Islam in Cyprus

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Main article: Religion in Cyprus

Mosque in Nicosia

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Islam in Cyprus was introduced when Uthman the 3rd Caliph conquered Cyprus in 649. Muslims lived throughout Cyprus but prior to 1974, and since have been concentrated in Northern Cyprus.

Until 1974, Turkish Cypriots (the Muslim community of Cyprus) made up 18% of the island's population. Today there are an estimated 264,172 Muslims based in the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots are exclusively Sunni, with an influential stream of Sufism underlying their spiritual heritage and development. Nazim al-Qubrusi, the leader of the Naqshbandi-Haqqani order, hails from Larnaca and currently resides in Lefka.

Several important Islamic shrines and landmarks exist on the island including:

the Arabahmet Mosque in Nicosia (built in the 16th century)
the Hala Sultan Tekke/Umm Haram Mosque in Larnaca (built in the 18th century)
the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque, Selimiye Mosque and the Haydarpasha Mosque; former Catholic cathedrals left from the Crusader era, which were meant to cater exclusively to the Catholic minority which ruled the island and were converted to mosques after the Muslim conquest in the Middle Ages.

[edit] History

Islam came to Cyprus early on in the Arab conquests, which at one point had also captured the Greek island of Crete. It is rumored that an aunt of the Prophet Mohammad, Um Haram, had accompanied the expedition.^{[citation needed]} She fell off her mule and died and was entombed at the present shrine Hala Sultan Tekkesi.

Most of the Turks settled in Cyprus during the Ottoman rule in 1572-1878/1914. The Ottoman Empire gave timars - land grants - to soldiers under the condition that they and their families would stay there permanently. During the 17th century, the Turkish population grew rapidly, partly because of Turkish immigrants but also due to Greek converts to Islam.^{[citation needed]}

Since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, Muslim population has been bolstered by settlers from Turkey who are almost exclusively Muslim.