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• History
of Christianization of Europe
• Soviet
Union, Communist influence
• Map
of European ethnic groups
• Map of Fascism
in Europe (1922-75)
• History
of Islamic conquest in Europe
• Religions
& ethnic groups in Russia
--MORE &
NON-ENGLISH--

• Muhammad cartoon crisis in pictures
• Stalin's private summer home
• Ravenna: capital of Gothic empire
• Czar Nicholas II's Ukrainian palace
• European traditional costumes/dress
• Inside the Vatican, house of all wealth
--MORE
& NON-ENGLISH--

• Islamic Mujahidin
vs. Spain & El Cid
• Poland-Lithuania vs. Teutonic Order
• Nevskiy's Russia vs. German Crusaders
• Mussolini vs. Libyan Islamic fighters
• Qadafi: Europe will soon be Islamic
• Ivan the Terrible vs. Muslim Tatars
--MORE
& NON-ENGLISH--

• Inside Albania, Europe's only Muslim culture (with rare pictures)
• History of Jihad in Chechnya & Caucasus vs. Russians
• History of the Muslim Tatars in Russia
• Ethnic & religious history of Serbs, Croats, & Bosnians
• History of Italy: from Roman rule to Germanic barbarian
• The cost & bloodshed of the Serb-Albanian conflict in Kosovo
• Inside Bulgaria, 1st Slavic nation, land of Thracian masters of gold
• Visual history of Yugoslavia
• Inside Muslim Turkey: right for the European Union?
--MORE
& NON-ENGLISH-- |
|
Muslim Mosques of
European countries
by James Mayfield (Chairman, European Heritage Library)
Print
this Article • About
the Author • Bibliography/Sources
Mosques of the Islamic religion
(almost exclusively Sunni or Sufi) have existed in Europe
for over a thousand years, starting with the Muslim conquests
of Christian Sicily, Sardinia, and Spain in the 8th century.
After most of them were destroyed with the unification of
Spain to expel the Muslim occupants that settled from North
Africa and the Fertile Crescent, the nearly invincible Ottoman
Turks delivered the blade of Islam into southeastern Europe,
conquering Bosnia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, southern
Ukraine, Moldova, what is now Greece, Serbia, and almost Croatia
and Hungary for nearly 500 years. See our exclusve History
of Islamic Conquest in Europe Map. This led to the construction
of many mosques in Europe, chiefly by the occupying Muslims
but in less frequent cases by natives generally forced or
relegated to convert to Islam in Albania and Bosnia. The greatest
concentration of mosques in Europe, however, are recent constructions
following World War II with the advent of liberalism and open-border
immigration, which catalyzes the construction of mosques as
ways to protect the identity and social needs of Muslim immigrants
to Europe. As the two cultures collide, the construction of
new mosques in Europe compliments the tide of immigration
to Europe that further irritates a cultural incompatibility
that is a growing problem in Europe. For some, new mosques
means a victory for Islam against Europe. For others, new
mosques means that these new immigrants refuse to assimilate
to benefit European societies.
Click here to see our detailed
Muslim Populations
in Europe Map. If you have any images you want
to add, or have any information or questions, notify us. Not
all countries have been shown below either because no images
could be found or because Islam is so insignificant there
that it would not matter (such as Belarus or Poland).
QUICK
VIEW:
England
• France • Switzerland
• Germany • Austria
• Spain • Italy
• Netherlands • Croatia
• Albania • Kosovo
• Serbia • Bosnia
• Macedonia • Montenegro
• Cyprus • Romania
• Greece • Bulgaria
• Denmark • Ireland
• Norway • Sweden
• Finland • Russia
• Ukraine • Hungary
Mosques of England:
Due to the fact that the
UK has been free of Islamic conquest for its entire history,
all mosques in the country are the result of modern post-liberalization
immigration in the last several decades after World War II.
England has among the highest Muslim populations in Europe,
with the main group thereof being from the Arab world and
India. Nearly all of them are constricted to the large cities
like London.






Mosques of France:
France has liberalized its
culture only recently, though it has historically had an increasing
tide of immigration from its Muslim-dominated colonies like
Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania, etc. France has the
largest population of Muslims in Europe, though there are
nations with higher percentages in proportion to the total
population in the Balkans as a result of the Islamic assaults
by the Turks for 400 years.





Mosques of Switzerland:
Mosques in Switzerland are
the result of immigration from France, the Middle East, and
also a large emigrating population from the Balkans due to
the tumult of the Yugoslav wars (Bosnians, Albanians).


