Islam in Iceland
The Nordic country of Iceland has one of the smallest Muslim communities in the world, of only 694 people, of whom 419 are members of "The Association of Muslims in Iceland" and 275 are members of "The Islamic Cultural Centre of Iceland" (as of 2012). This corresponds to 0.2% of the population of Iceland.
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[edit] Demographics
"Association of Muslims in Iceland" (Félag múslima á Íslandi) has 419 members (as of 2012).
"The Islamic Cultural Centre of Iceland" (Menningarsetur múslima á Íslandi) has 275 members (as of 2012).
The number of Muslims in Iceland is suspected to be not much more than the two associations combined.[1]
[edit] History
Perhaps the earliest contact between the Islamic world and Iceland occurred in 1627, when North African pirates raided portions of Iceland, including the southwest coast, Vestmannaeyjar, and the eastern fjords.[2] This event is known in Icelandic history as the Tyrkjaránið (the "Turkish Abductions").
[edit] Association of Muslims in Iceland
The Association of Muslims in Iceland (Félag múslima á Íslandi) was founded in 1997. It is headed by Salmann Tamimi, a Palestinian immigrant.[3][dead link]
[edit] The Islamic Cultural Centre of Iceland
The Islamic Cultural Centre of Iceland (Menningarsetur múslima á Íslandi) was founded between 2009 and 2010.
[edit] Mosques
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This article appears to contradict the article Reykjavik Mosque. (September 2012) |
There are currently no mosques in Iceland as of 2012. The community, Association of Muslims in Iceland, has had its own Muslim Chapel on the third floor of an office building in Reykjavík since 2002.[1] The Muslim Chapel offers daily and nightly prayers, which attracts a core group of 30 individuals, with a mix of local Icelanders and Muslims from all over the world. The Chapel also offers weekly Friday prayers for Juma'a. The Muslim Chapel is located inside an office building on the third floor in Ármúli 38 in Reykjavík.
In 2000 the Muslim Association applied to build a mosque in Reykjavík. However, the city has not approved the full plans, although they authorized a plot of land measuring 1,500 m^2 in 2001 – less than half of the land requested by the Muslim Association. The approval of additional land was subsequently tied to approval of a Russian Orthodox church, which the city indicates is to be located in an adjacent facility.[4]
[edit] Outside interest
The Muslims of Iceland attracted the interest of Al Jazeera, which planned a documentary dealing with Muslims in Iceland and New Zealand. Al Jazeera is interested in how Ramadan is honored in the higher latitudes where the night can be of unusual length when compared to the majority-Muslim lands.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Mannfjöldi eftir trúfélögum 1998-2012 . Hagstofan.is (Icelandic)
- ^ Jørgen Nielsen; Samim Akgönül; Ahmet Alibaši?; Brigitte Maréchal, Christian Moe (11 November 2010). Yearbook of Muslims in Europe. BRILL. pp. 251–. ISBN 978-90-04-18475-6. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
- ^ AFS, Islam and Icelanders
- ^ Fontaine-Nikolov, Paul (2006-01-13). "You Can Worship Your God". The Reykjavík Grapevine. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
- ^ ["Al Jazeera Shoots Documentary on Icelandic Muslims". Iceland Review. 17 Aug 2011.]
