of them in Kosovo, and 99% of them in Mazedonien are Muslim. Bosnia has a Muslim plurality. In transcontinental countries such as 99% in Turkey, 93.4% in Azerbaijan and 57% in KazakhstanCite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). of the population is Muslim respectively. Muslims also form about one fifth of the Serbian population of Montenegro. In Russia, Moscow is home to an estimated 1.5 million Muslims.[9]

On the other hand, Western Europe's Muslim population is composed primarily of peoples who arrived to the European continent during or after the 1950s. Muslims are a minority in France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Muslim immigrants in Europe come from across the Muslim world, with different nationalities sometimes settling in different countries. The United Kingdom has a high percentage of Muslims from the Indian sub-continent; France, Italy and Spain has many Muslims from North Africa; Belgium and the Netherlands have Muslims mostly from Morocco and Turkey; Germany has a large Turkish and Kurdish Muslim population; Norway has a large Pakistani and Somali population and Sweden has many Iraqi immigrants.

Muslims in West Europe settle in largely urban areas. In cities such as Marseille in France, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and Malmö in Sweden, Muslims form a quarter of the residents, according to Fox news.[10] In Oslo, Muslims comprise of 15% of the population, while in others, like Paris, Brussels, London and Copenhagen, the figure is 10%.[11][12]

Projections

According to Don Melvin

Europe's Muslim population (without Russia) has nearly tripled over the last 30 years, to about 23 million, and experts predict it will double again by 2020. In 2005, the EU-25 had an overall net gain from international migration of +1.8 million people. This accounts for almost 85% of Europe's total population growth in 2005.[11][13]

According to Omer Taspinar

Today, the Muslim birth rate in Europe is three times higher than the non-Muslim one. If current trends continue, the Muslim population of Europe will nearly double by 2015, while the non-Muslim population will shrink by 3.5 percent.[14]

According to Esther Pan

By 2050, 1 in 5 Europeans will likely be Muslim.[15][14]

Professor Philip Jenkins of Penn State University estimates that by 2100, Muslims will compose about 25% of Europe's population. But Jenkins admits this figure does not take account of the large birthrates amongst Europe's immigrant Christians.[16] Additionally, this estimation depends more on the supposed inevitability of the increase of Muslim population in the West and one person's research on the future of Europeans. Therefore, while Jenkins' estimation should be considered in the process of predicting what it would be like to live in the West in the year 2100, it should also be raising doubts about the entire European population.

Other analysts are skeptical about the given forecast and the accuracy of the claimed Muslim population growth, since sharp decrease in Muslim fertility rates[17] and the limiting of immigrants coming in to Europe, which will lead to Muslim population increasing slowly in the coming years to eventually stagnation and decline. Others point to overestimated number and exaggeration of the Muslim growth rate.[18] It is also a fact that projections can not be taken as 100% accurate, they are rather an estimation should current trends continue and are always subject to changing.

Contemporary issues

Freedom of speech

In recent years the debate over freedom of speech in Europe has intensified, especially in relation to what can or cannot be said about the Muslim religion.

Various Europeans have been threatened after voicing their criticism of Islam. In the Netherlands, movie director Theo van Gogh was killed by Mohammed Bouyeri, a Dutch Muslim. Bouyeri left a letter on the body threatening Western governments, Jews and Dutch Muslim critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who was van Gogh's partner in creating the film Submission, which criticized Islam's treatment of women.

Another case in the freedom of speech debate was the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper, published offensive cartoons of Muhammad and Islam as a way of showing defiance against Muslim-related censorship. The cartoons caused an uproar in the Muslim world, leading to attacks against Danish and Norwegian embassies in some countries. Several newspapers across Europe reprinted the cartoons as a way of taking a stand in the debate.

British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie spent the better part of a decade in hiding after a fatwa calling for his execution was issued in response to his novel The Satanic Verses.

Dress codes

Main article: Islamic dress controversy in Europe

A growing Muslim identity and a wish to assert that identity by many, especially young, Muslims has led to a debate about the viability of Muslim dress in Europe. The major point of contention are the different female forms of clothing, such as the face veil (niqab) and over-cloak (abaya); see List of types of sartorial hijab. Note that the Arabic word hijab refers to modest behaviour in general, and pertains to men and women, but it is sometimes used in other languages to describe the Muslim headscarf.

Different countries approach the issue differently. For example, France has banned the hijab in the public education system (French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools), while other countries, such as Sweden, see the wearing of the hijab as a basic right derived from the freedom of religion[19]. In long established Muslim populations in Europe in the former Ottoman Empire, in Turkey, Cyprus and the Balkans, the majority of women while dressing modestly do not in general wear face or head coverings in public. This is because the Turks ruled an enormous non-Muslim population of Christians and Jews under strict Islamic code. Islam states there is no obligation in faith, religion is based on one's will.

Women's rights

This debate about women's rights is related to the debate about Muslim dress, but is much wider and involves many subjects which are culturally inherent to the new Muslim immigrants. It includes such topics as honor killings, forced marriage and female genital mutilation, as well as topics that have been addressed by European feminist organizations in their own struggle for equality, such as a women's right to education and work.

  • Weaver v NATFHE (now part of the UCU) Race/sex discrimination case. An Industrial (Employment) Tribunal in the UK decided that a trade union were justified in not assisting a (Muslim) woman complaining of racist/sexist harassment because the accused male would lose his job. The Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld the decision, which then applied to all trades unions. Also known as the Bournville College Racial Harassment Issue.