Mosques of Germany:
Mosques in Germany are a
very new phenomenon. They are the result of recent post-World
War II immigration that was opened in order to revitalize
the shattered economy. The main group are the Turks, but Germany
has large populations of Iranians, Afghans, and others from
the Middle East. Though Nazism has of course been removed
in Germany by and large, the presence of foreigners and Muslims
in Germany is a major problem for much of the population,
including among non-Nazis. It is worth noting that the Turkish
immigrants in Europe have a much lower unemployment and have
higher income and education than other immigrants from other
Muslim countries, thus making Germany's and Austria's Muslims
less objectionable to the locals by and large than the North
and Sub-Saharan Africans in France, for example.








Mosques of Austria:
Islam is not new to Austria.
Austria ruled Bosnia in entirety or in part for centuries
after it annexed it from the Muslim Ottoman caliphate in the
19th century. As Bosnians today are 40% Muslim, and as Austria
was the center of the Habsburg empire (Austria-Hungary), many
Muslims came to Austria to enjoy its thriving economy despite
persecution. With the advent of post-WWII liberalism during
the period of American occupation and afterward, the new Muslim
populations are not Bosnian, but mostly Turkish and Arab immigrants.



Mosques of Spain:
Mosques and Islam have been
in Spain on and off for over 1,100 years. As a result of the
Islamic conquest of Iberia in the 8th century, mosques appeared
all over the country where Arabs ("Moors") exerted
authority. From the 13th century onward, the unification of
Spain and the Reconquista expelled all Muslims and Jews from
Spain, and destroyed most mosques in the country except only
those most beautiful. The Alhambra survived as a former mosque,
though of course it became a museum. Most mosques and Muslims
in Spain today are a result of immigration from adjacent North
Africa. North Africa being Arab and Berber, most Muslims in
Spain today are of Arab extraction and very rarely from the
farther south. Spanish intrusion into Morocco in the colonial
period, and still today in Ceuta, Morocco, leads to immigration
to the wealthier Spain.
 




Mosques of Italy:
Italy's quality as a major
maritime trading country of coastal nations and principalities
means that Arab and Iranian traders have been present in what
is now Italy for centuries, though only rarely settling. There
have been Albanian immigrants in Italy for centuries, though
originally it was to escape the Islamic conquest and forced
Islamization of the Albanians by the Ottoman Turks. There
remain large Albanian populations in eastern Italy today,
who are largely Muslims. Most of the Islamic population in
Italy is due to post-WWII liberalization and immigration from
Arab North Africa, Libya, the Middle East, but primarily from
the black regions of Africa, which are only rarely Muslims.



Mosques of the
Netherlands:
As Europe's most liberal
state, and a former major colonial power, the Netherlands
has a huge population of Muslims, especially from Morocco
and Arab North Africa, from Somalia, and from Indonesia. This
amalgam has caused a great social rift, and dormant hatred
between the two groups exacerbates the conflict because Muslims
become more strongly bound to more conservative Islam as a
vehicle for collective struggle, justice, etc. Nearly all
of the mosques are brand new, dating from the 20th century
and especially after World War II due to immigration. The
largest mosque in Europe (outside Russia) is being planned
at Rotterdam.






Mosques of Croatia:
Almost free of mosques, having
been spared the Islamic conquest and Jihad of the Ottomans
by merging with the Austrian Empire, Croatia has a few mosques
that are a result of the Bosniak and Albanian populations,
as few immigrants come to Croatia because of the superior
benefits that can be enjoyed in nearby countries that are
more liberal.


Mosques of Albania:
As Europe's only Muslim-majority
culture, the Albanians have a long history of Islam. Islam
came to Albania via the Jihad of the Turks, who ruled what
is now Albania for 400 years. 70% of Albanians today are Muslim,
though a very secular form thereof (see my
Inside Albania article). Because of the communist domination
and "atheization" of Albania under dictator Enver
Hoxha, few mosques survived. Today, Islam is making a resurgence,
including from Arab immigrants from Saudi Arabia seeking to
revitalize Islam in Europe. Kosovo is also majority Muslim,
a much more conservative population because of their polarity
to the Serbian Christian populations as well as the freedom
from communism in the region.








