Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

is a Christian majority country, with Islam being a minority religion. According to the US Religious Freedom Report of 2006 there are about 2000 North Africans currently living in

(out of a total population of 72,000) and they are the largest Muslim group in the country.

Population

Moroccans Moroccans (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Kingdom of Morocco. The country's population is predominantly composed of Arabs and Berbers (Amazigh). The term also applies more broadly to any people who are of Moroccan nationality, s ...

(515) *

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

(112) * Pakistanis (79)

Institutions

The Muslim community has an Islamic Cultural Center which provides about 50 students with

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

lessons. The government and the Muslim community have not yet agreed on a system which would enable the schools to give such lessons. There is no specifically built

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

in Andorra and the government refuses to allocate land for such a project, saying there are not enough low-priced lands. In 2003 the local imam, Mohamed Raguig, petitioned Bishop Joan Martí Alanis asking for either land from the Church in order to build a mosque or for space inside a church to be used as a mosque.

History

At around 700, the Muslims conquered the area from the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...

, through the Segre valley. The Muslims did not really stay in Andorra, rather using it as a shortcut to get to

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the ...

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the Au ...

and Nîmes. The

Battle of Poitiers The Battle of Poitiers was fought on 19September 1356 between a French army commanded by King JohnII and an Anglo- Gascon force under Edward, the Black Prince, during the Hundred Years' War. It took place in western France, south of Poit ...

and the

Battle of Roncesvalles The Battle of Roncevaux Pass (French and English spelling, ''Roncesvalles'' in Spanish, ''Orreaga'' in Basque) in 778 saw a large force of Basques ambush a part of Charlemagne's army in Roncevaux Pass, a high mountain pass in the Pyrenees on the ...

marked the end of those expeditions to the other part of the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

. According to Antoni Filter i Rossell in his history book the

Manual Digest Manual may refer to: Instructions * User guide * Owner's manual * Instruction manual (gaming) * Online help Other uses * Manual (music), a keyboard, as for an organ * Manual (band) * Manual transmission * Manual, a bicycle technique similar t ...

(1748), in 788, 5000 Andorrans, led by Marc Almugàver came to Charlemagne's assistance in the Vall de Carol in fighting the Muslims. After the battle, Charlemagne gave his protection to Andorra and declared them as a sovereign people.Geography and History of the Principality of Andorra
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References

Religion in Andorra {{Islam-country-stub

Population

Institutions

History

See also

References