There are an estimated 20,000

Muslim 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 ...

s in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, representing 0.2% of the country's population. The growing

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

community form the largest Muslim population in the country. According to the 2010 census, there are around 3500 Muslims in the Czech Republic (less than 0.1% of country's population), compared to 495 in 1991. In the Czech Republic, there are three mosques in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

and one mosque in

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. ...

History

The first documented visit of a person with knowledge of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

was made (964-965) by Íbrahím ibn Jaqúb, a Jewish merchant from then-Muslim Spain. His memoirs were later published to become one of the first accounts about Central Europe in the Islamic world. During both sieges of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, reconnaissance war-parties of the advancing Ottoman armies reached

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

. Strong trade links between

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

and Ottoman Empire emerged during the 19th century. Individual Muslims from the late 19th century began to settle in Czech lands after Bosnia became part of the

Austro-Hungarian empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. Traditionally, the influence of Islam on the culture of Czech lands has been small.

Modern era

A law 1912 by the Austro-Hungarian monarchy recognised Islam as a "state religion" and officially allowed its presence in what is now the Czech Republic. The first community (''Muslimské náboženské obce pro Československo'') was established in 1934 and disbanded in 1949. An attempt to set up a new community in 1968 failed. In 1991, the ''Center of Muslim communities'' ( cz, Ústředí muslimských náboženských obcí) was established. In 1998 the first

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, ...

was opened, in

br>
and a year later another, in the capital,

br>
Attempts to open mosques in other cities have been stopped by local citizens. In 2004 Islam was officially registered in the Czech Republic: the community is thus eligible to obtain funds from the state. The largest Muslim community are of

origin. Other Muslims have also come from

Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...

(early 1990s),

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

(late 1990s) and former countries of

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

(mostly from

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

region, from the late 1990s until the present). A significant and influential part are the

middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Comm ...

people of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian,

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

n and other

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

ern ancestries (typically those who studied in Czechoslovakia and decided to stay). A few hundred Muslims are Czech converts.Panýrková, Petra:
Konvertité k islámu v České republice
',

University of Pardubice University of Pardubice ( or UPA) is a university in Pardubice, the Czech Republic. In 2021 it had nearly 8,000 students. It is the only university in Pardubice Region. History In the aftermath of the World War II, chemical factories in the city a ...

, 2009.

References

* Miloš Mendel, Jiří Bečka, ''Islám a české země'', Olomouc, Votobia, 1998. * Miloš Mendel, Bronislav Ostřanský, Tomáš Rataj, ''Islám v srdci Evropy'', Praha, Academia, 2008.

External links

Portal of Islam in the Czech Republic

History of Islam in the Czech Republic
{{Islam in Europe Religion in the Czech Republic

History

Modern era

See also

References

External links