Skanderbeg, Albania's national
hero and defender of Albanians against the Islamic conquest,
next to a mosque
Mosques of Kosovo:
Kosovo was part of Serbian
national heritage for nearly 1000 years, even when it was
ruled by the Muslim Turks for some 300 years. During the Muslim
occupation, the Albanians in Albania converted to Islam partially
by force and largely by relegation to survive their poor social
status and economic hardships exacerbated by blood taxes the
poor Albanian farmers could not afford. Serbs, with a vivid
Christian heritage already established, refused to accept
Islam, and almost no Serbs today adhere to the Sunnah (laws
of Islam). Albanians, given preferential status because of
their submission, populated Kosovo (Serbia), where they soon
became the majority, thus making Kosovo then and now a majority
Muslim and Albanian land. Kosovo, not suffering from Communism
like Albania, is in many ways more religiously conservative.
Much of the bloody revolt against Yugoslavia was under the
banner of Islam, where terrorism was often attached with Jihad
when Albanians searched for justification for their struggle,
as the Albanians have very little independent history of nationhood.
With the Clinton bombings in 1999, Kosovo was taken from Yugoslavia
and has since been occupied and protected by US forces under
the guise of the UN and NATO. In 2008, when Kosovo was given
freedom without any approval of the Serbian nation of which
it was an important part for almost 1000 years (see our History
of Kosovo), Islam is still an important part of Kosovar
and Albanian tradition despite the fact that their main national
hero, the Christian Skanderbeg, spent his life rallying Albanians
against the Islamic Jihad of the Turks. When Albanians declared
independence in Kosovo, standing behind the president in the
national speech of freedom was a mullah. With Kosovo now a
proud and independent nation, at least in its own and America's
eyes, Islam will likely make a comeback with more mosques
being design since Serbs cannot intervene as before. It is
rumored that some mosques in Kosovo are named after Usama
bin Laden, as is common in the Muslim world.









Mosques of Bosnia:
Bosnia, which is 40% Muslim,
has a great deal of mosques, most of which being centuries
old as a result of the Jihad of the Ottoman Turks into the
region, who ruled Bosnia-Herzegovina for nearly 400 years.
As a result of the Ottoman Muslim invasion and the difficult
tumult and division caused by the Yugoslav wars, Bosnia is
today broken in three: Republika Srpska in the east for Serbian
Christians, a Croatian enclave in the southwest, and the center
is divided between Bosnian Christians and Bosniak Muslims.

by Alan Grant





A mosque destroyed during the Yugoslav wars by Serbs, Bosnian
Christians, or Croats.

Mosques of Serbia:
Serbia's Muslim population
-- and their mosques -- is due to the presence of Albanian
Kosovars and Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks), all of whom converted
to Islam as a result of 400 years of Islamic conquest and
Jihad of the Ottomans. Though there are mosques in Belgrade,
most mosques are only in the south, where Albanians are the
majority. Most Muslim Bosniaks fled west away from Serbia
because of persecution. Mosques and Muslims in Serbia face
routine harassment because of their association with "traitor"
Bosniaks, and especially the very-hated Albanians to the south.
Serbia arguably offered the most impressive resistance to
the Islamic conquest, despite its eventual annexation by Istanbul,
further imbuing Muslims in Serbia with an image of treason
to their country (whether or not it is appropriate). What
was perceived as theft of their land (Kosovo) by the United
States in 2008 exacerbated this conflict.


A mosque in Serbia destroyed by Serbs in the Yugoslav wars

One of the oldest mosques in Europe, built during the Islamic
occupation (by Ottoman Turks)


Mosques of Montenegro:
Because of the precarious
division of the former Yugoslavia, large swaths of Bosnian,
Montenegrin, and Macedonian lands overlap populations other
than the dominant nationality. In Macedonia and Montenegro,
there are large Albanian Muslim populations. In the eyes of
more nationalistic Albanians, Montenegro can be described
as occupying a large part of "Greater Albania".
Most mosques were destroyed during the union with Serbia.
Despite the large Albanian population, there are few mosques.


Mosques of Cyprus:
Cyprus today is split in
half, with Muslim Turks occupying the north and Greeks occupying
the south. After the 1974 invasion by Turkey, the nation has
two governments, though the northern Turkish Cypriot Republic
is not recognized. Muslims have lived in Cyprus for over 1000
years due to its proximity to the Middle East. It was a major
rallying point for Crusaders until it fell to the Turks by
the 16th century. Most of the mosques remain in the north
with the Turkish Muslims, both old and new.





Mosques of Macedonia:
Macedonia's proximity to
Turkey and Albania means that some 33% of Macedonia is Albanian,
thus ~33% Muslim. Islam is making a renaissance among Albanians
after freedom from communism came with the death of Enver
Hoxha. Albanian Muslims in Serbia, Macedonia, and Greece are
a major source of social conflict between Albanians and the
Slavic population.





