Islam in Montenegro refers to adherents, communities and religious institutions of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

. It is the second largest religion in the country, after

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

. According to the 2011 census, Montenegro's 118,477 Muslims make up 20% of the total population. Montenegro's Muslims belong mostly to the

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a dis ...

branch. According to the estimate by the Pew Research Center, Muslims have a population of 130,000 (20.3%) as of 2020.

History

In the 15th century the Montenegrin ruler

Ivan Crnojević Ivan Crnojević ( sr-Cyrl, Иван Црнојевић, italics=no, lit=Ivan the Black) was the lord of Zeta and Serbian leader from 1465 to 1490. Having formed an alliance with the Republic of Venice, he led the Serb resistance against the expand ...

(1465–1490) was at war with the infiltrating Venetians. Unable to maintain war on both fronts, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

had conquered much of Montenegro's territory and introduced

. Ivan's third son

Staniša Crnojević Staniša ( sr-cyr, Станиша) is a Serbian masculine given name, derived from Slavic root ''stan'' and suffix ''-iša''. It was traditionally given as an apotropaic (protective) name, when children often died, or when many children were born. I ...

was the first prominent Montenegrin of the Muslim faith, and since then

was not an uncommon religion to the Crnojević Montenegrin ruling dynasty. Staniša Crnojević took up the name ''Skenderbeg Crnojević'' and ruled from his capital at

Cetinje Cetinje (, ) is a town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital (''prijestonica'' / приjестоница) of Montenegro and is the location of several national institutions, including the official residence of the president of Montenegro ...

. He is well known as one of the most prominent Muslim administrators in the northern reaches of the Ottoman Empire of Slavic origins during the reign of

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...

Selim I Selim I ( ota, سليم الأول; tr, I. Selim; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute ( tr, links=no, Yavuz Sultan Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite las ...

is known to have commanded an army of approximately 3000 Akıncı he also maintained correspondence with neighboring contemporaries such as Gazi Husrev-beg.

Twenty-first century

The

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

of Montenegro are mostly

Bosniaks The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzeg ...

and

Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Ser ...

by ethnicity, but also some are declared as ethnic

and

Montenegrins Montenegrins ( cnr, Црногорци, Crnogorci, or ; lit. "Black Mountain People") are a South Slavic ethnic group that share a common Montenegrin culture, history, and language, identified with the country of Montenegro. Genetics Accordi ...

. The adherents of Islam in Montenegro can be mostly found in the

Sandžak Sandžak (; sh, / , ; sq, Sanxhaku; ota, سنجاق, Sancak), also known as Sanjak, is a historical geo-political region in Serbia and Montenegro. The name Sandžak derives from the Sanjak of Novi Pazar, a former Ottoman administrative dis ...

region in Montenegro and Ulcinj,

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...

and

Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; lit. 'under the hill') is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd (Cyrillic: Титоград, ) between 1946 and 1992—in the period that Montenegro form ...

. Bosniaks have similar ethnic background with ethnic Muslims, but differ in ideology of what ethnicity they belong to. In Montenegro are established 13 Councils of Islamic Community:

, Tuzi, Dinoša,

, Ulcinj,

Pljevlja Pljevlja ( srp, Пљевља, ) is a town and the center of Pljevlja Municipality located in the northern part of Montenegro. The town lies at an altitude of . In the Middle Ages, Pljevlja had been a crossroad of the important commercial roads an ...

Bijelo Polje Bijelo Polje ( cnr, Бијело Поље, ) is a town in northeastern Montenegro on the Lim River. It has an urban population of 15,400 (2011 census). It is the administrative, economic, cultural and educational centre of northern Montenegro. ...

Berane Berane ( cyrl, Беране) is one of the largest towns of northeastern Montenegro and a former administrative centre of the Ivangrad District. The town is located on the Lim river. From 1949 to 1992, it was named Ivangrad ( cyrl, Иванг� ...

Petnjica Petnjica ( cnr, Петњица) is a town in northern Montenegro, and the center of Petnjica Municipality. Petnjica regained its municipality status on May 28, 2013, which it previously had from 1945 to 1957, when it was merged with the Berane Mu ...

Rožaje Rožaje ( cnr, Рожаје, bs, Rožaje), ; sq, Rozhajë) is a town in northeastern Montenegro. As of 2011, the city has a population of 9,567 inhabitants. Surrounded by hills to its west and mountains to its east (notably Mount Hajla), the ...

, Plav and

Gusinje Gusinje ( cyrl, Гусиње, ; sq, Gucia) is a small town in north-eastern Montenegro. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 1,673 and is the administrative center of Gusinje Municipality. Name Two alternative etymologies ...

Demographics

According to the 2011

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

, there are 118,477 adherents of Islam in Montenegro. Ethnic composition of Muslims (adherents of Islam) in Montenegro:Statistical Office of Montenegro: Population by ethnicity and religion (2011)
/ref> * 53,453

* 22,267

* 20,270

(distinctive ethnic group) * 12,758

* 5,034

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

* 2,003

Egyptians Egyptians ( arz, المَصرِيُون, translit=al-Maṣriyyūn, ; arz, المَصرِيِين, translit=al-Maṣriyyīn, ; cop, ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, remenkhēmi) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian ...

(distinctive ethnic group) * 256 Muslims/Montenigrins * 195 Gorani * 183 Muslims/Bosniaks * 181 Bosniaks/Muslims * 172 Montenigrins/Muslims * 169

Bosnians Bosnians (Bosnian language: / ; / , / ) are people identified with the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina or with the region of Bosnia. As a common demonym, the term ''Bosnians'' refers to all inhabitants/citizens of the country, regardless ...

* 101

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 ...

* others (under 100 members per community) and ethnically undeclared

Geographical distribution

There are large regional differences in the distribution Muslim population.

Rožaje Municipality Rožaje Municipality ( Montenegrin and Bosnian: Opština Rožaje / Општина Рожаје; Albanian: Komuna e Rozhajës) is one of the municipalities of Montenegro. The main centre and capital of the Rožaje municipality is Rožaje. It cov ...

, for example, is almost exclusively inhabited by adherents of Islam, while there are no Muslims living in Plužine Municipality.

Gallery

File:Rozaje mosque Sultan Murat II.JPG, Sultan Murat II mosque in

File:Kucanska dzamija.jpg, Kučanska Mosque in Rožaje File:Pljevlja Mosque 2.JPG, Mosque in

File:Czarnogóra Ulcinj - panoramio.jpg,

Sailors' Mosque The Sailors' Mosque ( Montenegrin: Морнарскa џамија or Mornarska Džamija; Albanian: ''Xhamia e Detarëve'') is an important landmark in Ulcinj, Montenegro that once served as a lighthouse.Ulcinj

History

Twenty-first century

Demographics

Geographical distribution

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading