Islam in Slovakia

In 2010, there were an estimated 5,900 Muslims in Slovakia representing fewer than 0.1% of the country's population.^[2] Slovakia is the only EU member state without a mosque.^[3]

Islam in Europe
by percentage of country population^[1]

95–100%	Azerbaijan
90–95%	Turkey Kosovo
50–70%	Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina Kazakhstan
30–35%	North Macedonia
10–20%	France Georgia Montenegro
5–10%	Austria Bulgaria Sweden Belgium Germany Liechtenstein Netherlands Switzerland United Kingdom Denmark Russia Luxembourg
4–5%	Serbia
2–4%	Italy Finland Norway Malta Slovenia Spain Greece Cyprus[a]
1–2%	Croatia Ireland Ukraine Andorra
< 1%	Iceland Armenia Belarus Czech Republic Estonia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Moldova Monaco Poland Portugal Romania San Marino Slovakia

History

Decades after the Hungarian defeat of Mohacs (1526) Turkish troops controlled Štúrovo (Párkány) and other parts of today's southern central Slovakia and encouraged the Protestant Christian groups while Habsburg Austrian troops occupied and recatholized the northern and western parts. Later on the Turks seized some further territories in southern central Slovakia and pillaged in territories up to Nitra. Finally, however, when the Turks lost the Battle of Vienna and the Ottoman vassal Emeric Thököly was defeated in Slovakia, between 1687 and 1699 Turkish Ottoman rule in Hungary was finally broken.

In 2015, amidst the European migrant crisis, Slovakia agreed to admit 200 Christian asylum seekers, but refused to accept Muslims under an EU scheme to share migrants between member states. Slovak Ministry of Interior Affairs explained this decision by the absence of Muslim places of worship in Slovakia which will allegedly complicate the migrants' integration in Slovak society. The decision was criticized by the EU, which doubted the decision's legality, and expressed concern for its discriminatory nature.^[4]

In November 2016, Slovakia passed legislation requiring religious denominations to have at least 50,000 adherents to gain state recognition, hence preventing Islam from becoming an official religion in Slovakia.^[5] In 2022, the Public Defender of Rights (ombudsperson) stated that the registration requirements were unreasonable, discriminatory, and unnecessary; the Ministry of Culture refused to initiate a legal change.^[6]

Muslim demographics

Most of the Muslims in Slovakia are refugees from former Yugoslavia (Bosnians and Albanians)^{[citation needed]} or workers from modern Turkey (Turks),^{[citation needed]} beside them a few Arab students and migrant workers from South and Southeast Asia. Most of the Muslims live in the capital Bratislava, smaller communities also exist in Košice and Martin.^{[citation needed]}

In the 2021 census, 3,862 persons self-identified themselves as Muslim, though representatives of the Muslim community estimated their number at 6,000.^[7] Slovakia currently has seven unofficial Muslim places of worship within its territory.^[8] In 2000, a dispute about the building of an Islamic center in Bratislava erupted: the capital's mayor refused such attempts of the Slovak Islamic Waqfs Foundation.

Cordoba Culture Center in Bratislava

The Cordoba Culture Center (Kultúrne Centrum Culture Center Córdoba) is a place of worship for Muslims in Slovakia, located on Obchodná street in Bratislava. It is the only place of Muslim worship in the country under Islamic foundation in Slovakia.^{[citation needed]} The musalla or prayer room is not open for Fajr prayer and, therefore, is not officially considered a mosque. Friday sermon is held in Arabic, English, and Slovak, and starts Friday at 01:00 pm.^{[clarification needed]} The center is small but can hold a congregation for prayers and includes a wooden podium that is used for jumu'ah or Friday sermons. There are no decoration with elaborated patterns as it is situated in a commercial area adjacent to businesses and shops. The Kultúrne Centrum Córdoba has tried to attain an official mosque permit from the government, but had its proposal rejected.^[9]

Gallery

• 
  "An Essay on Statements in Logic" by Safvet beg Bašagić (Collection of Islamic Manuscripts in the University Library of Bratislava).
• 
  Treatise on astronomy, surveying, and mathematics by Badruddin al-Maridini (died 1506); (Collection of Islamic Manuscripts in the University Library of Bratislava).
• 
  Ibrahim al-Halabi (died 1776) is about the sine, quadrant and parallel circles; (Collection of Islamic Manuscripts in the University Library of Bratislava).
• 
  A copy of Saadi Shirazi's works (Collection of Islamic Manuscripts in the University Library of Bratislava).

See also

• Islam portal
• Slovakia portal

• Religion in Slovakia

Notes

1. Only takes into account the Muslim population residing on land controlled by the Republic of Cyprus.