Mosques of Romania
& Moldova:
Islam in Romania is not new.
Before Romania was united after declaring independence from
the Islamic Ottoman empire, the Turkish Muslims ruled the
two provinces of Wallachia and Moldova. Muslim domination
was experienced in Romania for nearly 400 years, leading to
forced and relegated conversion to survive as third-class
citizens. Many beautiful mosques are all over Romania that
are centuries old. The first few photos below (with the EHL
watermark) are from my vacation to Constanta, Romania (see
my Inside Romania article).
A glorious mosque in Constanta (my photos below) is one of
the few mosques in the world that allows infidels (non-Muslims),
and one of the only mosques that allows one to enter the minaret
at the top to view the entire city. Muslims, most of whom
fled Romania to Turkey after unification led to persecution,
still settle on the eastern coast. It is odd that in Romania's
hideously-poor city of Constanta, where few Muslims even live,
there is one of the more beautiful mosques of the world because
of Turkish private funding.




Mosques of Greece:
Islam has been present in
what is now Greece for nearly 500 years, when the Muslim Ottoman
empire obliterated the Byzantine empire and the regional Greek
city-states, and converted its holiest sites like the Hagia
Sophia into a mosque. Constantinople, formerly Greek land,
became Islamicized as Istanbul. The Greeks united to create
the first Greece in history in the 19th century. Today, Greece
has much Muslim immigration from Turkey, the Middle East,
North Africa, and especially the problematic Albanian Muslim
population. Most of the old churches in former Greek territories
(not part of the Greek nation, as there never was a Greek
unified state until the 19th century) like in Anatolia were
either demolished or converted to a mosque. When nearly all
Greeks were expelled from Turkey after the Greco-Turkish War
(and all Turks were expelled to Greece), more churches were
destroyed along with them. So too, many mosques in Islamic-ruled
Greece were converted to churches to celebrate the formation
of the first Greek nation. Thus, most of the Greek churches
are confined to the Greek state of today. A lot of mosques
in both Greece and Turkey have a typical Orthodox look to
them.





Photograph inside an allegedly radical and illegal mosque
in Greece.


Mosques of Bulgaria:
Like all the Balkans, Islam
came to Bulgaria via the Islamic conquests of the mighty Ottoman
empire. Bulgaria has more Turks than any country in Europe
except Germany, making ~10% of Bulgaria Muslim today. Many
Turks were expelled after the unification of Bulgaria in the
20th century, and a process of "de-Islamization"
occurred in this ancient Slavic Orthodox Christian nation.
Today, Bulgaria still has some Turkish immigration. Most of
the mosques are from the period of Islamic rule. Some Bulgarian
Slavs connect their heritage (ethnically and historically)
to a place in Central Asia along the Volga River today called
"Volga Bulgaria" around modern Kazan/Tatarstan,
where the population had a strong Islamic heritage and was
of the Turkic race. This is a source of dispute because of
nationalism and academic disagreement, and also because one
of the only ways historians can connect modern Slavic Bulgarians
with Volga Bulgaria is the name and nothing more.






Mosques of Denmark:
Islam in Scandinavia is a
major problem, leading to serious conflicts in the native
societies. Most Muslims in Denmark come from Africa, both
the Arabs of the north and the blacks to the south. The Muslim
population considers itself marginalized, and the natives
criticize them for their low literacy, high proportion of
welfare reciept, lack of employment, and refusal to integrate.
The crisis of the Muhammad cartoons reveal a clash between
the native culture and the immigrating ones. Denmark has recently
worked to stop or reduce Muslim immigration, the construction
of mosques, and the open benefits immigrants enjoy. There
are few mosques overall in Denmark, largely because of an
increasingly-disgruntled Danish government and society, and
because so many of the Muslim immigrants in Denmark are from
Somalia and Sub-Saharan Africa, and lack the money or ability
to have mosques built. Most "mosques" end up being
in small shops or warehouses like that shown below. The largest
mosque in Europe is also being planned in Copenhagen (Koebenhavn),
though it has yet to materialize due to the agitation of the
natives and the lack of funds of the immigrants.

Mosques of Ireland:
Despite its geographic and
political proximity to immigrant-rich England, Ireland is
one of the most homogeneous countries of Europe. Its mosques
and Muslim populations are all the result of post-war immigration.


Mosques of Norway:
In one of the most homogeneous
countries in the world, Norway has almost no Muslims and no
mosques outside of Oslo. The reason for such a small immigrant
population in Norway is primarily because of the inability
for immigrants to feel welcome in such a polar society, and
also because most Muslims can simply immigrate slightly to
the east to be among a more liberal society already full of
Muslims: Sweden.