Sharia

In several other EU countries, such as Sweden[20] and the United Kingdom,[21] Muslim groups had asked to apply Islamic inheritance, marriage and divorce laws. Such requests have brought up considerable controversy in those countries.

Due to the growth of Muslims, the business of selling 'halal' meat (which is slaughtered in accordance with Islamic law) has grown to be a multi-billion euro-industry. A 2005 estimate placed halal meat sale at 15 billion euros in the European continent, with five billion euros of those sales coming from France, where it is growing 15% annually. The industry has been under criticism for being unorganized and ill-developed.[22]

In 2004 Europe's first bank to offer Sharia compliant financial services, the Islamic Bank of Britain, opened its doors in Britain.[23] Other countries which have Islamic banking institutions are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina [24], Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland and Ireland.[25]

Terrorism

While in some places Islamic terrorism can be considered part of a national struggle (eg, Russia), in other places Islamic terror had hit in the past few years as part of a struggle against "The West". Terror attacks have taken place in Turkey in 2003, Spain in 2004 and in the United Kingdom in 2005.

Suspects accused of Islamic terrorist activity have been arrested in Germany,[26] the Czech Republic,[27] Spain,[28] Portugal,[29] France,[30] Italy,[31] Belgium,[32] the Netherlands,[33] Denmark,[34] Turkey,[35] Norway,[36] Sweden,[37] Serbia,[38] Bulgaria,[39] Romania,[40] and Cyprus.[41]

European Islam

Main article: European Islam

According to several scholars, a new branch of Islam is coming into existence in Europe.

Organizations

See also

Further reading

References

  1. ^ Hourani, pg.42
  2. ^ Roger II - Encyclopædia Britannica
  3. ^ Tracing The Norman Rulers of Sicily
  4. ^ a b Vikings in the East, Remarkable Eyewitness Accounts
  5. ^ Hourani, pg.41
  6. ^ Encarta, Mongol Invasion of Russia:[1]
  7. ^ Soldier Khan
  8. ^ In Europa leben gegen­wärtig knapp 53 Millionen Muslime; see also http://www.islamicpopulation.com/europe_islam.html
  9. ^ The rise of Russian Muslims worries Orthodox Church, The Times, August 5, 2005
  10. ^ Swedes Reach Muslim Breaking Point, FOXNews.com
  11. ^ a b DON MELVIN, Europe works to assimilate Muslims, Atlanta Journal Constitution, 2004-12-17, Template:Wayback
  12. ^ Tolerance and fear collide in the Netherlands, UNHCR, Refugees Magazine, Issue 135 (New Europe)
  13. ^ Migration Information Source - Europe: Population and Migration in 2005
  14. ^ a b Omer Taspinar, Europe's Muslim Street, Brookings Institution, march 2003
  15. ^ Esther Pan, EUROPE: Integrating Islam, Council on Foreign Relations, 2005-07-13
  16. ^ Philip Jenkins, Demographics, Religion, and the Future of Europe, Orbis: A Journal of World Affairs, vol. 50, no. 3, pp. 533, summer 2006
  17. ^ Mary Mederios Kent, Do Muslims have more children than other women in western Europe?, Population Reference Bureau, prb.org, February 2008; for fertility of Muslims outside Europe, see Farzaneh Roudi-Fahimi and Mary Mederios Kent, Fertility Declining in the Middle East and North Africa, prb.org, April 2008, Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi, Recent changes and the future of fertility in Iran
  18. ^ see Eurabia#Critique_of_the_Eurabia_theory
  19. ^ Euro-Islam, article from Le Monde, January 24, 2007
  20. ^ 'Separate laws for Muslims' idea slammed, The Local, April 26, 2006
  21. ^ Muslim second wives may get a tax break, Times Online, December 26th, 2004
  22. ^ Yahmid, Hadi (June 8, 2005). "Halal Industry Steals Limelight at Paris Food Conference". Islam Online.
  23. ^ Europe’s first Islamic bank opens its doors, The Banker, September 2, 2004
  24. ^ Bosna Bank International Islamic Banking
  25. ^ Islamic Financial Institutions, Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance
  26. ^ Bomb Plot Shocks Germans Into Antiterrorism Debate, The NY Times, August 22, 2006
  27. ^ Plot Against Jews Reported in Prague, Spiegel, October 06, 2006
  28. ^ Seven with alleged terror links arrested in Spain, USA Today, December 9, 2005
  29. ^ Portuguese police arrest 15 Arabs over fear of Euro 2004 terror attack, Telegraph, June 13, 2006
  30. ^ French police arrest 11 in terror sweep, International Herald Tribune, February 14, 2007
  31. ^ Arrests trigger Italy terror alert, BBC, 24 January, 2003
  32. ^ Italy, Belgium arrest 17 terror suspects, China Daily, June 9, 2004
  33. ^ Dutch police arrest terror suspects, BBC, April 24, 2002
  34. ^ 9 arrested by Denmark in reported terror plot, International Herald Tribune, September 5, 2006
  35. ^ Turkish Daily News - Aug 11, 2008
  36. ^ Charged with terrorism, Aftenposten, September 21, 2006
  37. ^ Sweden to extradite Moroccan terror suspect to Germany, The Local, 29 March 2007
  38. ^ Fifth Muslim arrested in Serbia for alleged terrorist activity, International Herald Tribune, March 24, 2007
  39. ^ ‘Extremists’ arrested in Bulgaria, Sofia Echo, February 26, 2007
  40. ^ Romanian police arrest terror suspect, Southeast European Times, June 28, 2006
  41. ^ Two Pakistani terror suspects netted in Cyprus, The News, April 25, 2007
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