Islam in Finland

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

After Finland came Islam in the 19th century with the influx of Russian Tatars . Today around 40,000 Muslims (0.74%) live in Finland , most of them immigrants from the Middle East or Africa.

Tatars

Gate of the Islamic cemetery in Helsinki used by the Tatar community

The first Muslim Tatars and Bashkirs came to the country with the Russian army as early as 1809, after Finland came under Russian rule. For example, they helped build Bomarsund Fortress on the Aland Islands in 1832 , where there is also an Islamic cemetery. Since 1836 there was an imam on the fortress island Sveaborg off the coast of Helsinki . Around 1870 there were around 100 Muslim soldiers stationed on Sveaborg and their relatives living in Helsinki. Unlike the Jewish soldiers, however, almost all members of the Muslim army left Finland after their service.

The ancestors of today's Finland Tatars came to Finland as traders from a group of 20 villages on the upper reaches of the Volga between 1870 and 1920 . They were originally farmers, but in winter they made a living as traders. In Finland they settled in the larger cities of Helsinki, Turku and Tampere , where they traded fur and textiles. Most traders only brought their families to Finland after the October Revolution of 1917. After freedom of belief was politically introduced in Finland in 1923 , they founded the Finnish Islamic Community in 1925.

Today around 800 Tatars live in Finland, most of them in Helsinki and the surrounding area. Despite their small number, they have been able to preserve their culture and language even in the fifth and sixth generations . However, they are fully integrated into society and speak fluent Finnish or Swedish throughout. The Tatars are very different from the other Muslim groups in Finland: converts and non-Tatar Muslims cannot become members of the Tatar communities.

Immigrants

As a result of immigration from Islamic countries, the number of Muslims in Finland has now risen to 15,000–20,000, according to other sources to 40,000 (including 30,000 Sunnis and 10,000 Shiites). The largest group are refugees from Somalia , along with immigrants from Iraq , Iran , Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo . In addition, a few hundred Finns have converted to Islam.

References

  1. ↑ a b This is Finland: What's in it for non-Christians?
  2. ↑ a b International Religious Freedom Report of the US State Department: Finland (2011)
  3. ↑ Virtual Finland: National Minorities of Finland, The Tatars (see web links)
  4. ↑ Halén (Lit.), p. 315.
  5. ↑ Halén (Lit.), p. 316.
  6. ↑ Uskonnot Suomessa (Finnish)

literature

  • Juhani Pallasmaa: Tatars. In: Olli Alho (Hrsg.): Kulturlexikon Finland . Finnish Literary Society, Helsinki 1998. ISBN 951-746-032-5 . P. 295.
  • Harry Halén: Suomen tataarit. In: Markku Löytönen, Laura Kolbe (Ed.): Suomi - Maa, kansa, kulttuurit . Finnish Literary Society, Helsinki 1999. ISBN 951-746-041-4 . Pp. 315-332. (Finnish)

Web links

Commons : Islam in Finland  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files