Islam in Switzerland is the second largest religious community in modern Switzerland after Christianity . According to the 2001 census, 310.807 Muslims were registered in the country (4.3% of the country's population). According to estimates for 2009, 400 thousand Muslims live in the country, or about 5.0% of the country's population. Most Muslims live in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, in particular in large cities ( Basel , Bern , Zurich , etc.), in each of which the proportion of Muslims is 5-8%. In the French-speaking Romandia, the Muslim presence is significant only in the city of Geneva (5%). Least of all Muslims live in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino in the south of the country (1.8% of the population). The majority of Muslims in the country are immigrants of the first and second generation, and most of them (over 88%) are non-citizens . The predominant ethnic groups of Muslims come from the territories of the former SFRY ( Yugoslavia ) (various Muslim Slavs ( Bosnians ) and Albanians (mainly from Kosovo , Sanjak and other regions) 56.4%; also 20.2% immigrants from the Republic of Turkey (both Turks and Kurds ); the remaining 23.4% come from other countries of Asia, Africa, the CIS and others.
History
The first Muslims (Arabs and Berbers) appeared in the country in the X century, coming from the territory of the so-called Fraxinet , one of the pirate bases of the Mediterranean. After 1945, a significant number of migrant workers, as well as political and economic refugees from Muslim countries ( Balkans , Asia Minor ) arrived in the country. A greater influx of Muslims was also facilitated by the fact that German-speaking cantons were on the side of Muslims in the Yugoslav conflict. The first Mahmud Mosque was built in the country in 1963 in Zurich . In 1978, Saudi Arabia funded the construction of a second mosque in Geneva. Currently, 4 mosques in the country have minarets, while full-fledged mosques in the country are clearly not enough, given the high growth rate of the Muslim population. For this, storage facilities, abandoned buildings, basements of houses are used. In 2009, a Swiss referendum on minarets was held , according to which 58% of the country's population as a whole spoke out against new minarets. At the same time, many French-speaking cantons, on the contrary, did not support the ban on minarets.
See also
- Islam in France