Mosques of Sweden:
With France, USA, Canada,
and the Netherlands, Sweden is one of the most liberal societies
in the world. It has one of Europe's largest Muslim populations,
leading to many conflicts with the natives who are tired of
an open society and free economy that they believe Muslims
exploit. Most of Sweden's Muslims are from the Middle East
and Africa, though it is a haven for Afghans, Somalis, and
those liberal Iranians fleeing the Islamic piety of post-revolutionary
Iran. Sweden often underreports their Muslim populations,
officially reporting anywhere from 2% Muslim to 5%, whilst
it is in fact much more. All of the Muslim populations here
are, of course, post-WWII results of liberalization. Many
Muslims in Europe go to Sweden to avoid the strong cultural
resentment and persecution they often meet in places like
Germany or other parts of Europe.







Mosques of Finland:
As the most homogeneous nation
in Europe (with Iceland), like Norway, Finland has almost
no mosques outside of the capital (Helsinki). Finland has
been criticized by the US and EU for not taking in "enough"
immigrants. Like Norway, Muslims can much more easily immigrate
to Sweden to the west to enjoy a more liberal and Muslim-populated
society.
 

Mosques of Russia:
Islam has been in Russia
for centuries as a result not of immigration, but of Russian
conquest of nearly a hundred million Muslims in the course
of its repulsion of Muslims "in the way" of Russian
expansion to become the largest nation on earth. Russia conquered
Kazan, Astrakhan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan,
Azerbaijan, Chechnya, Dagestan, and other Muslim countries
for centuries of rule. The Muslims of Russia are largely not
a part of Russian society, but rather are secluded to Muslim
areas in what Russia (but not they) considers the territory
of the Russian Federation. The Jihad of the Chechnyans (read
my article on the history
of Chechnya) has been particularly angering to Russian
Christians, leaving hundreds dead on both sides anywhere from
the battlefields of Grozniy (the capital) to Moscowite theatres.
Islam is the largest-growing religion in Russia and Europe.
Click the link to learn about the History
of the Tatar Muslims in Russia. Almost no mosques exist
outside of the Muslim south or the major province of Tatarstan/Kazan
by comparison. View our exclusive Ethnic
& Religious Map of Russia.

(from dawaatelislam.com)












Mosques of Ukraine:
The regions of today's Ukraine
-- especially the Crimea -- have been populated by Islamic
states for centuries, primarily Turkic Tatar people (see my
article on the History
of the Tatars in Russia/Ukraine). With the Russian conquest
of the Tatar Muslim states and the Ottoman empire along the
Black Sea, the Tatar Muslims became exterminated, especially
under Stalin when they were expelled en masse to Kazakhstan.
Today, Tatars are making a return to their faith, though their
tiny population is insignificant. Ukraine sees little immigration
because its society is less liberal and its economy less successful,
and also because Ukraine is one of the most homogeneous countries
in the world as a less hospitable society for Muslims.


NOT a mosque. This is the rear entrance of a Ukrainian palace
built by a major Russian general who helped conquer Muslim
Central Asia.




from serg-klymenko.narod.ru


Mosques of Hungary:
Islam has been present on
the borders of Hungary since the Islamic attacks against the
Kingdom of Hungary by the Muslim Ottoman empire from the 16th
century onward, after which it merged with Austria. Hungarian
rule of much of the Balkans during the Austria-Hungarian period
meant that many white Muslims came to Hungary. Today, Hungary
has few Muslims or mosques as a result of immigration because
immigrants can simply move to the much wealthier Austria next
door. Many of the mosques in Hungary have been converted to
Catholic churches, as most of the mosques were built during
the Islamic conquest of Hungary (that was ultimately unsuccessful),
and were demolished when the Hungarians were liberated from
the Ottoman assault by the Germans.

A former mosque during the Islamic conquest that was converted
into a Catholic church thereafter.
________________________________________
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR:
James Mayfield is the owner
and Chairman of the European Heritage Library. I am working
for a doctorate in history, with a specific emphasis on Islamic
and European histories. I am well versed in all world cultures,
ethnicities, religions, languages, politics, and historical
evolution in relation to and against each other.
BIBLIOGRAPHY/SOURCES
USED:
If you know the original
owner of one of these images, feel free to tell us, and we
will add a citation reference. It is difficult to pinpoint
the original origin of images that are so widely reused. If
any of the works you have found are originally yours and are
protected, please tell me and I will remove them if necessary.
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