Islam in Europe

Last Wednesday, I really enjoyed going to the Central London Mosque! I haven't been exposed to much other than Christianity, being raised in a small town and going to a state school in the middle of the "Bible Belt." I wrote a research paper about Islam either in middle school or early high school, so some of it came back to me when our guide began discussing the Five Pillars and such. The numerous similarities of Islamic and Christian religions amaze me. I learned more about Islam in general than Islam in Europe or Islam in the 20th century. I left the Mosque curious about Islamic populations in Europe and how Islam spread into Europe.

I am aware that there is quite a bit of Islam in the United States, but I guess I just always attributed it to immigration since we're such a young country and "the land of the free." I never really thought of Europe having much immigration. According to a Wikipedia article Islam in Europe, Islam originally came to Europe "through Muslim conquests, Muslim exploration and trade, and through Arabic manuscripts and scientific discovery." The same Religion in Europe article I referred to in a previous post points out that the population of Islam in Western Europe is mostly as a result of migration today. There is no Islamic tradition in Western Europe with the exception of the Iberian Peninsula.  Eastern European cultures, such as the Balkans and parts of Russia, have seen more Islamic influence, especially after the World Wars. I have taken the following map from Islam in Europe.

The Islamic population in the gray areas makes up less than 1% of the total population. On the other hand, the lime green area (of Turkey) represents an Islamic population that makes up more than 95% of the total population. The United Kingdom is in a fairly grey area, with the Islamic population between 2 and 3% of the total population.

Much of the Muslim immigration into Europe is due to the colonization of regions with large Muslim populations. According to Islam in Europe, many Muslims visited or migrated to the European colonies as seamen, soldiers, royalty, or to study. When the colonies achieved independence, the European countries allowed mass immigration from former colonies. Many countries imposed immigration bans and the type of immigration shifted. Today, most Muslim immigrants to Europe come as asylum seekers or to reunite families.